For one sunny Sunday in Australia, the paved avenues of Sydney transform into the crowded streets of Manila as Filipinos and people from all over the world, in the biggest melting pot south of the equator, celebrate the holiday season in a grand, grand parade.
Things are in reverse. The jolly month of December is summer season in Australia and so, the sun shines ever bright on the cloudless horizon of one of its most populous cities, Sydney.
Still, on its gilded streets, where a shade seems to follow you anywhere and quiet order is the rule rather than the exception, there are hints of the familiar in Manila in frenzied holiday. The temperature, though raised high by the orb in the sky, is calmed by cool currents that blow softly, steadily as you move about. In the throng, among the blond-haired, ruddy-cheeked, tall and robust Australian folk are a mixed bag of the world’s races—cocoa complexions, jet black or dark brown locks, round or small eyes, hearty smiles, and open faces of global citizens, some residents, some tourists. And then, there are parols twirling about and multi-colored ternos whizzing by and a bahay na bato on wheels...
Come to the Islands
On a Sunday morning, Sydneysiders and out-of-towners fill the sidewalks of the city for a parade. An annual event modeled after the famed Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York, the Sydney Christmas Parade, now on its second year, gathers 42 different floats, including large inflatables, that travel an almost two-kilometer route from the corner of George and Hunter Streets to Town Hall and then, from the Spanish Quarter to the wide, open field of Tumbalong Park, where several booths are present and a stage show commences.
After the Philippine’s well-received debut, which starred the legendary Bayanihan, the National Folk Dance Company, last year, our country takes part, once more, in the marching street show. Spearheaded by the Department of Tourism, led by undersecretary Edu Jarque Jr. and tourism attaché Consuelo Jones, the country’s participation, apart from heralding the holidays, is, in fact, a creative promotion of our 7,107 islands to Australians, one of the top visiting nationalities in the Philippines.
Australians love adventure, according to Jarque, and where else can they get their fill of thrills than the Philippines, where every moment, from negotiating inroads riding a brightly-colored jeepney to into-the-next-day reveling at seaside soirees, holds the promise of the pleasant unexpected? They love the beach, too, and though Australia is blessed with many sand-and-surf spots, like the popular breakwaters of Bondi Beach, its citizens still flock to our crystal seas and pristine sands, their top choice of activity while in our country.
Spectacular! Spectacular!
Taking honorary pride of place in the middle of the parade, the Philippine float is a replica of a two-storey Spanish stone house. The float, the second biggest in the parade apart from Santa Clause’s very own, was actually built in Sydney but with materials such as oversize parols flown in from Manila. It was a great challenge bringing everything to Australia via plane for, aside from materials for the float, there were numerous props and 14 instruments, most in irregular sizes, used for the street and stage performances such as native salakots, yantok canes, handheld parols, and even four higantes.
For this year’s parade, the 38-strong performing delegation also includes the Karansa Performing Arts, a three-year-old dance group from the Queen City of South, whose very young members, apart from the distinct privilege of performing for our country, are doubly excited as this trip is their first foray out of the Philippines. Together with the Bayanihan, the two groups sandwich the bahay na bato float, which also, from its speakers or the live band, blasts a symphony of sounds—native carols like "Noche Buena" and "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit," all rendered by local instruments like the kulintang, kulibaw (Jew’s harp), kalatongs (wood blocks), and kulilings (small bells)—that the groups dance to.
Once they turn the corner of Hunter Street, the Karansa starts with a traditional Danaoan dance expressing happiness and merrymaking. Reminiscent of Mardi Gras, their performance is filled with energy with large movements, twists and shakes, and even hollers from dancers garbed in tattooed tights with flowery head pieces, crowded bead necklaces, and footwear dipped in gold. After their last beat, the Bayanihan, dressed in bright, rainbow hues, readies itself for its eight-minute act, a dance medley set off by the pasadoble turning into an ingenuous kalesa routine (parasols as wheels, men as horses). Then, the guys shift to the Subli, a dance with wooden clappers, followed by the girls’ pandago sa tapis, which then both climax into an exciting parol dance featuring oversize stars on bamboo poles, swaying in happy circles.
Spirits in Harmony
What is mesmerizing, apart from the groups’ well executed performances, are the transitions between acts. Happening right before you, the gentle Bayanihan women would place their handheld parols on the moving float or the men would retrieve the tall bamboo poles, while never missing a beat or skipping a step. This time, they have learned to keep in pace with the ever moving float, a trying feat they had to contend with last year when they were often left behind by the vehicle.
Following the parade, spectators are invited to visit booths of the participating groups at Tumbalong Park. Located at a prime central position, the Department of Tourism’s booth is easily the largest and one of the most popular, owing to a raffle contest where two lucky souls win an all-expense paid Philippine holiday. The sun is in full glory but many, many Filipino transplants have gathered nearby, where all you can hear, above the merry din, is the familiar sounds of our native tongue. Soon, the Bayanihan performs on stage at the opposite end of the park. Mesmerizing the crowd with the fast-paced tinikling or the impressive sayaw sa bangko, where a tower of benches becomes a narrow scaffold upon which a pair of brave dancers hop and twirl, the group show their years of mastery of stage and dance. The audience is indeed in rapture. But what’s even more impressive and beautiful than this sight is the sound of Christmas in Filipino.
At the end of the performance, the Bayanihan forms a wide half moon and sings "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit." Their song, in the vastness of the open field, is faint but soon, a louder chorus is formed as other voices join the local carol. Filipinos gathered in the park are singing. Manila has come to Sydney. And all, locals and more, now know what it feels like to celebrate the most festive days of the year with song and dance, merrymaking and the Filipino spirit.
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