The also presented their province's architectural treasures, and age-old traditions.
This year, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Filipino Heritage Festival (FHF), the Province of Leyte, and the Leyte Provincial Tourism Culture and Arts Council have prepared yet another exciting roster of activities for the 2nd Leyte Heritage Festival in May and the Tacloban City fiesta in June.
"The Filipino Heritage Festival will revisit the culture-rich province of Leyte which started celebrating its own Heritage Month last year. Every time a province declares its own heritage month is a great success for all of us who are working to ensure the heritage reaches Filipino consciousness," said FHF director Anna Maria Harper.
Joycie Alegre, the festival organizer, said: "The heritage events in May include Catholic heritage masses in the various parishes of the archdiocese of Palo, Leyte.
A tour of eight select heritage sites in Samar and Leyte, a heritage food symposium, a tuba concoction contest, Samar banig exhibit, multimedia arts exhibit with banig as motif, Leyte-Samar tatu seminar and contest, heritage awards, performing arts festivals, and the Grand Santacruzan are also in the offing."
The FHF will also highlight on National Heritage Month -- the linambay (komedya), tatu (tattoo), banig, and tuba.
On May 18, at 8 p.m., Leyte's homegrown talents will perform excerpts from the Linambay Orihinal at the Leyte Heritage Performing Arts Festival.
The almost-extinct linambay will be colorfully revived by members of the Barangay Libas Community Center who continue to pass on the one-of-a-kind performance from generation to generation.
From the time Spanish colonizers introduced the komedya, the play, replete with real bolos and carefully choreographed moves, has been unwaveringly staged by the group to display their devotion to Santo Niño.
Ancient tattoo symbols will be topic of a symposium on May 19 at 9 a.m. at CAP building.
Philippine Tattoo Artists Guild president Aleks Figueroa alias Tattoo Tulisan will discuss the significance of heritage tattoo symbols and lead an exhibit and video presentation on tattoo motifs.
A Henna body tattooing competition among Visayan visual artists and tattoo artists will cap the day.
From May 19 to 21, various designs of traditional banig will be on display at CAP building. New forms of banig for practical use will also be part of the three-day exhibition.
Banig weaves from Basey, Samar will demonstrate the process of weaving -- from preparing the tikog grass to the final stages of implementing a design.
A number of mananggiti (tuba gatherers) will be in the same venue to demonstrate the process of making tuba, an alcoholic drink made from the sap of the coconut tree. A tuba concoction contest will also be held.
The Leyte Heritage Festival is spearheaded by the Leyte Heritage Society.
The society is composed of the University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College, Leyte Normal University, Department of Tourism regional office in Eastern Visayas, Department of Trade and Industry provincial office in Leyte, archdiocese of Palo, and Holy Infant College.
The United Architects of the Philippines Metro Tacloban and Leyte chapters, Philippine Information Agency-Eastern Visayas, Leyte Visual Arts Group, Runggiyan Social Development Foundation, artists, educators, and cultural workers are also partners.
"More cities and towns are striving to protect what they have. We are happy to note that many have come to the realization that they have so much to protect, and so, have declared the entire month of May as Heritage month," FHF president Armita Rufino said.
Backing the National Heritage Month festivities are major sponsors Air21, Air Philippines, ANC, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Security Bank Corporation and Tanduay Distillers, Inc.
For more information on National Heritage Month, visit the Filipino Heritage website at http://filheritagefest.fateback.com, or call 892-5865. (Press release)
