My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: Gasan's Street Dancing Competition Ends Moriones Festival

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Gasan's Street Dancing Competition Ends Moriones Festival

Today is Easter Sunday here in Marinduque. One of most enjoyable and colorful celebration for the Holy Week Festivities is Gasan's Street Dancing Competition. For the past years the event is usually held in the morning first with a Parade of the Participants from several barangays. It is then followed by a formal dance presentation which will be judge by well-known choreographers and other VIP's of the town and province. However, today i heard from my American guests that the event is scheduled for 3PM. I am confused and will be happy to hear of the correct schedule*.
* I just learned a few minutes ago that my American guests have the correct schedule. Dancing and Parade starts at 4PM. Here's a video from Libtangin presentation this year.

Anyway, this event always reminds me of an article I wrote in my blogs titled Philippines-Nation of Festivals as follows:

Black Nazarene Procession in Quiapo Church, Manila
The Philippines is the only nation in the world, that I know that has festivals for every month of the year. In January, there are four festivals known world wide. First, there is the Fiesta of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila held on January 9th. Thousands of devotees flock around the life-size statue of the Black Nazarene (Jesus Christ) during a procession around the church and in the Quiapo area. Devotees are hoping for a miracle or cure of their illnesses.

photo from kabankalancity.gov.ph
Second, there is the Sinulog Festival celebrated every 3rd week of January in Cebu City, in honor of their patron saint, Santo Nino(Child Christ). It is a week long event marked with religious procession, street dancing and parades.

photo from byajero.i.ph
The 3rd is Ati-Atihan of Kalibo, Aklan at around the same time as the Sinulog Festival. This is also in honor of the Santo Nino. Revelers masquerading as Negritoes (the aborigines of Panay Island)in colorful costumes dance to the beat of the drums while chanting " Hala Bira".

The fourth festival during the 4th Sunday of January is the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City. This is one of my favorite festival. It is held both in honor also of the Santo Nino as well as to celebrate the arrival in Panay of the Malay settlers and subsequent selling of the island to them by the aborigines called the Atis. The Atis are also called Negritoes. They are short and black and lived in the interior part of Panay. I saw the first Atis in my life when I was growing up in my home town in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo in the late 1940's. Attached is a video of the dancing competition during the Dinagyang Festival in 2008 in Iloilo City.
Dinagyang was voted the best tourism event in the Philippines in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In February, there are two fiestas in the Western Visayas and one in Baguio City. First,is the Feast of the Lady of Candles (Candelaria) held every February 2nd in Jaro, Iloilo. This is the festival that I grew up with since I was born in Jaro, Iloilo. According to fiesta enthusiasts, this is most opulent religious fiesta in the Western Visayas region. The blessing of the candles and procession of the Nuestra Senora de Candelaria, the patron saint of Jaro, is followed by the Fiesta Queen and the Grand Ball. The image of the Lady of Candles has also miraculous powers according to hundreds of devotees.

photo from Flickr.com
The other Fiesta in February, is the Babaylan Festival in Bago City, Negros Occidental held every February 19. The festival attendants will see the simulated rituals of the mystics, ancient healers and priests in various ceremonies such as marriage, healing and harvest.

The Baguio City Flower Festival also called Panagbenga is held on the last week of Febraury. Panagbenga means " a season of blooming". The festival has a floral parade, marching bands and street dancing. Below is a photo from Flickr.com

In March, there are two Fiestas, that I have heard of. One is the Eid El Fitir, a Filipino- Muslim festival in Mindanao which marked the end of their 30-day fasting as the crescent moon emerges after the Holy Month of Ramadan. This is the only fiesta that is not based on catholic religion as listed in this article.

photo from clickthecity.com

The second one is the Moriones Festival of Marinduque. This coincides with Easter week celebration every year from late March to early April. This is the Festival, that I have attended almost every year for the last eight years. It is a whole week of celebration marked with religious processions, Moriones Mask Contest and Parades, Fairs and Trade shows,and an outdoor religious play based on the story of Longinus, the Roman centurion whose blind eye is cured by a drop of Jesus Christ blood during his Crucifixion. This festival is culminated by Gasan-Gasan, a street dancing celebration in Gasan ( reminds me New Orleans, Mardi Gras) and an Easter Parade on Easter Sunday in Boac. Mogpog is another town in Marinduque that celebrates the Moriones Festival for one week of festivities similar to Boac and Gasan. During Holy week, the sleepy province of Marinduque becomes a province filled with tourists from Manila and around the world, complete with traffic congestion and religious mayhem. The religious revelry and the colorful masks and costumes of the Moriones (Roman soldiers) rewards the visitor of a unique experience during the Holy week in the Philippines. Attached is a short video of the Procession of the Moriones and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The month of April besides the Moriones Festival,there is the Pilgrimage in Manaoag, Pangasinan. It is held every second week of April. Pilgrims and devotees flock to the shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag for the feast of the sick, the needy and the helpless. Her image is believed to be also miraculous.

photo from cbcpworld.com
In May, the whole Nation celebrates the Flores de Mayo(Flowers of May).Every day for the whole month, children and devotees offer flowers to the Statue of Virgin Mary were they also pray the rosary. The whole month celebration is culminated by a procession and Grand Ball at the end of the month. The fiesta commemorates the search for the Holy Cross by Reyna Elena and her son, the Emperor Constantine. In Marinduque, a Grand Ball at the town plaza is held at the end of the month. During this Ball, the Rigodon De Honor, a dance that originated from Spain(a royal square dance) opens the evening festivities. Participants of the Rigodon are chosen because of their standing in the community, that is participation is by invitation only. The women participants wore their most expensive ternos( evening gowns) and the men their embroidered Barong Tagalog. In 2003, Macrine and I were invited to participate in this Dance of Honor and Prestige.

Typical Rigodon Dance- The Cadena(Forming a Chain)
There are other festivals during the month of May. There is the Pulilan, Bulacan Carabao Festival held every 14th of May. There is the Pahiyas festival on May 15. Farm families give thanks to San Isidro Labrador for the good harvest by decorating their houses with brightly colored rice wafers called kiping. Then there's the Obando fertility rites festival during the 3rd week of May. Hundreds of men and women dance toward the town church praying for a wife, husband or a child.

In June, there are two fiestas that I have heard of. The Parada ng Lechon ( The Parade of the Roasted Pig) in Balayan, Batangas on June 24th that also coincides with the Feast of St John the Baptist.

photo from clickthecity.com
The other one is the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival held on June 29 in Tacloban, Leyte. The town folks parade through the town with colorful body paints to recall their ancient warrior tradition that tattoos represented bravery and prestige.

In July, there are two festivals that are getting popular nationwide. The Bocaue River Festival is held every first Sunday of July in Bocaue, Bulacan. The highlight of the fiesta is a fluvial procession in honor of the miraculous Cross of Bocaue. Devotees douse each other with water as they scramble to ride the pagoda boat.

photo from marsman-tours.com
The second festival is the Sandugo ( means one blood) held in Tagbilaran, Bohol in the 3rd week of July. The festival celebrates the blood compact between Datu Sikatuna and Miquel Lopez de Legaspi. There is street dancing, shows, trade fairs and beauty contests.

In August, I heard of only one festival. It is held in Davao City every 3rd week of August. They named the festival " Kadayawan Sa Dabaw". The festival give thanks to the bounty of fruits and flowers,such as the waling-waling orchid blooms. Colorful floats are decorated with beautiful orchids and other flowers in the grand parade. This reminds me of the Pasadena Rose Parade on New Years Day here in California.

Photo from philtourism.com
In September there is the feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia held every 3rd Saturday of September in Naga City, Camarines Sur. I have attended this festival during my college days at the University of the Philippines in the early 1950's. My dorm mate was from Naga City and he invited me to stay with his family for a couple of days to observe the festivities. There was a fluvial parade where the image of the Lady of Penafrancia was carried through the river aglow with floating candles.

photo from tabligan.org
In October, there is the Maskara Festival held every 3rd week of October in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Mask making is the main activity during this festival. It commemorates Bacolod City Charter Day. There are brass bands, parades, beauty contest and street dancing where the local folks show off their beautiful masks.

photo from finetravel.com
In November, there is the Higantes (Giant) Festival held in Angono, Rizal around the 3rd week of the month. This is in honor of St Clements, the town's patron saint. Its image is carried in a procession that features pahadores, clad in colorful garb and wooden shoes. They carry boat paddles and Higantes(10 ft tall) made of paper mache puppets.

Lastly, in December there are two festivals, worthy of mention. One is the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga. It is celebrated the whole month, but culminates in a judging contest for the best, biggest and most beautiful Christmas lantern made by local craftsmen.

Photo from daylife.com
The second festival is the Binirayan Festival in San Jose, Antique held at the last week of December. Ethnic pageantry reaches a new high in the beaches of Maybato, San Jose, where the drama of the first Malay settlement is played out.

There are other unknown little festivals in the whole country. Each town in the Christian Roman Catholic Philippines has a patron saint. So, every town has a fiesta and when fiesta time Filipinos celebrate, and forget the worries and problems of daily living at least just for one day. I love fiestas and if you have not attended one, you are missing a part of what the Philippines is all about. If you know of any other fiesta, I have not mention please feel free to share.

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Gasan's Street Dancing Competition Ends Moriones Festival

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