KANNAWIDAN Ylocos Festival

Colorful flaglets. Huge banners. Magnificent decorations. Clannish costumes.

Philippines is a country known for its various festivals. Most of which are due to religion. But, nowadays, the religious aspect comes next as its epitome already.

The province of Ilocos Sur is blessed with a very rich heritage. Its customs and traditions gives the province itself a foremost oddness. However, because of the rapid modernization, these customs and traditions are slowly vanishing. Children of this generation spend most of their time on televisions and on the internet. They are very fond of the modern dances and foreign songs that they aren’t even aware of the significance of their own traditional dances and songs. Because of  the signs of the culture’s extinction, there really is a need to revive and rekindle the soul of the Ilocano. There is a need to conduct programs and celebrations to make Ilocano aware of their customs and traditions, to pave the way in preserving them; and thus, preserve the peculiarity of our culture.

With response to this, the city government organize a festival to preserve these customs and traditions as well as to attract foreign and local tourists. It is called the KANNAWIDAN Festival. It is also the time to celebrate the anniversary of the province of Ilocos Sur since it was separated February 2, 1818.

Kannawidan Festival is on its 196^th year. It’s annually celebrated to create awareness and preservation on the rich cultural heritage of Ilocos Sur. There are many activities which are being conducted in this celebration. It sets the stage for a religious procession with miraculous saints from different municipalities, a trade fair featuring dances and crafts and local products, events such as cultural dances and ethnic rituals, a zarzuela performance, traditional games, Saniata(pageant)  and a food fest featuring traditional local cuisine.

Kannawidan has really attained its purpose which is to preserve the rich Ilocano culture. With these colourful week, I am in no doubt that people will give importance to what it’s like to be a true-blooded Ilocano. And of course, with the collective efforts of the Ilocanos and the provincial officials, Ilocos Sur will continue shining not only in the Philippines but also around the globe.

Soar high Ilocos Sur!

New Year! New...... Me?

A change on the fourth digit of 201. Another chapter of our lives. A different period of love, misadventures, failures, triumphs, expectations and disappointments.

I am sure that 2013 had been a circus town of emotions. As the automaton stops, we certainly think that it’s done. End of Show. End of story. Well it’s not, of course. But just another signpost we’ve vied. Ups and downs.  Highs and hues. I am in no doubt that we became better because of the negatives.  And of course, our bucket of memories and laughter are now closer to their brims.

We can’t say that this year was ‘perfect’ because of the fact that future (no matter what its range is) is unpredictable. And there’s always another year where new things are conveyed.  Bunches of opportunities to grab, and reels of threads  to hold onto.  Along these lines, for the chi of new beginnings, I’ve decided to impart my New Year’s resolutions.

Health is wealth. To be healthier. To eat enough. To eat on time. To drink plenty of water.

To submit my projects on time. To not get drawn to procrastination. To give my best shot every time. To participate on activities where my skills could be developed. To take hold on every opportunity without hesitation. To let go of my reticence and to develop spontaneity.

To make new friends. To smile more often. To be more kind to others and of course to myself. To say “thank you” more often (with sincerity).

To be true  to myself. To voice out what’s  in my head. To appreciate the positives and develop the negatives. To do what could result into good.

To share more blessings. To spend more time with the people I love.

To live my life to the fullest.

To learn to let go. “The price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings.” Memories are said to be sacrosanct, so, in taking another path, we must not forget they are already just scars of the past. 2013 may have given me a lot of miseries, but I hope that this 2014, I could finally loosen my grip to the cuts I’ve been enduring for a matter of time.

If truth be told, NEW YEAR makes people shriek the chant “New Year! New Me!”  particularly in the social networking sites. In my head, I say “ Do they really want to be NEW? Like… NEW?,” “Ugh. Maybe they meant ‘New Year. New Style. New Hair. Blablabla..”

If I am to be asked, I strongly do not want to be a “NEW” me. I have my resolutions but they aren’t intended to turn me out into a different person. They are the things to strive for – to improve the things I, myself, already have and to find them within me.

Now let me ask you, are you ready?

Me? I am ready. I am ready to ameliorate me. 

ICT Lores III

Just like during second grading, 3^rd grading was busier than I have ever expected.  And of course it is because of the contests we were preparing for (DSPC, RSPC, City Meet).

Though distracted by these activities, at least, I still learned something in this subject (ICT).  We discussed and did some exercises in putting background images, background colours, hyperlinks, etc.,

At first, as usual, I find it boring, but when our subject teacher gave us assignment, every piece of me was challenged. The other teams were composed of very creative individuals, I was threatened, we were threatened. So, we did our very best. We sacrificed for about two hours of sleep each day. It was worth it. Most of our classmates enjoyed our project and I do hope that our teacher did too. Their comments were enough and relieving. I was just happy that we were able to apply everything that we have learned.

In this final grading, I am going to make the best out of it and that I am hoping for more challenging yet fun activities and projects! :)