Fiesta

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Celebrating 'fiesta' is probably one of the things I miss most about the Philippines. It's usually the commemoration of the town or barrio's patron saint. It's one of the many influences of the Spaniards to the Philippines. Fiesta is a big thing especially in the province. When I was growing up, October 12 [today] was the big fiesta day. It's the Feast of the Nuestra Senora Del Pilar which is the town's patron saint so it's actually the town's fiesta. Since I lived in the central part of the town [plaza], we were at the heart of the celebration. For the longest time, those who were living in the 'plaza' only celebrated the town fiesta. Our barrio [aka village] didn't celebrate its patron saint's feast day unlike other barrios. Such is no longer the case. From what I heard, the big 'town fiesta' is no longer as big as it was when I was growing up. They still have some kind of a celebration but not as extravagant anymore. The reason - our little barrio now observes its very own fiesta which falls in June.

Anyway, I just thought of writing something about it since I've been thinking about it since yesterday. I haven't attended a fiesta in maybe 20 years. The reason being...I worked either in Manila or abroad [and now I'm 12000 miles away] and fiestas are not considered national holiday. I'm not sure if I ever missed work just to attend fiesta but I highly doubt it. Hopefully, I'll be able to witness another one in the coming years. When, how or where....those are the big '3' mysteries.