More than just a dance, the pandanggo reflects the Mindoreño’s appreciation for the simple joys of life….
Cheerful and hospitable. These are words commonly used to describe the Filipino. Whether through music, or rituals or religion, the Filipino is a race who always finds time to celebrate life’s gifts.
In Oriental Mindoro, villagers use dance to send-off or welcome fishermen going out to sea in the cold, early hours of the morning. They also celebrate a good catch by drinking wine, dancing, swinging and circling a lighted lamp. This unique and colorful dance calls for skills in balancing an oil lamp on the head while circling in each hand a lighted lamp wrapped in a porous cloth or fishnet.
This ritual, which started in Lubang island, is what is now known as "Pandang Gitab" or the "Festival of Lights,’’ coined after the famous Filipino folk dance "pandanggo sa ilaw" and the local word "dagitab," which means a flicker of light.
Celebrated to commemorate Oriental Mindoro’s founding anniversary, the festival is highlighted by lively street dancing participated in by hundreds of performers using the original steps of the pandanggo sa ilaw.
Streets are illuminated by the ‘’tinghoy’’ (oil lamps) with their lighted wick helplessly flickering like fireflies.
"Pandanggo" comes from the Spanish word "fandango", which means a dance characterized by marking time with the clack of castanets, the snapping of fingers, and stomping of the feet in tripletime rhythm. A dancer or ‘pandanggera’ balances an oil lamp, or candle in glass on her head, and holds two others.
Oriental Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines, a haven of pristine white beaches, flowing streams, thriving emerald forests, stretches of rich agricultural fields and delightful seafoods.
After a hard day’s work, Mindoreños gather in the barrios and perform impromptu dances to relax and express the many joys of work, and an appreciation of their surroundings, and of life among simple country people.
[ Lubang Island Wiki ]
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