Festival
AN EPIC FESTIVAL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. Legazpi City’s Ibalong Festival is one of the few non-religious festivals in the country. Photo grabbed from wowlegazpi.com Festivals vary greatly in their origins. Philippine festivals are mostly tied to religion or an ancient tradition, but the Ibalong Festival of Legazpi City, Albay is unique because it’s born from from the Ibalong epic, a tale of three heroes who all fought to keep the peace for the town of Ibalong: Baltog, Handyong, and, Bantong. They fought mythical creatures such as the tandayag (giant boar), dambuhala (one-eyed monster), oryol (half-woman, half-serpent), and a giant called Rabot. These tales of bravery and strength in character are […]
UNTRIED, UNTESTED, UNSTAGED. Virgin Labfest shows the best of unpublished stage plays by the country’s playwrights. Photo courtesy of Cultural Center of the Philippines official website. Virgin Labfest is a laboratory festival that showcases new plays written by both up-and-coming and established playwrights. The festival aims to give Filipino playwrights a venue to present their unpublished, unstaged, untested, and untried works to theatergoers. This year’s Virgin Labfest will showcase 12 new works, 3 audience favorites from last year’s festival, 5 staged readings, and fragments from 3 new plays presented as site-specific performances. A new feature, called From Stage to Screen, showcases film screenings of outstanding stage plays that […]
The humble carabao, kalabaw, or water buffalo has been the country’s beast of burden for many generations. They have worked tirelessly with farmers, plowing rice fields before planting and carrying harvested rice as soon as they are sown. To honor their efforts, the town of Pulilan, Bulacan celebrate the Kneeling Carabao Festival. THE TRADITION CONTINUES. Event poster courtesy of Kneeling Carabao Festival Facebook page. The Kneeling Carabao Festival is celebrated every 14th of May. It honors both the hardworking water buffalo, considered as the country’s unofficial national animal, and San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Festivities are highlighted by a street dancing competition, the carabao race, […]
Love Filipino films? The most awaited event, Cine Filipino 2016, is finally here! Catch various Filipino short films and documentaries this March 16-22, 2016 on selected malls in Manila and get a glimpse of what the local film culture looks like as up-and-coming and seasoned directors showcase their talents through this film festival. CineFilipino, launched in 2015, features both mainstream and indie artists of the Philippines in various films that look into the Filipino identity and its culture. The festival will have categories such as Feature-Length, Documentaries, TV Series, and Shorts. These films will be shown at the following selected malls in the metro: Eastwood Mall, Festival Mall, […]
If you’re looking for the best musicians and artists in the country, your search is already over. Head on over to Puerto Galera today and experience the Malasimbo Festival, happening on two separate weekends this March on Mount Malasimbo, Oriental Mindoro. MALASIMBO MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL. Virtuosos and visual artists abound. The Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival, happening from today, March 4, to March 6, is a gathering of music virtuosos from all over the world, including UK musician Jacob Collier and Korean Gong Myoung, along with local acts such as SINOSIKAT?, Brigada, and the Reo Brothers. Make sure to catch Brat Pack, the only Asian blues band […]
