Showtime in Manila’s skies

Kite-flying easily helps bring back memories of a happy childhood. And thanks to Bear Brand, those memories were kept alive Sunday with the holding of its annual kitefest at the Rizal Park.

More than a hundred kites of various sizes, shapes and colors danced under the bright blue summer sky as the huge crowd of regular promenaders who were also celebrating Mother’s Day, were treated to a big showcase of Filipino ingenuity and craftsmanship.

There were kites the size of an attaché case and there were those as big as a tent. There were others in the likeness of giant bumble bees, butterflies and caterpillars, some famous cartoon characters and even a jeepney, a motorcycle and the traditional "bahay-kubo."

But easily the biggest crowd-drawer was the one owned by Ruming Santos, a 67-year-old kite enthusiast from San Fernando, Pampanga who has won a total of 43 trophies and awards from different kitefests, most of them from the Bear Brand event now on its 11th year.

For his was a giant kite, measuring 4x7 meters depicting the "Flores de Mayo," a summer tradition held each May and consisting of a parade of beauty and extravaganza. The entry of "Mang Ruming" was so big that it needed four persons to launch and three to fly.

"A lot of people kept asking me earlier if I could even fly this kite. As you can see, it’s almost as big as an average room and we really spent a lot of time and energy putting it up, complete with the life-size dummies of a Reyna Elena and her escort," he said.

It didn’t really matter if his entry, which they started to assemble at 4 a.m. in time for the 10 a.m. kitefest, finished only second in the adults geometric category behind the entry of Edgar Cano, the equally-huge "Manila Kite Fiesta." Both kites used 100-lb fishing lines.

It really doesn’t matter. It’s the fun in competition that really matters. And besides, the winning entry was just as good. "It’s okay as long as you love kite-flying," said "Mang Ruming," who also conducts kite-flying workshops and seminars.

Coming in third in the same category was "Ballot Boxes", a three-dimensional box-type kite owned by Isagani Cajulao, also of Pampanga and, like ‘Mang Ruming," is in the business of lantern-making.

The entries, divided into seven different categories, including those from figure kites and flat kites, were first judged on the ground for their beauty. Then they were given 60 seconds to launch and two minutes to fly. They were also judged on dismounting styles.

The kites, mostly made up of bamboo frames and durable plastics and cellophanes, were launched amid the soundtracks of sci-fi and adventure movies like "Star Wars," "Superman," "Dragon Heart" and "First Knight," played on giant speakers.

"Since Bear Brand is the ideal family milk, we wanted to promote it with activities promoting family goodness. And there’s no better way than kite-flying, a very popular family pastime here in our country," said Bear Brand brand manager Trina Abola.

Overall, it was a big success — an event worth looking forward to in the years to come.