No one would really pass up a good invitation to a fiesta, so when my dear friend Ahdz called me to ask if I would be free Wednesday and Thursday (that was last week - 30 April to 01 May), I didn’t hesitate to come with her in her hometown of Obando, Bulacan, to come celebrate their fiesta. It wasn’t the town’s fiesta (it’s on May 17 - 18, by the way), but just their barangay’s, but she assured me there will be a celebration.

The real date of the fiesta was 01 May - the feast of St. Joseph the Worker - but I met up with her Thursday late afternoon in Gateway Mall. I waited for her at the Food Express where I ate some Takuyaki (of all the Japanese dishes I have tasted, this is my favorite). She arrived 45 minutes late because of her boss, but all’s good. When we reached Monumento, she asked if we could shop for some things her mom needed for the foods she will be serving. It was already 8pm when we were done shopping (the line was so long), so the pre-dinner we had was a cup of Fruitas fruit shake and another serving of Takuyaki (we divide it in half because it was already the last serving). It took us another hour before we reached their place.

We were walking by the basketball court when the fireworks started. Ahdz said it was perfectly timed for me, heheheh. Anyway, there were already performers, but we’re both tired and way too hungry, we decided to “go home” first. As always, her family was the ever gracious and hospitable host. It was just my second time there - the first time I was in their house was in 2001, I guess, when Ahdz celebrated her birthday. Too bad her youngest sister, Jenny, wasn’t home. For the first time, though, I met her older sister’s boyfriend and her niece, Izel.

For dinner, her mom served sauteed beans, fried milkfish and scallops omelet. Wow! I rarely eat sauteed beans because my mom has rheumatism, so I enjoyed the dinner. Of course, the scallops I tasted, too, even if it had eggs - we all know how expensive scallops are in the market! Well, Ahdz’s father is a fisherman, so most of the times, the exotic seafoods they eat came in for free.

We rested a bit before we went back to the court where ‘te Lilith and kuya Joseph (her older sister and boyfriend) waited for us. They secured a very good place in the court and it gave us clear view of the band performing.

Banda Cinco, the band performing that time was a group of wind and percussion performers, who were all from Obando. By the third performance, the conductor got a bit irritated with the emcees that he cut the whole set short. Well, I don’t blame him at all! I don’t have anything against gay men, but at times, they use humor that is not so appropriate for the event. Imagine, they call on all the vendors to send them foods, and calling the conductor hot and all that? In the end, they just performed five tunes, and they left!

The band was so good! Managing that much performers was such a hard task, and I do applaud the conductor for creating a good balance between each of the groups. I loved listening to their tunes! A big round of applause to one very talented bunch of people!

The Adkrab Band, a band that performs street music gave the audience something to feast their eyes on. Although the dancers were not timed and that the choreographer was more like a stage mother (or father) who tried to dance along the dancers in front of them, I enjoyed their routine. Well, the off steps were understandable, as what the emcees said, they were roaming around the place dancing and banging their drums, for sure by that time they were so tired already.

After the performance, they called it a night. Ahdz and her sister were a bit disappointed, because normally, during the fiesta, a lot of bands perform trying to outdo each other. They called, “Ang Serenata,” or “The Serenade.” Sadly, this year, most of the bands backed out. Oh well, maybe next year.

Here are the pictures taken that night:

>>> The Banda Cinco performing oh so great music <<<

>>> Ahdz and I watching a good show. She was a bit shy to have her pic taken. <<<

>>> The Adakrab Band performing some stunts <<<

>>> The fireworks that capped off the night. <<<

More stories on the next post. Thanks for dropping by.

*** Jenn ***