zamboanga hermosa celebration

Viva! Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar! :)




Zamboanga Hermosa Festival is being celebrated in time with the Feast of Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar (Zambo's patron)...

a float parade and "streetdance" competition was usually held for the grand finale of the Zambo Hermosa festival... this year the local government chose to have it in the Zamboanga City Sports Complex instead of having it in front of City Hall. The only downside in this year's setup is for unofficial photographers --- they dont let anyone in...you just really have to find ways for them to let you in the grounds...

but since we were only carrying point&shoot digicams we were left with just stares from the guards... so we settled with taking photos of the incoming groups waiting for their turn to perform (a.k.a. behind the scenes coverage to! hehe)




i was telling Leo i'm glad we didn't experience this back in highschool...it looks hell wearing those costumes under terrible heat... but i appreciate how these ladies kept their smiles... :D




i've noticed that other than the Latin/Spanish theme of the groups' costumes, flowers still seem to dominate the overall feel. Well...before Zamboanga became the Latin City of Asia, it was used to be the City of Flowers...you think we can still take that back from Baguio? hehehe




i get excited everytime a new group arrives...am loving the different colorful costumes... performers are mostly girls... they were just refreshening up once they get to our spot.




i should have taken photos of all the groups' headdresses... hehehe im glad i was able to capture this group's. this is one of the few instances i was able to conquer my shyness and approached them to pose for me... ;D




all tattered... over used drums parked while the group rests and wait for their turn...




these are their drums... as in literally the big water containers... almost all groups used this...i suppose its because these produce louder noises and its cheaper to have them than the actual big drums...




rest.... and chitchats...the usual band...




...but for this group they have a different version of the lyre. :D they added a punk feel to it... :D




this is the best view we can get from the ground... :( so we decided to head back on the other side ohe sports complex where they let people in...




unfortunately, we really cant get in... so we decided to check out the view from the bleachers...there's just simply too many people up there... we cant barely move to find a good spot...plus the heat and all that body rubbing...we decided to leave after a few minutes. ;D




and the view from up there...i would have say that its not a good one... there's a crowd already below which somehow blocks the view of the performance of the groups... gosh i really wished i tailed those photogs with DSLRs...because they managed to get in!!!!




but then the struggle to the bleachers is somehow worth it... i was able to capture this sweet moment... ;D




but still im agit about the whole setup... i just hope they let photogs and bloggers (ehem! im being biased wehe) in the grounds... they need to know the power of blogging and multiply and all other networking sites where zamboanga hermosa can be promoted...but then i guess promoting zamboanga and local tourism may be in their minds but not in their hearts yet....

***hope they'll bring back the "streetdancing" competition back in the streets next year! :D hehehe



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Zamboanga Sports Complex
Baliwasan, Zamboanga City
Philippines
11 October 2009