Mud crabs rule Samar town festival

By Vicente Labro
Inquirer

CATBALOGAN CITY–They jumped, rolled, swaggered and crawled to the rhythm of the drums, unmindful of the heat of the midday sun.

Wearing colorful costumes, with some of them dressed as mud crabs, these nearly 80 young people from Sta. Margarita, Samar performed the Alimango Festival that depicts the raising or gathering of mud crabs, the town’s main livelihood.

The fast beat and outstanding performance of the festival dancers did not fail to wow the huge crowd and to get the nod of the festival competition judges, who unanimously voted it as the best street dancing group.

The festival defeated other contenders like the Bagolan Festival of Paranas town (3rd place) and the Sapyawan Festival of Catbalogan (2nd place), which showcased the town’s coconut industry and fishing industry, respectively.

The street dancing contest, dubbed Battle of Festivals, was among the activities held in the week-long celebration of Samar Day on Aug. 11 this year. Among the other activities were the Search for Mutya ng Samar, Agro-Industrial Fair, sports competition, and the Governor’s/Congressional/Mayors’ Night socials.

Gov. Milagrosa Tan, her daughter, Rep. Sharee Tan (1st district, Samar), and Vice Gov. Jesus Redaja led provincial officials in welcoming the guests and visitors in this year’s 11th Samar Day celebration.

Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento and Vice Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, together with mayors from some of the other Samar towns as well as council members, were among those who joined the celebration that was held in the City of Catbalogan, the provincial capital, on Aug. 11.

Sta. Margarita Mayor Alfredo Serrano said he was very happy with the outcome of the results of the contests because they did not only win the P50,000 prize for the street dancing contest but their giant mud crab-designed float also won for them another top prize of P50,000.

“We also won in the best choreographer category,” he added.

Unite Samar’s culture

“We are trying to unite the culture of Samar and advertise it to the nation,” said Jover Laurio, tourism officer-designate, referring to the festival.

Laurio disclosed that by September this year the province will join the Travel Mart where they will showcase not only the products of Samar but also the province’s tourist attractions like the caves, waterfalls, beaches and nature parks.

The province started its celebration of the Samar Day on Aug. 11, 1977, although it was supposed to be 156 years old already.

The Samar Historical Committee recommended to the provincial government that Samar Day be based on the Aug. 11, 1841 date when Queen Isabella III of Spain signed a Royal Decree establishing Samar as a military province separate from Leyte.

Earlier, Samar Day was celebrated every Nov. 10, commemorating the election for the first time of local officials in the three newly created provinces in Samar Island.

The Samar Division Act or Republic Act No. 4221, which was enacted on June 19, 1965, divided the then island province of Samar into the provinces of Western Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar. Western Samar was later renamed by an act of Congress as Samar province.

But during the martial law years, the celebration of Samar Day was held every Aug. 23, the day before Catbalogan, the ancient capital town of Samar that became a city just last July, holds its annual fiesta.

On Aug. 24, the Catbaloganons once again celebrated the feast day of St. Bartholomew, by thanking their patron saint for all the bounties that came their way and probably by also praying to God to give a better year ahead for their beloved Samar, the country’s third largest island.

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