Bailes de Luces

It’s cold every January and the cool breeze is so welcoming for the New Year.  We experience “mall-like” temperatures due to the onset of the “Hanging Amihan” known as the Winter Asian Monsoon.

The New Year was greeted with fireworks all over the world, the play of lights entertains the young and old. In Negros Occidental, every 5^th of January, a dance of lights brings foreigners and domestic tourist 67 kilometers towards the south-east of Bacolod, at the 5^th district of the province, in this town called La Castellana.

We travelled via Murcia, Bago and  La Carlota in less than two hours with the view of the mountain, rice fields, sugarcane farms and meeting a lot of cane trucks along the way on rough road, bridges and a longer stretch of asphalted and well paved road network.

 

          This is the time for the first dance festival for the year, known nationwide and in fact, is also listed as one of the  Top Ten Best Festivals in the Philippines by Pinoy Top Ten web.

           The dance festival of lights started with the use of torches and candles and the spitting of fire by performers 15 years ago. Today, it has evolved into the use of flashlights with medium size batteries to pen lights, led lights and has become a play of lights in a dance featuring artistic skills of the local artist. The formation of lights is emphasized through the use of 

hand props and lighting effects using light-emitting objects such as the costumes and headdress, wherein the choreography would include formation of lights in horizontal and vertical formations, a basic light wave. Watching the dancer, they had snappy movements with mastery of switching lights from red to blue to green or white a very important element in the bailes de luces. This also required proper timing and discipline of the performers. There were two sets of performances, one for elementary school level and the other is the Barangay Category with a minimum of 30 dancers. Judges were Rudy Reveche, Michael Alferez, Rene Hinojales, Raymond Bayot, Ronnie Baldonado, Dr. Jose Lutao with me as the only female judge ending as Chair of the Board of Judges. Cabacungan Elementary School and Barangay Cabacungan went home grand champions for the 2015 Bailes de Luces Festival.

 

          A festival dance can be religious, environmental or a reflection of the lifestyle of a certain community, this dance of lights, Bailes de Luces has originated in the town of La Castellana, now on its 16^th year, it has grown and reached the people here and abroad, has inspired other cities to make one like it but has never been equaled in quality and style. Congratulations to the organizers Ms. Lynette Cervantes and staff of the Municipal Tourism office and Mayor Albert Nicor. Arangka La Castellana!