Interview by Rui Pastorin
The sound of loud cheers and thumping music filled the Chan Meng Kam Theatre in Iao Hon district yesterday as crowds of Filipinos celebrated yet another lively edition of the traditional San Isidro Pahiyas Festival in Macau, marking its 24th edition in the city.
The colourful Pahiyas (“precious offering”) festival originates from the town of Lucban, Quezon, Philippines, where the largest celebrations take place. The town-wide thanksgiving celebration was created by local farmers to honour a successful harvest, paying tribute to Saint Isidore the Labourer (San Isidro Labrador), the patron saint of farmers, peasants, and those involved in agriculture, as noted by chatbot Gemini.
Its Macau edition began way back in 2003, being organised by the Quezonian Association of Macau. Various editions have normally been hosted outdoors, notably in Praça da Amizade, commonly known as Sintra Square, while previous events had also taken place at Lago Sai Van opposite the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, as well as the theatre.
This edition was organised by the association in collaboration with the “United Macau Skeptron Society”. The programme again started with a Mass and an ensuing procession in the morning, which this year was held in a local church, Quezonian Association of Macau President Wabbett Cabungcal told the Post yesterday
With this year’s event held at the theatre, Cabungcal told the Post yesterday that the unpredictability of the weather situation made hosting the event indoors more viable, speaking from experience in previous years, as well as with yesterday morning’s unexpected torrential rain being an example. “We had to do it indoors. We are lucky if we have sunny days” during the time that the festival takes place in Macau, which is within the last week of May, Cabungcal said.
“Now we are in the 24th year”, Cabungcal said, calling this particular moment “monumental” and “historical” over the annual event’s two-decade history in Macau. To him, its preservation and continuation is of utmost importance, also relating it to the pride of Filipinos in Macau. With this in mind, Cabungcal said, in high spirits, that the event will definitely keep going.
Other event highlights included a variety of performances, which included those by the Indonesian and Vietnamese communities in addition to various Filipino performers, and a pageant or “parikitan”* featuring contestants clad in elaborate, colourful costumes inspired by the festival and its traditions. The pageant particularly drew loud cheers from the audience as contestants stepped on stage to showcase their costumes and performances at the theatre filled with excited spectators.
*The word comes from the root word rikit (meaning beauty or loveliness) and translates closely to a competition of “prettiness” or “beautification” (pagandahan) in the Southern Tagalog region. It serves as both a high-fashion beauty pageant and a celebration of local ingenuity. - Gemini
Quezonian Association of Macau President Wabbett Cabungcal poses with participants of yesterday’s pageant at Chan Meng Kam Theatre.
Contestants for yesterday’s parikitan at the 24th edition of the San Isidro Pahiyas Festival in Macau showcase their costumes and deliver on-stage performances at the Chan Meng Kam Theatre in Iao Hon district yesterday afternoon. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
