south-east asia → philippines → rizal → angono
celebrated in the town of angono, in rizal province, higantes (giant) festival or feast of san clemente (patron saint of fishermen) is every 23rd of november. i remember last year it was on a weekday and i can’t skip work so last sunday was a good chance. ‘went there with some hs friends, mark, arvin, and jp, and left binan a bit past 6 in a sunday morning. not unusual from most of our trips, not much was planned and we only have a rough guide on how to get there, which was eventually ignored completely. going to angono, rizal, is heading east from pasig. the route was to go straight C-5, ahead pass the first flyover, and then turning right in ortigas avenue (below a 2nd flyover). then, followed the national road, and after a couple of stops asking bystanders directions, we reached angono, rizal.
dubbed as the art capital of the philippines, this town produced 2 national artists, lucio san pedro in music (sa ugoy ng duyan) and carlos “botong” francisco for arts. higantes, or giant, are vibrantly colored paper maches molded at a height reaching 12 feet. history says that the higante tradition is dated back when angono was a spanish hacienda. to cut expenses, spanish landlords banned all kinds of celebration save for an annual fiesta. filipinos, known for its cunning way of making indirect retaliation, created oversized caricatures of their amos, and apparently most have been so pleasant that even landlords were entertained, and kept the tradition to date. the higantes are made with various materials ranging from plaster of paris, sundried newspaper molds, to rattan and bamboo for structure and support. each is decorated uniquely, and made mobile by one man inside the hollow frame. there’s a small gap in the center part of the frame so the carrier can peek what’s happening outside. i suppose it’s a bit heavy and uncomfortable inside.
there are 2 parades actually. one on a saturday and one last sunday. last sunday is the basaan parade, where it’s almost impossible not to get wet as people will not hesitate to freshen you up with a big bucket of cold water even if you’re carrying a camera as defense! knowing this, i brought extra shirts for change. we walked around bayan and palengke, and then, we joined the parade as it’s more roomy walking along the parade’s flow rather than on the sides. my camera had its share of cold water splash, and at a sari-sari store, i asked for a plastic bag for some extra protection. people are very very friendly and happy. they would pose at your camera with ever eagerness. a lot even yell “PICTURE!! PICTURE!!”, a way of requesting to take a picture of them. however, i learned that saturday’s parade was more photogenic as it features more higantes, carabao race, and more dancers, but minus the fun of getting wet. after walking along the parade route for several streets, we decided to stop and head back to national road.
