Memories of the Tagoloan town fiesta

Tagoloan faithful paying homage to the town's patroness Señora Candelaria

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I may be far from Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines but I always remember February 1 and 2 of every year.

It is fiesta time in Tagoloan, that time of year, aside from Christmas and New Year, to be merry, eat homemade food and bond with friends and family and to attend Mass at the Sta.Maria Candelaria Church.

I've been writing about the Tagoloan fiesta every year and I never get tired doing it as it evokes pleasant memories of my birthplace. I recall the civic-military parade, dances at the plaza, the beauty queens, the band that would wake you up on fiesta day, the Mass with the many priests and of course the food.

I live to cherish those memories as it brings out the best in me. It has changed over time though- when I was little I love fiestas for personal reasons. Days before the relatives from different towns and provinces would come to the family home and I would get a break from household chores.

If I'm lucky enough the relatives would stay for a month to do the chores while I would be free to roam around the plaza, looking at familiar people or strangers and how they act.

This year in addition to my personal account I asked some long time Tagoloanon friends to share their memorable moments on February 1 and 2. The piece I wrote about the Tagoloan fiesta here in Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro drew comments from around the world.

Circus days

Gerva Celeredad, formerly Gerva Tagapolot, was a year ahead of me in elementary and high school and was in the top 10 in the class. For her, the Tagoloan town fiesta is a three-day affair and she remembered the fair and the big top circus headlined by the high wire act of Elvira Reyes.

The circus usually arrived months before the fiesta and some of them became friends with the Tagoloanons. The ancestral home of Gerva and her brother Yoyong is located at the back of the old public market where the civic military parade would pass by.

Image of the town's patroness Señora Candelaria

Another Tagoloanon, Nelcita Inday Lao, who's now based in California also remembered the circus. “And i love to go there almost every night, I love watching the circus people performing their trapeze and their games,” she said.

Nelcita Inday Lao who goes by the name Nelly Lao Montayre is the daughter of Vicente Lao”Iyo Titing” and Iya Eling. Nelly and Gerva are classmates. In those days teenagers head to the plaza to see their crushes.

In those old days, Tagoloanons prepare for the fiesta one year in advance because it is their way of thanking the Senora Candelaria, the patroness of Tagoloan.

We don’t buy meat we “grow” meat and according to Gerva, “every family would prepare food which usually comes from the pig grown in the backyard.”

To some families who don't have their own pig to slaughter there is the common practice of "ambit" which involves raising the pig of another family and on fiesta day they share the meat 50-50.

Introduction to journalism

Though the sound of pigs being slaughtered may be nothing and even enjoyable to fiesta revelers it makes my heart sad. Gerva said two pigs are butchered, one on the eve of the fiesta or known as besperas or ante- ante.

The meat from the first pig will be marinated and seasoned for the barbecue to serve as “pulutan” or finger food for the drinkers. The second pig will be roasted on the day of the fiesta itself.

Tagoloanons raise the pigs in their backyard and I would feed one of these pigs. I would be attached to the pig over time and I would cover my ears when it is slaughtered.

On to more pleasant times; another staple in the fiesta table is the “torta” or short cake. I wrote about “Iya Oling” Santander who made the torta in our family table in last year's piece.

Nelly recalled that she loved her parents' cooking. “I also love the cooking and baking of my Mama Eling, Papa Titing and my relatives,” she said.

Another part of the celebration which made it grand is the search for Miss Tagoloan. I think it's the week before the fiesta when the canvassing of votes for the candidates and most of the time I was present when they finished in the wee hours of the morning.

Actually the event introduced me to journalism work because I would be announcing the winners to the people.

On their best

“During our time, all the girls of Iyo Lino Nabong were Miss Tagoloan. Also the girls of Iya Marina Nabong from Baluarte,” Gerva said.

“During coronation night people would be treated to a fireworks display courtesy of the queen's family,” Gerva added. I thought it was the local government that would pay for it, not the winner's family.

During the coronation night only those invited would be allowed seats inside the fenced covered court. All the invited guests are dressed in their best finery. I remember Iyo Penito Casino dancing the cha-cha or tango with Iya Linda Lee.

I can also see the face of Elmer Casino of Sta. Ana and Manolo Torres. Then came the civil military parade of the queen and her court together with students of Tagoloan Central Elementary School and St. Mary's High School and the line was long with the floats of Miss Tagoloan and her court.

Students are on their best with clean, crisply ironed uniforms. During those times there were those who would be hopping from house to house for the BH or “bring house” meals that they can take home to eat.

Usually “mommies” would bring their own cellophane or plastic wrap for the BH. This amused Gerva no end because it explained why households in Tagoloan prepare an inordinate amount of food on fiesta day.

I asked Mavie Adis Collins, who lived in Sta. Ana Tagoloan town and is now based in New York to share her memories of the Tagoloan fiesta and she recalled attending Mass with her family.

“Si mama magdala kandila tapos malipay na mi watching parade ayha mamista (My mother would bring candles and we would be happy watching the parade and visiting the homes of friends to eat),” she said.

Mavie recalled that they visited the home of the late Vencie Dagus and the Paduganans. There are still a lot of stories to share and I promise to tell more next time. For now, let me and my family in the US greet every Tagoloanon a happy fiesta. Viva Senora Candelaria!

Parades always bring out the crowd.Photo by Jong Casino.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis. You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)