One of the most awaited month here in Zamboanga City is October - this is because of the well-known feast celebration of our patron saint the Lady of the Pillar.
The annual celebration during this time is dubbed as the
Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, locally known as 'Fiesta Pilar'. It is a month-long celebration highlighted by these popular events: the Regatta de Zamboanga (Race of different Vinta, the traditional sailing boats of Zamboanga, held at the Cawa-cawa Boulevard), and Baile de Calle (Street dance contest) held on October 11 and the religious celebrations on October 12.
This year, there were a few changes on the Baile de Calle event. As it turned out, it was held in Zamboanga City Coliseum instead in the streets of Zamboanga and they renamed it Baile de Festival.
I got an invite to cover the Baile de Festival event from Ms. Grace Bermejo of Id8 for Tang Philippines. Of course, I got excited after receiving such invitation. I am both a blogger and a photographer and events like these provide wonderful opportunities to get new content for my blog.
Tang, a powdered juice drink brand in the Philippines, sweetened the event with their latest flavor "Sweet Orange" released exclusively across Mindanao. (Doesn't that fact makes us special? :))
Tang did not only provide sweet and refreshing drinks to event-goers and participants - they also sponsored the prizes for the winning dance groups.
Joined by Miss Grace herself and a few other representatives of Tang, we watched as each dancer performed as if it was the time of their life as seen in their snappy moves and exuding energy.
With smiles as sweet as the flavor of Tang Sweet Orange, the students of the ZCHS Main won first place, followed by DPLMHS and MCLLNHS.
Similar to Tang Sweet Orange's lasting unique flavor, the winning school's energetic performance will surely stay in the minds of those who witnessed the entire event.
Mayor Beng Climaco of Zamboanga City had a special performance together with a few City Councilors and participants during the course of the program:
It's nice to watch City officials dance once in a while. :)
Baile de Festival 2014 results:
1st Place: Zamboanga City High School Main
2nd Place: Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School
3rd Place: Maria Clara Lorenzo Lobregat National High School
I would like to thank Ms. Grace and the people from Tang for inviting me to cover the event. I had fun watching the performers dance and witnessing a burst of joy after the winners were announced by the judges.
I will be witnessing next year's event, for sure!
