Maybe it was this yearning to get away from the humdrum of the urbane that made me accept the invitation of Sir Arjee to accompany him to Caluya Island, a four-hour boat ride from Libertad port, which is also a good three- hour bus ride from San Jose de Buenavista, our place of work.
Armed with fully-charged adrenaline, my bags were packed in less than 20 minutes, the fastest I had ever done in ages and off I went to the bus terminal. When was the last time I stepped on Caluya’s white-pinkish beach? Three years ago, during the 2011 Tatusan Festival, and yet it seems a century. I really missed the place, its beautiful beaches, the beat and the rhythm of its festival theme song….”O Caluya, paraiso namun….ikaw gid lamang amun inspirasyon, mapabugal sa taguipusuon.” This was the song that my heart hummed as we alighted from the ship that brought us to its shorelines.
We were greeted with a new yet livelier beat…”Sadya Caluya, sadya…tatusan selebrahun ta…mga Caluyanhun nagapauli…sadya caluya, sadya, bisita naga-arayan dige…sadya, Caluya, sadya!”
“SADYA” as its 2014 flyers said, “is a term used almost everywhere in this country. It has different meanings as to the place where it is being used. To Caluyanhun, it means great, good, beautiful, wonderful.”
I told myself I will find out if it is really “Masadya” in Caluya, during its Tatusan festival 2014….
The three-day affair (May 23-25, 2014) started with the “pamukaw” and the Grand Parade. It was also during the opening ceremonies that the gorgeous and charming lady mayor Hon. Genevieve G. Lim-Reyes formally declared the opening of Tatusan Festival 2014.
In her message, she stressed that “this festival calls for a paradigm shift in promoting Caluya as a destination of your choice and a festival to endure” thus the theme “Sadya, Caluya” speaks for the greatness, wonders and beauty of Caluya that deserves to be promoted at the milestone of Antique’s tourism industry.”
During that evening, there was an “extravaganza” showdown of singing and fire dancing.There were also local entertainers invited to grace the occasion.
The street dancing was the most exciting, I should say. The tribes were earlier introduced to the “tatus” beat and steps, thus they incorporated these into their choreography during the actual street dancing As in the past festivals, each participating tribe , thru its narrator, freely interpreted how its Barangay came to be (history), its livelihood, culture
and its own festival, and to relate this to the current theme, as stated, to “sadya Caluya”.
The Tatusan Challenge was another new feature this year. As each barangay has its booth displaying its products and nature’s endowment, the barangay that has a live tatus can participate to this contest. The tatus are weighed to see which Barangay has the heaviest and the biggest tatus. The run-away winner for this “tatus mo, show mo” was Brgy. Sibay.
(Tatus, for those who do not know yet, is a blue-shelled crab that feeds on coconut and is found only in tropical islands like Caluya).
There was also “panabur” tatus cooking contest. Four Barangays joined the contest and the island-barangay of Semirara bested them all with its tatus simmered in vegetables and sauce.
Superbly delicious, believe me, I ate every morsel of that dish on my plate.
The “hurma baras” participated in by almost all barangays showed how artistic and visionaries Caluyanhuns are. Barangay Semirara again bested them in this contest.
That evening, the world stood still as visitors and residents let out all their “ohs” and “ahs” when seventeen (17) lovely and young daragas paraded on stage on what seemed to be a show of a lifetime – the Search for Lin-ay Kang Caluya featuring the ladies in their production number and talent showcase. Putting the spotlight on these 17 gorgeous ladies , the Search…was the “road” in choosing Caluya’s representative to the province-wide search for Lin-ay Kang Antique 2014 scheduled in December. As in every contest one will surely emerge as the winner and bring home the crown and will enjoy the privilege of being a beauty queen.
My favourite portion in this contest was the question and answer portion or the interview wherein the judges (whose name was picked by the contestant herself)would ask the contestant questions about present issues and other “women” concerns. I liked what one candidate replied to the question : what are the two words/adjectives that you can liken the Caluyanhun to a tatus? Her answer was brief : The tatus is resilient and rare, and that is what a Caluyanhun is.
I should like to add that the same characteristics attribute to the Antiqeño as well.
The third day of the Festival saw the faithful going to hear the Tatusan Mass held at the San Antonio de Padua Church. The present parish priest, Fr. Erzal Tortal hailed the Caluyanhuns for putting God in their daily lives. For indeed it is God who gave them their bounties they are currently enjoying now.
As Caluyanhuns are dependent to the sea for their living, their adeptness was tested in the “Bugsay sa Baybay”. It was awe-inspiring and breath-taking to see husky men sweating it out rowing their frail bancas. Sadya gid!!!
There was also the usual “panguyang” were foods and Caluya’s delicacies were shared by locals and visitors alike. The Laro ng Lahi or native games like kadang, sack race, palo sebo, pokpok palayok and lagsanay idik brought everyone to run, jump and to laugh to their hearts’ content.
But I loved the water fest activity of all. This was participated in by the municipal officials including the lady mayor. They splashed all the colors contained in balloons into their fellow-employees, into the white pinkish sands and out into the waters. It was funnier, more hilarious and it surpassed the adjective one felt when “painting the town red”. You see, all the colors had been used in this “game”. Care to know who won in this game? No other than the town’s most eligible and youngest Sangguniang Bayan Member, Hon. Jerick Guisihan.
Dusk at Caluya , especially during this Tatusan Festival will never be complete without the spectacular “Lupad sa Kasanag” or the sky-lantern display facilitated by UA extension campus in Caluya.
It was so awesome one couldn’t help but say, the lanterns represented the glamour and the fervour of the Caluyanhuns as they take pride in achieving their goals towards making the town as the realm of tourism at the same time preserving the natural wonders of the island as well as the cultural heritage of its people.
The sights of those lantern reaching out to the dark heavens gave me goose bumps!
The last night of the festival was allotted to the Awarding ceremony of the preliminary activities done days before the actual three-day festival. These are the Caluya Hymn writing contest which was won by Mr. Loreto Pon-an III, and this was presented through a powerpoint media; the opening salvo and exhibition by the tribes (composed of cluster barangays), the singing contest; and the mega showdown which was won by K-Squad Society of Brgy. Sibay.
The Grand Coronation Night of the search for Lin-ay Kang Caluya was also held on this night. The minor awards and the corresponding winners are : Best in Production Number and Miss Telegenic – Lin-ay kang Brgy. Bonbon, Mary Joy Borbon; Best in Swimsuit – Lin-ay kang Brgy. Salamento, Julia Novel Gonowon; Best in Talent – Lin-ay kang Brgy. Salamento , Julia Novel Gonowon; She also bagged the Best in Interview; Best in Gown and Miss Congeniality – Lin-ay kang Semirara, Jan Krisnah Catague; Darling of the Production Staff – Lin-ay kang Banago , Gina Santos; and Miss Photogenic, Lin-ay kang Brgy. Sibay, Dessa Mae Valero.
The grand winners are the following : 4th runner up, Lin-ay kang Dawis, Zairah Marie Agsaluna; 3rd runner up , Lin-ay kang Brgy. Borbon, Mary Joy Bornon; 2nd runner up, Lin-ay kang Brgy. Dionela, Sigrid Grace Flores; 1st runner up, Lin-ay kang Semirara, Jan Krisnah Catague and the run-away, Lin-ay kang Caluya 2014, Lin-ay kang Brgy. Salamento, Julia Novel Gonowon. She will be tasked to act as Ambassadress of Goodwill for Caluya and represent the town in the province-wide Binirayan Festival come December 2014.
The festival ended with a grand fireworks display after which the Caluyanhuns , the visitors and guests enjoyed the non-stop disco until the wee hours of the following morning.
My second trip to Caluya Island was very memorable in the sense that I was “nourished” with the beauty of the place, I was able to watch the sun rise and glow in the sunset, for a great although brief moment, I marvelled at the ripples of the sea and felt the breath of the breeze and yes, it was more marvellous witnessing these natural wonders in Caluya. Its beauty, needless to say brought air into my soul.
I walked to the boat terminal, my heart a bit lighter with the memories and the joy I experienced during the three-day festival. And akin to what a real Caluyanhun feels when leaving his native place, I wanted to sing : “O Caluya, paraiso namun, ikaw gid lamang amun inspirasyon.”
O ti, sadya gid man sa Caluya!
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