1st Kadaugan Street Party Samba Rampada

CEBU, Philippines -  Festivals have always offered something that leaves us amazed. But the 1st Kadaugan Street Party Samba Rampada of Lapu-Lapu City that happened on the night of April 30 delivered a twist to surprise spectators. The festival was so called because organizers wanted to offer something new to the public, a take-off from the traditional folk-based presentations known to the local audience.

Genius

Who would have thought of a Brazilian-inspired mardi gras that would either depict Reyna Bulakna as a very mod Filipina or a carnival queen? Of course, the conservative majority would abhor such a concept as a carnival queen, in the real sense, is a symbol of worldly pleasures, precisely why Rio de Janeiro's "farewell to the flesh" mardi gras visibly presides just before Lent as a symbolic gesture to abandon these temptations.

In our case, Reyna Bulakna may be a far cry from Brazilian tradition but she sure looks good donning in Brazilian-inspired fashion. And if this would not entertain us, then what else will? They (Lapu-Lapu organizers) already had a faithful episode of Kadaugan sa Mactan a few days prior to Rampada as their traditional presentation even as they took on a new approach on their street dance festival. Nothing eases the uptight but a fresh approach to the concept of Kadaugan although direct relation of the street dance festival against the concept of traditional Kadaugan was remotely considered in this case.

The beat is samba

The festival jingle closely resembles that of Sergio Mendez' rendition of "Don't you worry about a thing" and it does not stop there. Contingents dressed up in sexy Latin-inspired fashion danced to the samba beat. Since the street dance festival commenced in the evening, the glitter and wild kaleidoscopic colors shone all night throughout the vicinity near the Lapu-Lapu City Hall. Sound systems from business establishments and fad cars spread at least 20 meters apart. Aerial search lights where mounted everywhere. It was indeed very festive! Some sidewalk scenes were very reminiscent of a resort getaway in Boracay Station Three.

Seventeen contingents vied for the P50,000 cash prize. Each contingent was composed of a minimum of 16 dancers. Barangay Gun-ob excelled over runners-up Barangays Buaya and Looc, respectively, in the Barangay Category. Viva Imperial wowed the crowd with its vivacity, colorful costumes and creative dance movement. They took first place in the Open Category. Barangays Gun-ob and Buaya trailed behind in second and third place. They were judged according to choreography, theme and concept, performance, production design and audience impact and participation.

Samba Rampada was a concept that stemmed from rampa sa karsada (ramping in the streets). It ramped all the way up to a very huge success. Kudos! (FREEMAN)