MANILA, Philippines - Fiesta is an important part of Philippine culture. Each city and barrio in the country has at least one local festival of its own, usually on the feast of its patron saint. We have a busy festival calendar beginning in January where we have Cebu’s Sinulog, Iloilo’s Dinagyang and Aklan’s Ati-Atihan to December where Christmas celebrations include Tarlac’s Belenismo and Pampanga’s Giant Lantern Festival.
Through good and bad times, the Filipino fiesta must go on. It is the tie that binds Filipinos from a region or an area together, as well as a time to reunite with one’s extended family. These are also considered special opportunities for people to extend hospitality and friendship to one another.
Fiestas or any community celebrations usually feature lavish spreads of the region’s culinary specialties, as well as music, dancing and other cultural presentations. Over the years, these festivals have also inspired some of the most amazing crafts.
This is what “My City, My SM, My Crafts” discovered in its series of road shows around the cities where SM has malls.
A celebration of traditional arts and modern Philippine design, the project is a partnership between SM, the Bureau of Domestic Trade of the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Philippine STAR with support from the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
It is a take-off from the previous “My City, My SM” campaign, which promotes tourism and “My City, My SM, My Cuisine,” which highlights the culinary specialties of the regions where SM has malls.
During the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon, homes are decorated with brightly colored kiping made of ground rice flour shaped using cabal leaves or other leaf forms. Kiping are strung together to form all kinds of shapes — from chandeliers called arangya to huge flowers.
The “My City, My SM, My Crafts” stop at SM City Lucena showed how kiping can also be creatively transformed into fans, dolls and other souvenir items.
The Singkaban Festival, on the other hand, showcases traditional Bulakeño arts — bamboo singkaban arches, as well as pastillas wrappers and puni or coconut leaf weaving, which were showcased at the My Crafts events at SM City Marilao and SM City Baliwag.
Angono’s Higantes Festival inspired artworks by Nemiranda at SM City Taytay; while the pageantry and magic of the iconic Masskara Festival was highlighted by a fashion show and exhibit of masks by Vito Prints and Pieces at SM City Bacolod.
Filipinos celebrate Christmas in a big way, as seen in Pampanga’s Giant Lantern Festival, which took center stage during the Lantern Parade at SM City Pampanga’s My Crafts launch. The famous Christmas lanterns from Gerona, on the other hand, were highlighted during the SM City Tarlac stop.
And with this, “My City, My SM, My Craft’”s project partners are elated. NCCA chairman Felipe M. de Leon Jr. considers it a “distinct honor to partner with SM to re-introduce the artistry of our peoples to the younger generation. “Through these crafts, we also learn to appreciate “beliefs, rituals and traditions Filipinos can be proud of.”
The campaign’s first season began at SM City Santa Rosa, and made stops at SM City Lucena, SM City Batangas, SM City Davao, SM City Naga, SM City Cagayan de Oro, SM City Marilao, SM City Dasmariñas, SM City Taytay, SM City Pampanga, SM City Iloilo, SM City Baguio, and SM City Cebu, unearthing a treasure trove of artisan finds.
“My City, My SM, My Craft”’s second season features SM City Clark, SM City Masinag, SM City Lipa, SM City Calamba, SM City Baliwag, SM Lanang Premier, SM City Bacolod, SM City Olongapo, and SM City Tarlac until the end of the year. In 2015, the campaign will make stops at SM City San Pablo, SM City General Santos, SM City Rosales, and SM City Cauayan in the provincial areas; and at SM City North EDSA and SM BF Parañaque in the Metro area.