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The old house in Capayawan until the '90s.
Lolo's church can be seen
in the background
Capayawan Barrio Fiesta
Almost all barrios all over the Philippines have at least
one patron saint to venerate and ours is no exception. Barrio Capayawan's
patron saint Sto. Nino is celebrated on the first day of January each
year. Over the years however, the festivities had been reduced to being
low-key and muted affair. The culprit of this phenomenon is not hard to
guess. The country's dwindling and fast going under economy plays a key
role to many of the Filipino angst and incertitude, predicaments that
barrio Capayawan fully shares. Gone were the days of grand display of
conviviality and joyous merrymaking that marked our fiesta celebrations. I remember that all throughout the 70s, dynamic "kumares
and kumpadres" joined forces to plan ahead all to dos and how tos as
early as September right after our yet another barrio fiesta, the "Calampuhan
Lubena", the end of novena days, a thanksgiving offering to our
Virgin Mary celebrated on the first Saturday of the month.
Back
then barrio fiesta celebrations were taken seriously. Elaborate and
meticulous care is given to every detail. The banderitas, usually made of
triangle-cut thin plastic sheets in different colors securely attached to
a thin and kilometers long but sturdy rope, are made months ahead. Youths
took turns in embellishing the entire barrio to its fullest glory. Barrio
artists whose names escape me now contributed their art works for free in
the making and printing of the invitations to be sent out on a later date
to all barrio folks and guests of important eminence. Almost everything
was done in mutual reciprocity in those days.
Back
then people would give their best shot in making the occasion a success.
Only when their respective houses are freed from cobwebs and the backyards
tended to, they will proceed to plan for the menu. Fattened up domestic
animals such as pigs, chicken and even dogs; the latter is commonly
consumed as "pulutan", food that accompanies the alcoholic
beverages during binges among buddies, are paraded and carefully selected
as one would a future beauty queen weeks ahead. Cooking for the visitors
is done a day ahead with great care and abundance. Matriarchs would
rather eat leftovers for the next couple of weeks after the fiesta
than be caught short of food on the table. An impossible notion
notwithstanding since there were lots of people to give the extra food to,
not to mention our wont for "pabaon", a habit that we Filipinos
have that consists of giving away however little the extra food left to
the visitors themselves when the banquet is over. With wide open doors and
gates plus warm embraces, the homeowners greeted the guests in any given
time of day.
Beauty
and riches pageants held at our barrio plaza cum basketball court right
across the Aglipayan (Anglican) church in inner Capayawan used to be the
eve of the fiesta's main attraction. The participants, in their luxuriant
evening gowns, are seated at the center stage according to the ranks they
garnered in the competition to be seen and admired to the delight of the
spectators. This night is also the coronation night for the winners of the
pageant. The "Her Majesty Queen" title is given to whoever amassed the most
money during the whole affair. When the speeches --usually an invited
inspirational guest has this honor-- are delivered, photographs taken,
crown and scepter handed to the winner while the Botolan Brass Band
performed Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida", a free for all dance follows.
With a hired sound system from Iba standing nearby, the "kutom bayli",
the dance aficionados, local gentlemen and "dalagas" and those
from the neighboring barrios, rocked, rolled, rattled and shook the night
away.
A
simple mass at the Aglipayan church used to greet the start of the
Capayawan fiesta
day. Barrio folks and guests, Anglicans and Catholics alike, in their
Sunday best with sumans, bibingka and other delicacy they may have
prepared for the occasion in tow, would flock in the only church existed
in those days. This practice has gone on for generations until the
construction of the Catholic Church building in late 80s. Food items are
deposited in one big basket located unobtrusively in the room at the back
of the church. At the end of the holy celebrations, all will then share a
banquet of coffee and the goodies brought by the people while the Botolan
Brass Band, stationed at the nearby premises, played its fortes. Only after
the excitement at the banquet has subsided, the band, led by the
ever-graceful baton-twirling majorettes, will proceed to parade around
Capayawan and Bangan barrios leaving behind a trail of followers, mostly
children, mouths agape with awe and fascination.
Basketball,
baseball and softball play-offs were the highlights of the fiesta days.
These games were usually held in the afternoon when the visitors and
barrio folks alike are satiated and rested. Barrios Capayawan and Bangan
collaborated back then in hosting the visiting teams from the nearby
barrio so the favorite venue for the softball and baseball games was the
triangle shaped piece of green empty land that divided the two barangays.
Here people gathered, armed with wooden benches for viewing comfort, and
cheered for their respective favorites. The games were always exciting. The
players were what one can call a regular pro, attitudes and all.
As
the only remaining sport being practiced in Capayawan today, basketball
tournaments during fiestas are still being held. Here the players, fans
and curious onlookers start the game with cool heads and not a hint of
posture. As the games gain momentum however, players, without delay will begin to push, shove
and badmouth each other, a situation that is apt to degenerate as soon as
the fanatics join the circus. One backslap that is
way too much of a slap at the back could trigger a raucous riot the noble
event would usually end up in a stone-throwing and insults galore… a
bloodbath. A busy day awaits the emergency at the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial
hospital in Iba.
At
sundown, barrio folks will again congregate in the church to celebrate yet
another mass. A procession carrying a graven image of the patron saint
accompanied by other idols folks are keen to worship, in this case the
image of the Virgin Mary, promptly follows right after. Burning candle in
hand, people moved in perfect beat with whatever the brass band played for
the occasion, i.e. "Sampaguita", "O Ilaw" etc. Folks who
were too
tired to walk to join the procession, little children who were too small
to pretend piety and maimed athletes will then join the crowd in lighting
bootlegged firecrackers, remnants of the previous night's bacchanals,
while the procession passed by their houses. The enchanting colorful
sights of the lighted "luzes", the ear-piercing sounds of "bawang",
and the hollow muffled belchings of "kalburo" (limestone) heated
inside a section of a bamboo, represented the culmination of yet another
glorious fiesta day in barrio Capayawan.
Rachel
Mendoza
Capayawan, Botolan, Zambales
ZambalesForum (ZF2) moderator
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