Iloilo City & Dinagyang '04

COZY LIKE A 20-YR. OLD PILLOW
By Reymundo Salao
Oftentimes Disturbing
The Guardian, Iloilo City. January 23, 2004

I was in Manila for two weeks on a journey to search for a better day job. While I was there, I realized that finding a decent job is never as easy as finding a reliable company to work for. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my little moments of promdi fun as I familiarized myself with the confusing streets, getting used to traveling via MRT, and the shock that the cost of going to movie theaters could cost you around 70 to 150 pesos! I should've had a buri hat to go with my kamanulan.

In the span of two weeks, and the contemplation of changing addresses, one could easily miss Iloilo. When I got back last Tuesday, I was sure that the other passengers of the plane I rode on were tourists that came for the Dinagyang festival. It made me contemplate on my home city from a tourism-related point of view, and came to that cliché assumption of how precious my city is.

The simplicity of this city. The conservative atmosphere. I do hate it sometimes, but the tranquility does make Iloilo a more habitable place, free from highly urbanized stress and toxic pollution. Iloilo may seem dull, but at least during Dinagyang season, it gets to party hard. Ilonggos are like mga binuy-an na kabayo (pinakawalang kabayo) whenever Dinagyang season comes. In a more irreverent comparison, Iloilo is like a catholic school virgin girl who is so reverent all year, but sets aside one evening to become a rabid bitch. The timid population which rarely goes on an extravagant party mode is driven to festival madness.

Ilonggos are known for their ultra-conservative economical nature. A frugal spender who minimizes spending on parties and barhopping. Ever wonder how cheap partying in Iloilo is? How cheap our beer is? It's coz it's risky to run a bar where your drinks and your food are expensive, of course, not unless your bar is appealingly designed to cater the wealthier breed of coñitos and coñitas who enjoy their 70-peso beers. The thrifty nature of Ilonggos is evidenced by the number of banks in this city. We have more banks in this city than we have gasoline stations or bars. Well, I actually haven't counted, but whenever you're in the city and you pass by a bank, it would only take you a short sprint to stumble into another. Ilonggos just want to stay put and our pockets to stay dormant, till need arises. That's why we don't have Casinos. I would quite frankly laugh at the next person who would suggest opening one in this city. Unfortunately, we don't have Starbucks either. Perhaps somebody found out that if we'd wanna buy a cup of coffee that's worth over 50 pesos, it would be once in two months. Hello? I don't care if it tastes grand, I, the normal Juan wouldn't want to buy coffee that has an equal rate to buying a hamburger the size of Tyson's fist. Don't get me wrong, I also mourn that we don't have many nice cafes here. Actually, I've noticed two cafes that sprung up, and I've loved. But when they started playing Barry Manilow and N'Sync music there, I shrunk to loathing and decided to minimize patronizing them. (Would the owner of those cafes, PLEASE tell your café clerks to play those jazz and ambient music like you used to do…PLEASE!) Air Supply my ass…I do want to drink coffee, not choke on it! If they played Eddie Peregrina or Victor Wood, at least you would smile and cheer the Pinoy noir-like nostalgia of it.

If there's one thing Ilonggos spend on without having much thought, it would be on good food. And Iloilo takes pride on bringing forth a menu of mouth-watering delicacies, mostly seafoods like bangus, blue marlin, talaba, diwal, bay-ad, and an entire list of menus that could make Aquaman nauseate. But of course, the numero uno on the list is the La Paz Batchoy! If you haven't tried the Batchoy, you haven't been to Iloilo. The nice spice of it and the sumptuous delight that makes you produce a burp like a ship horn. Once you smell the aroma of it, you'll forget how to count your calories. It is so good that a friend of mine once bought it and stored it in a thermos, to be brought to Manila. Some restaurants in Manila try to copy and even experiment on the recipe of the Batchoy, yet what they come up is a laughable gooish product.

A sort of survey asked me what changes would I want for the city of Iloilo. I answered that I would also want it to be a bit more developed and a bit more commercialized, but at the same time, preserve the conservative nature of it. Do we really need another mall? Maybe one, but I hope that would be it. If we had too many malls, the little stores might die out. If Iloilo gets too urbanized, it could be dirtier, more polluted, and crime rates may skyrocket. I like it the way it is. That's why it will always be a cozy place to chill out.
(tripxyde@yahoo.com)

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PARTY DRUMS
By Reymundo Salao
Oftentimes Disturbing
The Guardian, Iloilo City. January 24, 2004

I believe that Tourism is the key to further the development of Iloilo City. Balikbayans who go home on Christmas season may always want to hold on for the next five months since the Holidays never seem to end in this usually sleepy city. By the times the second week of January comes, it's hard to resist getting excited about the Dinagyang spirit since banners and announcements of festivities are posted, along with Tribal decorations that anticipate the upcoming season. Match that with the evening drums of "Tribes" practicing in some corner of the city. I used to live in an area where a tribe would practice, and although it was pretty damn distracting (especially if you're a student trying to perfect your lessons), you cannot deny the excitement that it makes. I've noticed that many youngsters enjoy hanging out and watching the tribes practice on some evenings.

But when Dinagyang begins, the city blooms with festive aura. The only pain in your ass is the excruciating traffic jam that it creates. It is one of those moments where you'd wish you had a book with you to keep you company throughout the duration of the long turtle journey. If you plan to go to and watch the Dinagyang Sunday parade, you'd better start commuting as early as 5:30 a.m. not unless you live around the heart of the city, because they'd be closing the main roads and the traffic of human revelers would be much of a problem to those who wish to get a comfortable seat on the judging areas. But then again, there's the usual hazardous areas where you could dangerously hang on to like Spiderman, just to get a glimpse of the tribal performances. And then there's the cheap "unofficially-constructed-judging areas", poorly-erected lines of benches, which would hope to make some extra dough for those who took time to construct them. Just hope it wouldn't break down to nasty pieces, or else you'd have a vivid understanding of the word Tetanus. But in fairness, some of these constructions are cleverly sturdy and are sometimes worth your money. But you be the judge though.

In selecting which party to go to afterwards, you'd probably need a planner to do so, since there are numerous parties around the city this Dinagyang weekend. There are "tribal" raves on clubs, reggae bands, rock bands, punk bands, or whatever manner of festive madness suits your taste. But if you're as nerdy as I am, there's also Lord of the Rings 3 to watch for the Nth time (it could probably make you hallucinate that the dancing Dinagyang atis are Uruk-Hais on rave). But to those who want to experience the true essence of Dinagyang revelry, one should join in on the merry-making street-dancing that commences basically after the parade. By five in the afternoon, the streets in the main districts are filled with a population drunk with cheer and celebration. It's like a music video set on some exotic urban setting for some electronica music.

Wherever you are in Iloilo City this weekend, it is hard to escape the party atmosphere of Dinagyang.
(tripxyde@yahoo.com)