BARANGGAY KARAGATAN
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"Mapayapa! Mapayapa! Karagatan!" chant yelled by the people.
There was annual feast in the Barangay Karagatan and everyone was entitled to join the yearly competition from cooking their best, signature dishes down to various traditional, games designed for the people of the said barangay.
At exactly, 8:00 o'clock, you would not see any vehicle on the road because it was prohibited to use any because the entire barangay's routes were closed for the execution of various events and traditional routines.
It started with street dancing, where students from different grade levels would generate various dance steps wearing vibrant, colorful and eye-catching costumes, heavy, sophisticated head dresses, out-of-this-world make-up ideas and humungous props. Each group was composed of 20 students or individual which was ready for vying the title "The Best Street Dancing Team" which will pave the way for the other contest in the entire municipality of Karaganda.
This annual celebration was called Karagatan Festival which where name of the barangay was derived from. Karagatan means ocean. People were blessed enough to celebrate its natural resources and wonderful sea creatures. They believed that God blessed this place and the ocean enough food for their families and livelihood.
The celebration was thoroughly accentuated on the appreciation of the barangay's rich various aquaculture productions. Other subsidiary things highlighted in the event include trade fairs, selected sports events, and street parties. The annual event was held on the 15 day of May, today!
Weeks before the said event, people of Barangay Karagatan were really busy creating posters about the event, hanging bright-colored Banderitas or flags which ostentatiously sending a message to everyone about the near feast. Most of them were busy buying ingredients for the foods they were planning to cook on the day of the feast, expecting more visitors to come because this feast was very popular among other feasts in the adjacent barangays, not to mention that they received the most festive barangay feast ever.
Others were also preparing for the contests they joined, busy creating dresses, making sample dishes, memorizing dance routines and you would not be able to bother anyone because all citizens were gleefully participated on this well-anticipated event every year.
"Is everything settled about disco on the final night?" the captain asked.
"Yes, captain. Everything was fully equipped, from the sound system down to the each equipment being used on the disco. It was well taken care of." One barangay official confidently mentioned.
"Okay, good then!"
The barangay officials dedicated themselves to give the best party everyone deserves. The disco was one of the most anticipated events of the feast where everyone, irrespective of their age, would dance on the street with loud music, disco ball, wearing anything they want. Everything was settled and they were just waiting for the day to arrive.
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"Mapayapa! Mapayapa! Karagatan!" chant yelled by the street dancers which means peaceful, peaceful, ocean.
People of Barangay Karagatan halted from what they're doing when they heard the horn being blown, an indication that the street dancing will start in any minute. Mothers who were busy preparing foods stopped cooking and went outside. Kids who were just playing inside tend to stop just to watch the street dancers.
Everything had stopped momentarily as if the whole world was frozen in ice and people were like mannequins standing in front of their houses. With the jaw-dropping expressions, dilated eyes, and excessive exhilaration, people of barangay Karagatan, once more, were having a really good time.
Everyone was indeed in utmost elation, is all.
When the street dancers began to execute ostentatious urban-context routines and steps, people were clapping their hands, joining them in chanting and shouting the magic words for victory. One their strong beliefs, notwithstanding, was that if they joined everyone in chanting, the supernatural being will bless their lands and ocean continuously.
Dancing. Chanting. Yelling. Shouting. Laughing. The opening of the Karagatan Feast drew attention all over social media platform using a hashtag #PeacefulKarataganFeast. Every single person was amazed and mesmerized how these constituents celebrated their yearly feast.
The dancers continued to dance until they reach the end of the street, they easily went back to the basketball court for some announcement, and everyone concluded that this year's celebration was magnificent and more vibrant than the thousand celebrations combined in the past. Not to mention, the integration of innovative concepts and games creatively designed for the people of Barangay Karagatan.
"Good Morning Folks. Good Morning gorgeous citizens of Barangay Karagatan. Today is the day that the Lord has made, it was the day that our ancestor set this day in order for us to celebrate the richness of our land and fruitful of our natural resources. God has showed us miraculous deeds and wonders and I know, we know, he blessed us more than what we deserve and it's payback time. We are doing this celebration for him and for our land. This celebration is more than just the foods, the dancing, the events and even the guests, this celebration calls us for deeper meaning and that is to extend to everybody the goodness of God. This is an extension of God's blessing. This is a true testimony that God is always at watch, he is always looking after us. That's why, let's make this day the best day of our lives. Mapayapa, Mapayapa, Karagatan!" the barangay captain announced with great honor and proud.
"Mapayapa, Mapayapa, Karagatan!" the people shouted altogether.
Then, the band paved their way to generate a music soothing to everyone's ears right after the announcement made by the captain of Barangay Karagatan.
Afterwards, few of the games started simultaneously. Since, the barangay support patrimony and was encouraged to pursue Filipino sport, the game committee came up with surprising games anchored with their familial and traditional roots.
One the side of the court, Palosebo o greased bamboo pole climbing had just started. This indigenous, traditional game was composed of greased bamboo pole that player attempt to climb. The first person to reach the flag on top will be considered winner. This game looked simple but it was a strenuous job to climb in a greasy pole.
Meanwhile, there was also a traditional game called Harangang taga o Patintero which was played by the kids on the other side of the court. The mechanics of the game was to try to cross the line without letting others touch or catch you – by the member of the group who stands on the water lines. There are two teams of about five players each. The object of the game is to get past the lines, which are guarded by players of the opposite team. Most of the guards face front or back, but one guard is perpendicular to them. If you made it without being touched, the point is yours but you have been tagged by the opponents, you lose.
On the basketball court itself, the game had begun as well. This time, the players were not boys, which we normally see that it's a sport designed to express masculinity, but Barangay Karagatan let the girls play it. So, there were no other rules aside from the fact that you have to shoot the ball on the ring and get points. No traveling. No offensive foul. No any other technicalities. It was just for fun.
People from different teams shouted and chanted with utmost robust. Everyone's face was filled with great enthusiasm, laughs filled the entire community and joy completely resided on that place.
The celebration continued as visitors from other places, regions, adjacent barangays, friends and relatives from other province arrived in the said barangay to join and celebrate with them.
It was already time for lunch; everyone's table was filled with scrumptious meals, palatable signature dishes, sweet desserts and many more. Apart from the food, they were full because of their unspoken-brought stories. In Filipino setting, that was not just a simple feast, most of the time it was also a mini-reunion where families were gathered and united for a special reason – love - an emotion that binds them together and a compelling reason to reconnect and rekindle the fire again.
For others, this feast was just about food on the table, but for others it's the bond which was more significant than any other things. For kids, this was all about fun and games, but for others, it was all about joy, joy that manifested in everyone's face. Undoubtedly, there was no single person, whom you couldn't see smiling, everyone was in the midst of extreme elation.
That afternoon, games continued. Effeminate gays were fully equipped, this time not to compete the crown as Ms. Karagatan 2020 but to thrive and be the queens in the sport called Volleyball.
They were wearing three-inch shorts and color-coded volleyball t-shirt. They were already on the field, each one of them possessed a daunting spirit, while doing their warm-ups, they were showing various elegant and exaggerated movements which made the whole crowd had gone crazy.
The noise started to fill the entire field, at the back of the basketball court; there you'll find the volleyball net. People were ready, the referee was indeed in his position, committees fastened their gaze to the players and Effems were ready to dive in the sea of real competition.
"Prttt!" and the referee blew the whistle.
With their agile, ostentatious movement and prowess in the said sport, they gave everyone a memorable picture of total performance. People laughed. Peopled yelled. People stood up. People clapped. It was the best sport ever made for Effems. Loud cheers made their hearts overjoyed, Effems found their place, not just in the runway to ramp but in the field to play.
The Volleyball was done.
There was already winner, everyone went home and deemed to prepare for the Disco at night. There was no theme, no exemption, no rules. You can wear what you want, be whoever you wanted to be and dance like it's the end of the world.
"Are you ready Folks?" the DJ asked loudly as if his voice was reverberating to the soul of the earth and he was inviting not just the people but other unseen creatures as well.
"YES!" the crowd shouted.
"I can't hear you! Are you ready folks?" he, once again, asked the crowd who were extremely ready for the dance and it was the music they were all waiting for.
"YESSSSS!" they answered with full vigor and exaggerated shouts.
"Okay, let's count in 3, 2, 1! PARTY, PARTY!"
Then, the Disco started.
With the flashing, incandescent light and rowdy music which governed their body movements, the people of Barangay Karagatan danced their butt off. From the oldies who, most of them, wearing traditional Filipino costume; they shook their bodies off as they paved their way in the heart of the dance floor. With their minimal dance moves, not to mention their arthritis, they managed to shoo their pain away. Looking within their faces, you could trace a genuine happiness.
The kids, wearing their former Christmas clothes, never had a doubt to groove and showed their best dance steps. Few of them still wearing glasses, while other wore a cap and a heavy, metal bling-bling. These kids were totally the new generation of hip-hop dancers, with their moves; it would be easy to say that they have future in the dancing industry.
Everyone had a great time.
Every single person had an unforgettable moment.
The celebration had finally ended.
The peaceful town of Karagatan would face an unwanted peril which was waiting the dawn to fulfill its sinister mission. A glimpse of incredible devastation, a real havoc, will come while these people were busy sleeping on their couch.