25 July 2010
Posted in
BoholLife Blog -
Events
Today I watched the 2010 Sandugo Street Dancing Parade through Tagbilaran City. The Sandugo festival is to commemorate the Treaty of Friendship between the Bohol Chieftain Datu Sikatuna and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in the 16th century.
The treaty was sealed by way of a blood compact (sandugo) between the two parties on March 16th 1565.
Ok enough of the history lesson (thanks wikipedia). I spent around 2 and a half hours standing outside City Square Mall earlier, in anticipation of this well publicized event.
The parade started its way along CPG Avenue at around 1:15pm. At the first sign of activity the large crowd ran to the sides of the road. My vantage point was raised a little but even that was not enough to let me really see anything other than the heads of performers, onlookers and their umbrellas.
We have all seen the glossy promotional pictures showing the beautifully turned out performers, captured in hi resolution for us all to marvel at. Well folks, unless you are prepared to fight your way to the front of the crowed you may, like me, be a little disappointed.
I took some 20+ pictures and out of those I do not have a single one that captures the event. I have included a few pictures below, but they really just show the aforementioned crowd. I am using cell phones to take my photos, that said had I had a dedicated DSLR camera the end result would be the same.
The performers were very good from what I could see and hear. They obviously spend hours honing their routines. If you really want to appreciate their efforts then you must visit the Sports Complex (Grandstand) where the actual competition takes place.
Will I watch this event next year, probably. I will try to secure a higher vantage point in advance, so that I am able to enjoy the performance. As already said the performers have spent hours rehearsing and perfecting their dances and we should all applaud their efforts.
