Monday, December 24, 2007
Naga launches festival of shepherds’ tales
By Jujemay G. Awit
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THE year 2007 is a milestone year for Naga.

Even as it became a city, it also honored its traditions by officially launching its own festival, the Pastores de Naga.

Pastores de Naga depicts the shepherds’ retelling of Joseph and Mary’s journey to find a birthing place for the Savior, according to the Christian tradition.

The story is told through songs and dances. In between songs, the presenters tell the story in a poetic manner.

Six groups from the different national high schools in the city—Naga, Tuyan, Uling, Langtad, Balirong and Pangdan—presented their version of the pastores in colorful costumes.

City of Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong was the picture of a proud local executive when they launched the festival yesterday.

“I hope this will continue as a tradition of Naga City and the entire Cebu. It’s so nice to be able to arouse awareness among people,” Chiong said.

The pastores was how the Requinto clan caroled every Christmas, a practice handed from one generation to another. The practice is believed to date back all the way to 1600 and has gathered its own lore. Chiong heard that whoever didn’t honor the tradition in the clan got sick.

But with Naga adopting the Requinto tradition as its own festival, Chiong hopes the pastores will outlive political administrations. In five to 10 years, Chiong wants the festival to attract an international crowd.

“To see it more ambitiously, we will go global. Maybe (we will join) the Pastores de Mexico or Pastores de Spain,” said Chiong.

The pastores was originally noticed during the Suroy-suroy sa Sugbo, which showcases Cebu’s tourist spots and local festivals.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia encouraged Chiong to develop the festival.

While this is only the first year, the Pastores de Naga will be joining the “festival of festivals” in August, an activity the Province hosts as part of its anniversary celebrations.

The pastores was the highlight, but it was not the only activity during Naga’s festival.

It was officially opened last Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Concepcion of the Virgin Mary, with a festival of lights procession.

Naga City Hall and all the trees and Belen displays at the St. Francis Ocean Park were all lit up.

A lantern competition was also held, as well as a daygon tour of the Requinto clan. The festival ended last night with a parade, the presentation of the pastores, fireworks display and dancing.

The following is the Pastores de Naga Christmas Message to be delivered by Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong for the Festival’s culmination today afternoon. The speech is in Cebuano:

Mga Naganhon, atong mga dinapit, mga kaigsuonan …

Nagsud-ong ko nga malipayon sa atong mga igsuon nga nagparada karong hapon. Di man lang gud dugay nga niingon si Gob. Gwen Garcia nga himuon nato nga festival kining Pastores nga among gitan-aw sa Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo sa miaging Septembre.

Tinuod apiki na gyud sa panahon. Apan ang mga Naganhon wa magpalupig sa kamubo sa tulo ka bulan ug sa kadaghan sa angayang andamon.

Dakong garbo ko nga namulong karon atol sa unang Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival.

‘Pride in our roots; realizing our vision.”

Mao kini ang tema sa atong festival nga nagsumada sa matawag nato nga social impact sa mabulokong kalihokan.

Kay kinsa may Naganhon ang di mapasigarbuhon nga atong siyudad mao diay tinubdan sa mga Pastores festival sa ubang mga dapit sa Luzon?

Kay kinsa may Naganhon ang di mapasigarbuhon nga kining atong kalihokan karon kabilin pa man sa mga Spanish missionaries nga niabot dinhi sa Naga pipila na ka siglo ang milabay.

Ang Los Pastores mao ang pasundayag nga sayaw-duwa-kanta-balak nga naghulagway sa pagpangita sa mga Pastores kun shepherds kang Baby Jesus nga bag-ong natawo diha sa Pasungan didto sa Bethlehem.

Gitudlo kini sa mga Spanish missionaries aron mapakuyanap ang mensahe sa pag-abot sa atong Manunubos.

Mapasalamaton kaayo kita sa mga Requinto kay tungod sa ilang tulumanon nga nagpasa sa tradisyong Pastores gikan sa usa ka henerasyon ngadto sa sunod, atong makita karon ang mga orihinal nga dance steps ug ang musika sa Pastores kaniadtoi.

Kining maong festival nagsubay sab sa atong Vision and Leadership 2020 kun VAL 2020.

Tuyo nato ang pagmugna og mabulokong festival nga makapahiusa sa mga Naganhon labin na sa panahon sa Pasko.

Tuyo sab nato ang pagmugna og mas magkanindot nga festival matag Pasko nga maoy ulion unya sa atong kaparentehan nga tua na karon sa gawas sa Pilipinas.

Kay kon kining atong Pastores de Naga Christmas festival makadani og mga Naganhon nga karon tua na nagpuyo sa gawas, makadani sab kini og mga turista nga gikan sa gawas ug ubang dapit sa Pilipinas.

Ako nang makita nga sa sunod katuigan ang tanang dalan sa kalibotan mopadulong sa Naga matag saulog nato sa Pasko.

Kaanindot paminawon nga ugma damlag, ang atong madungog sa tibuok kalibotan mao ang panawagan nga “Mamasko ta sa Naga, bay!”

Ug unsa may epekto niining turismo sa atong bag-ong Siyudad sa Naga? Dugang economic activity.

Gani, subay sa VAL 2020, di lang dolyar gikan sa turismo ang tuyo natong danihon dinhi sa Naga. Gusto sab kitang makita ang pagsunod sa mga investments anha sa mga industrial centers nga nanurok dinhi sa atua.

Naa ang proyekto ni Gob. Gwen Garcia diha sa Tinaan. Naa sab ang proyekto sa Plantersbank ug sa MRC diha sa Cantao-an.

Gusto ko nga makita unya nato ang pag-invest sa mga Naganhon dinhi mismo sa mga economic zones nato sa Naga.

Gusto ko nga makakita unya sa atong mga paryente nga nahimo nang eksperto sa lain-laing industriya didto sa gawas nga anhi mopuyo na atua aron magnegusyo o motudlo ba sa umaabot natong city college.

Idungan kini sa umaabot nato nga pantalan, sa bag-ong merkado, ug uban pang mga proyekto subay sa atong VAL 2020.

Kining VAL 2020 maoy damgo nga inyong gisuportahan sa niaging piliay sa Mayo ug sa barangay.

Niining kalihokan karong Pasko, atong gipakita nga di lang diay kini akong damgo.

Damgo kini natong tanan nga ato nang gianam-anam sa pagmugna aron matinuod.

Daghang Salamat! Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 03, 2007
Sun.Star Daily Cebu

THE City of Naga will stage the revival of an old tradition that depicts a poetic morality play and dance as part of its activities for the Christmas season.

Dubbed the “Pastores de Naga,” the play will be the highlight of various activities.

Last week, city officials led by Mayor Valdemar Chiong formally launched the Pastores de Naga through a presentation at the SM City Cebu.

Clad in colorful costumes, children performed the Pastores, which involves dance, play and dialogue of an original handwritten script, catching the attention of mall shoppers.

Tradition

Most of the performers were members of the Requinto clan, the original performers of the Pastores whose practice has been passed on from one generation to another until today.

The Requintos are residents of Tagjadimit, Naga’s farthest hilly village, about 11 kilometers away from the city proper.

“This is how we stage the Pastores. These are its original dance steps,” Chiong said while the young children performed the Pastores in front of a crowd.

The mayor said the “Los Pastores” portrays the story of the shepherds’ search for the baby Jesus that Spanish missionaries used to teach Catholicism in the 16th century.

He lauded the Requinto clan for continuing the tradition even when it already lost its appeal for the majority of the Naganhons.

When it faded into the background in Naga, the practice, however, inspired the Bicolanos in Luzon turned this Christmas custom into festivals.

Inspiration

Chiong, Naga’s first city mayor, said they got inspired to revive the Pastores after the Requinto dancers performed during the Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo, which showcases Cebu’s tourist spots and local festivals.

In turn, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia encouraged Chiong to transform the Pastores tradition into an annual festival.

“We had less time to prepare for the Pastores, but we were inspired to start this year,” he said.

With the theme “Pride in our Roots, Realizing our Vision”, the Christmas festival in Naga will kick off with the Festival of Lights procession on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

The activity includes the lighting up of the Naga City Hall, Christmas trees and Belen displays and a Christmas concert at the St. Francis Ocean Park.

A Naga lantern competition will also follow on Dec. 16.

The next day, the Requinto clan will conduct a “Daygon Tour” that will start at the Provincial Capitol and perform before Garcia, Capitol officials and employees.

The festival will end with the parade and public performances of at least six Pastores groups, representing Naga’s public schools, on Dec. 23.

Chiong said they decided to hold the Pastores before Christmas Eve to give way to the solemn religious celebration and the family Noche Buena on Dec. 24. (GC)

This article was written by Zorabelle Fran Uy, a UP Cebu Masscom student, based on interviews by Balbino “Ka Bino”Guerrero of Narcisa Requinto and Barangay captain Fernando “Nanding” Requento of Tagjaguimit, Naga City.A clan in this new city at the southern crossroads of Metro Cebu still carries on a long lost tradition that puts an original twist in the door-to-door Christmas caroling that we know today

Known in Naga City as the Pastores, they are town carolers composed of family members of the Requinto clan who stage the Bible’s narration of the shepherds’ search for the baby Jesus coined Los Pastores.

A poetic morality play and dance, Los Pastores was passed on from one generation to another originating from the Spanish missionaries who introduced Christianity in the early Naga. This act was lived-on by various families performing during Christmas season both by invitation and house-to-house performance.

The Requinto Clan prides itself as one of the original families committed in continuing the practice and has embraced the beliefs associated with Los Pastores.

“Kabilin ang pagtudlo sa Pastores gikan sa akong inahan nga nakat-on sab sa iyang inahan,” said Narcisa Requinto who now teaches pre-teens of the Requinto clan the Pastotes tradition.

Devotees believe that the “Maestra” or “Ang Nagdala” has to complete 12 years of teaching The Pastores or be forever hounded with ailments. The musicians, which include two guitarists, 2 banjo, one tenor, and one bajo player, are all subject to this belief.

Even the children have to be part of the Pastores for three years.

This idea has directed the preservation of the tradition until today’s generation.

Now in her tenth year, Narcisa Requinto continues their family legacy as “Ang Nagdala” who had memorized all the segments of Los Pastores by heart from her mother.

She was a Pastores herself in the 1960s and has trained pre-teen clan members the dance steps that went with hand written script handed down from her elders.

Composed with five continuous segments complete with costumes and props, Los Pastores opens with O Mahal Namong Ginoo, Verso, Sa Portal, Vamos sa Belen, and ends with the farewell song Adyos. Verso is the part when the Pastores sing and dance the verses on the search for the New Born Messiah. Sa Portal graces chants and dances at the door of the Belen while the Vamos sa Belen is an expression of invitation.

Their practices normally start during September while they start heading for the town proper on the 20th of December and end the staging by February.

The Requintos never failed to always render their first performance in the church to implore God for blessings.

Depending on the generosity of the households, Pastores can produce as much as P10,000 in a day.

The sum would be divided equally among the members except for the bajo player who gets his share twice for bajo is a heavy instrument. Performances by invitation pay more.

Today, the Requintos are proud to be part of the upcoming Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival that seeks to place the Pastores tradition at the center of attention now only in Naga City but also in Cebu.,

The Pastores performers are up for new and larger spectators as the festival paves way for grander performances and now enshrined as having preserved for today’s generation Naga’s impressive tradition.

A Dance Workshop will be held today in Naga City as preparation for the Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival 2007 Street Parade and Grand Presentation come December 23, 2007. The following is Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong’s welcome remarks for the said undertaking. The speech is in Cebuano:

Nagpundok kita karon isip preparasyon alang sa umaabot nga Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival.

Ang Pastores mao ang karaang sayaw-daygon nga naghulagway sa pagpangita sa mga pastores kun shepherds kaniadto kang Hesus nga natawo sa passungan.

Gidala kini dinhi sa Naga sa mga Spanish missionaries kaniadto pang sayo nga bahin sa Spanish period sa Pilipinas dihang gitukod ang munisipyo ug ang parokya sa Naga.

Kay kulang man ang mga pari niadtong panahona, ang mga pari nitudlo sa Pastores sa mga lay people aron mopasundayag niini patag Pasko isip paagii pagsangyaw sa mensahe nga naabot na si Hesus sa atua.

Usa sa mga pamilya nga nilahutay sa pagpasapasa sa ilang nakat-onan ngadto sa matag henerasyon sulod sa mga siglo mao ang mga Requinto sa Tagjaguimit.

Sa pag-abot sa mga Amerikano ug sa paglambo sa Naga, natagoan kining atong tradisyon nga Pastores.

Karon lang nato kini nadiskubrehan pagbalik dugang sa kasayuran nga ang ubang mga dapit sa Luzon nakamugna mismo og mga festival u gang ilang inspirasyon mao ang Pastores sa Naga dinhi sa Sugbo.

Mao nga nidesisyon kita nga molusad niining umaabot nga Pastores de Naga Christmas festival nga nagtema “Pride in Our Roots; Realizing Our Vision.”

Subay kini sa atong programa nga VAL 2020 kun Vision and Leadership 2020 nga atong gideklarar sa miaging tuig.

Kining atong dance workshop karon gipahigayon aron makat-on kini sa basic steps, music ug storyline sa Pastores basi sa tradisyon sa mga Requinto.

Akong gilantaw nga basi niining mga basic steps, motumaw ang lain-laing mga innovation nga makapalambo pa sa atong kultura.

On this note, manghinaot ako nga magpalampuson kita niining atong dance workshop alang sa malampuson ug mabulokon nga Pastores de Naga Christmas festival 2007.

Daghang Salamat.

December is already here and along it, the next Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival activity with the Immaculate Conception Mass and Procession come Saturday.

Meanwhile, we’re posting some of the pictures displayed during the photo exhibit in SM City Cebu from November 28 until today. Check them out:

Pastores de Naga is now in Friendster!

Check it out at http://profiles.friendster.com/pastoresdenaga or add our Friendster account: pastoresdenaga@gmail.com

Also, the Indigay sa Parol mechanics and registration can be now viewed and downloaded in our newly uploaded page in our blog.

The following is the Pastores de Naga Christmas Event Launch Speech delivered by Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong in SM City Cebu yesterday:

After the Requinto children danced the Pastores during the Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo last September, Gov. Gwen Garcia tossed us a challenge. She wanted Naga’s festival to revolve around the Pastores and she expected it this December.

And I told myself, why not?

The Pastores tradition is a source of pride in many ways.

For having preserved an age-old Pastores tradition taught by Spanish missionaries, the Requintos has given Naga City a living relic straight from our forgotten past.

Historians will definitely wonder at how a clan managed to hand down verbally from one generation to another in the hinterland barangay of Tagjaguimit a custom rooted during the early years of the Spanish era several centuries ago.

Moreover, the Requintos’ Pastores tradition antedates all other Pastores groups in other parts of the country.

And they’re giving us a cause for celebrating Christmas in a grander manner worthy of a new city.

Shortly after I took over after the late mayor Ferdinand Chiong passed away unexpectedly, I unveiled the 15-point Vision and Leadership 2020 or VAL 2020.

The programs that I outlined included the conduct of an annual festival that will be a source of Naganhon and Cebuano pride.

And the emergence of the Requintos and the Pastores just before we officially became a city last October 2007 seemed to be a gift from heaven.

The Pastores tradition gave us the focus for the conduct of a grand Christmas festival that will place Naga City in the country’s tourism map.

Thus our theme: “Pride in Our Roots; Realizing Our Vision.”

I am definitely honored today as we launch the First Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival.

Aside from the grand Pastores parade and presentation on December 23, 2007 – yes on the 23rd because December 24 shall be devoted to preparing for the family’s Noche Buena and the Christmas Eve mass – we will have the festival of lights, the Indigay sa Parol, and the Belen and Christmas tree displays at the St. Francis of Assisi Ocean Park.

We shall present you the grandest Christmas festival in the province that we intend to surpass every year.

And I am proud to urge you: “Mamasko ta sa Naga bay!”

Cebuanos will witness the grandest Christmas festival as Naga city stages next month the first Pastores de Naga Christmas Festival that features the unique Pastores poetic morality play and dance handed down to since the Spanish times.

“The Los Pastores portrays the story of the shepherds’ search for the baby Jesus that Spanish missionaries in the 16th century used to teach Catholicism in new Spanish colonies,” said Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong.

“We will present the original dance steps preserved by generations of the Requinto clan of Tagjadimit, Naga’s farthest mountain barangay along with other groups that will be introducing innovations,” said Mayor Chiong.

Because there were not enough missionaries and priests, families of lay people soon took over and carried on the traditions often by word of mouth. One of the original families was the Requinto clan who passed on the “Pastores” tradition from one generation to another until today.

However, the passing of centuries saw the “Pastores tradition” fading into the background as Naga boomed into an industrial city. But it inspired the Pastores festivals in Luzon.

The public and members of media will have a glimpse of the original Pastores presentation during the press launch at SM City Cebu on November 28, 2007. The Belen display and photo exhibit at the mall’s 3rd level will last until December 2, 2007.

The famous national artist Ramon Obusan, who organized the annual Christmas play at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), reportedly traced the origin of the Pastores tradition in Luzon to Naga, Cebu.

Gov. Gwen Garcia and Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong decided on focusing Naga City’s heritage efforts on the Pastores after seeing the Requinto dancers perform during the Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo earlier this year.

With the theme — Pride in Our Roots; Realizing Our Vision — Mayor Chiong said the Pastores tradition is something Naganhons are proud of while the holding of grand annual festivals to place Naga City in the tourism map is a priority under his program Vision and Leadership 2020 or VAL 2020.

The Christmas celebration will start with the Festival of Lights procession on December 8, 2007, which falls on the feast of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

“We will light up the streets. There will be Belen displays and the “Indigay sa Parol along with shows and concerts at the St. Francis of Assisi Ocean Park,” said Mayor Chiong.

On December 17, 2007, the Pastores of the Requinto clan will conduct a Daygon tour starting with the Provincial Capitol where they will perform before Gov. Gwen Garcia, other Capitol officials, and provincial employees.

The festival will culminate with the parade and public performances of the of the different Pastores groups in Naga on December 23, 2007 to give way to the more solemn Church-centered celebration and the family Noche Buena on December 24, 2007.

Two other Pastores groups with more modern dance steps exist in the lowland. These groups along with the Requinto clan and other participants will be the highlight of the festival.

Aside from press announcements, the public and Naganhons abroad will be able to access festival updates from our blog at www.pastoresdenaga.wordpress.com or check out our Pastores de Naga account at www.friendster.com or http://profiles.friendster.com/pastoresdenaga

“The Pastores de Naga Christmas festival will be the event Cebuanos should not miss as we prepare for the birthday of our Lord Jesus,” he said.