Zambales Mango Festival (Dinamulag Festival) | @kapampangan.words
Zambales Mango Festival (Dinamulag Festival)
The province of Zambales to the west of Pampanga is known for having the sweetest mango in the world, the Sweet Elena strain of the Philippine mango or carabao mango, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The province celebrates its thriving mango industry every late March or early April with its Dinamulag Festival, derived from damúlag, the Kapampángan word for “carabao” or “water buffalo”.
Kapampangan Corn Festival MAIS FESTIVAL Mexico, Pampanga
Pampanga’s Mais Festival happens every month of May (May 4th) and is anticipated to showcase its corn industry. The festival, which features a procession of floats made of corn crops and materials, is always held in Barangay Anao. The said village is one of the major producers of commercial and industrial corn variations in Mexico. The festival showcases cultural presentations, costumes composed of corn materials, and cooking demonstrations on how to use corn ingredients in typical Kapampangan cuisine.
To conclude the series on the celebration of the feast of Santo Niño this month, the National Museum PH introduces another festival, the Pasalamat Festival – a festivity commemorating the arrival of the Santo Niño image in the Philippines and in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur in Western Mindanao.
Like the Kahimunan Festival of Butuan City and the Sakay-Sakay Festival of Maasin City, Pasalamat Festival is held during the 3rd week of January. From the word “pasalamat”, the festival is held to give thanks for the blessings they have received throughout the year. The 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Santo Niño image in the Philippines was celebrated in 2021, making it the oldest Catholic icon in the country.
The festival’s highlight is a fluvial parade (regatta), along with trade exhibitions, as well as Mutya ng Pagadian City. However, the majority of the festival’s activities were canceled from 2020 to 2021 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A motorcade was held in place of a procession and the number of people allowed to hear novena masses was also set to a minimum in 2021. The same activity was held on January 6, 2022 wherein an image of the Sto. Niño was paraded from the city center to the Sto. Niño Cathedral Parish Church.
Last January 15, 2022, the vibrant ritual dance showdown featuring street performers and festival queens holding the image of the Santo Niño in different garbs was held. With the ongoing pandemic, only fully vaccinated participants and guests were allowed to participate. Physical distancing was observed and the performers could only remove their masks during their presentation.
Ever wondered why the majority of the Sto. Niño festivals are held in January when the image supposedly arrived first in Cebu on April 1521. One of the known reasons for this is that Rome granted the Philippines special permission to celebrate the feast of Sto. Niño every 3rd Sunday of January.
Flores de Mayo (“Flowers of May” in Spanish) is a month-long festival in the Philippines during the month of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its pinnacle is the Santacruzan pageant procession held on the last days of May in honor of the finding of the True Cross by Queen Helena of Constantinople with her son Constantine the Great.
Kagang is a crab specie common to 7 coastal barangays of Dapitan City. Kagang festival features the traditional way of cooking Kagang which will be offered to visitors to experience. The event was organized to revive the waning interest and preserve authentic and traditional flavorful dishes where kagang is the main ingredient.
Patunob Festival Binuangan, Misamis Oriental, February 9
A popular religious festival where devotees flock to the shrine of Birhen sa Lourdes to light candles to renew their vows and ask for petitions and blessings. Parts of the festival are a procession, parade cultural show, and trade fair. Patunob is a Visayan word for “to be stepped on”. It is a rite where the image of the Blessed Virgen is lightly placed on the person’s shoulders and head.
Karanowan Fish-tival Balo, Camarines Sur, February 15
The fish-tival was derived from the local dialect “Ranow” meaning lake, spawned of giving significance to the beautiful lake Bato, which teems with numerous species of fish, such as the well-known “tabios”,tilapia nilotica, carp. eel, and many others.
