Successful physical celebration of Bago’s Al Cinco de Noviembre

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  • CHERYL G. CRUZ

Bago City in Negros Occidental successfully resumed the physical Al Cinco de Noviembre celebration, with its 24 barangays and other stakeholders giving their all-out support during the 124th commemoration Saturday.

The event Nov. 5 was highlighted by the civic military parade, floral offering at the monument of Bago hero, General Juan Anacleto Araneta, and the Sigabong sang mga Kanyon competition.

Bagonhons and visitors crowded the main streets of Bago to witness the civic military parade and the boom of cannons, greatly missed in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cluster 5, composed of barangays Pacol, Sagasa, and Bagroy, won the championship trophy in the cannon competition, with the criteria for presentation given 50 percent, boom – 30 percent, and authenticity – 20 percent.

Cluster 7, composed of barangays Taloc, Calumangan, and Sampinit, was first runner-up; Cluster 4 of barangays Dulao, Abuanan, and Atipuluan, second runner-up; and Cluster 6 of barangays Poblacion, Lag-asan, and Tabunan, third runner-up.

In the Sigabong sang mga Kanyon dance drama contest, held at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center Saturday afternoon, Cluster 6 was the champion and Best in Storyline as the clustered barangays presented the historical bluff that freed Bagonhons and Negrenses from Spanish colonization on Nov. 5, 1898, without a single shot fired.

Cluster 6 of barangays Poblacion, Lag-asan, and Tabunan was the champion and Best in Storyline in the “Sigabong sang mga Kanyon” dance drama contest, held at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center, as part of the in line with the celebration of Bago City’s AL Cinco de Noviembre, Saturday afternoon. | Bago PIO photo

The Spaniards surrendered after seeing the advancing troops from southern Negros armed with rifles and cannons, which were actually nipa (coconut fronds) and rolled amakan (bamboo mats) painted in black.

Cluster 1, composed of barangays Ilijan, Don Jorge, and Bacong, was first runner-up; Cluster 5 was second runner-up; and Cluster 8 of barangays Ma-ao, Mailum, and Binubuhan, third runner-up.

Negros Occidental 4th District Board Member Andrew Martin Torres, meanwhile, said the fifth of November 1898 will forever be associated with General Araneta and his Bagonhon troops in the history of Negros Island and the Philippines. “It was the day when Negrenses were freed from the shackles of 300 years of Spanish colonization without bloodshed.”

“We celebrate the 124th Al Cinco de Noviembre by giving honor to our heroes in our different meaningful fiesta activities. Through this, we hope to instill a sense of pride and patriotism of our forebears to the younger generation.

“We always hope that, through this, we will continue to preserve our rich cultural heritage and ensure that it will live on in the hearts of every Bagonhon and Negrense for a long time,” Torres, himself a descendant of General Araneta, said in his message during the short program before the civic parade. “I do believe that the spirit of Al Cinco de Noviembre, the valor and ingenuity of the Bagonhons will always prevail in all our quests as a city.”

He added that he is glad that Bago is slowly opening and resuming physical celebrations after two years of virtual and hybrid events. “We hope that our constituents will also continue their support for our health and safety protocols so that our steps toward recovery and progress will be unhampered.”

Meanwhile, the city earlier said a weeklong “Sigabong sang mga Kanyon” photo exhibit will be staged at SM City Bacolod, from Nov. 9 to 16.

On Nov. 12, the Diwata sang Bago 2023 second day screening will be held at the Bago City Community Center./CGC