It seems that people in Iloilo City have not slept throughout the month of January from all the preparations for the Dinagyang 2004 Festival, which took place over this weekend.

All day and all night long you could hear distant drumbeats pounding away the performance music, and from various directions at that. Multiple competing groups, more commonly known as tribes, have been putting in last-minute preparations and rehearsals for their big moments on the January 25th and 26th competitions.

Each of the tribes rendered their timed performances in five judging areas scattered throughout the Iloilo City proper. This is a very taxing experience. A tribe member has to contend with the sweltering heat, the overflowing crowd, lots of rowdy spectators, weird costumes and body paint, and the sheer physical exertion from the actual seven-minute performance repeated five times.

Kasadyahan, the first phase of the big annual Dinagyang weekend, wrapped up at around half past one in the afternoon yesterday. The groups represented various schools from all over the province of Iloilo.

The Kasadyahan 2004 Winners
Best in Float: Kahilwayan
Best in Music: Kahilwayan
Best in Costume: Kahilwayan
Best in Choreography: Kahilwayan
Best in Performance: Kahilwayan
Third Place: Aguilawan (University of San Agustin)
Second Place: Maragtas (West Visayas State University)
First Place: Kahilwayan (Sta. Barbara National High School)

The Ati-Atihan tribes competition of Dinagyang 2004 concluded at two in the afternoon today. Energetic performances were rendered by a total of 24 contesting groups in all five judging areas placed throughout Iloilo City. There were two categories: the Barangay and Open levels.

The Barangay level had 17 out of the 24 participating tribes. Under this category, the Iloilo City government will provide a subsidy for the top ten winning tribes’ expenses and such.

The following is a list of the Barangay Category contestants, according to performer number:
1. Himala
2. Kongo
3. Dagyaw-ta
4. Miluvi
5. Lakandon
6. Hamili
7. Halimau
8. Atub-Atub
9. Molave
10. Kalubihan
11. Angola
12. Parianon
13. Badyao
14. Pana-ad
15. Aninipay
16. Bantu
17. Pag-asa

Atub-Atub, the defending champion for the past few years, performed amazingly well this year, too. Providing the closest challenge to Atub-Atub was Parianon.

My personal favorite, though, was Aninipay because of their upbeat, unique musical arrangement and tunes.

On to the Open Category. This level allows the participants to solicit from sponsors. Malls and big manufacturing firms provided the money necessary for these tribes’ more grandiose and naturally more expensive numbers.

There were seven contestants in the Open level:
1. Salognon (Jaro National High School)
2. Sigabong (Ramon Avanceña National High School)
3. Jalaud of (Calinog National High School)
4. Paghidaet (La Paz National High School)
5. Pamilya Sagrada (Roxas Village, Iloilo City)
6. Bola-Bola (Iloilo National High School)
7. Irayanhon (Passi City National High School)

Bola-Bola, arguably the most popular tribe in Dinagyang history with performance records in the Americas, is still the overwhelming crowd favorite, despite their hiatus from competition last year.

The Dinagyang 2004 Barangay Category Winners
Best in Discipline: Atub-Atub
Best in Music: Atub-Atub
Best in Costume: Parianon
Best in Choreography: Atub-Atub
Best in Performance: Atub-Atub
Fifth Place: Pag-asa
Fourth Place: Pana-ad
Third Place: Molave
Second Place: Parianon
First Place: Atub-Atub

The Dinagyang 2004 Open Category Winners
Best in Discipline: Bola-Bola
Best in Music: Bola-Bola
Best in Costume: Jalaud
Best in Choreography: Bola-Bola
Best in Performance: Bola-Bola
Third Place: Paghidaet
Second Place: Jalaud
First Place: Bola-Bola

Last year’s Barangay Category champion was able to retain its title.

However, the Open Category’s top tribe for the past two years, Paghidaet, slid down to third place. I suppose their trademark theme, fire, which had worked rather well for them before, was a bit too old for the judges this time around.

Congratulations to all the winners. Hala bira!

Happy New Year!

For the year 2004, I am wishing one and all 12 months of happiness, 52 weeks of fun, 365 days of success, 8,760 hours of good health, 525,600 minutes of blessings, and 3,153,600 seconds of joy.

Today I rewatched the Academy Award Best Picture winner Chicago for probably the umpteenth time since I bought my own video CD copy.

This movie is one of my A-listed musical films of all time, in third place, next to my perpetual love Grease and the heart-wrenching, lavishly staged Moulin Rouge.

Hence, I shall reiterate that Catherine Zeta-Jones, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her role as Velma Kelly, is the demi-goddess of the silver screen musical.

I absolutely loved her opening number, All That Jazz. Her voice was breathy, growling, sexy – a cross between a siren and a lioness. Catherine definitely stole the show from Renee Zellweger, who played Roxie Hart.

I can hardly wait for Catherine to reprise her role as Elena in the upcoming sequel to the 1998 hit The Mask of Zorro, in which she starred alongside Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins.

Here is Chicago’s summary from Amazon.com:

Chicago is a dazzling spectacle cheered by audiences and critics alike!

At a time when crimes of passion result in celebrity headlines, nightclub sensation Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and spotlight-seeking Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) both find themselves sharing space on Chicago’s famed Murderess Row!

They also share Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), the town’s slickest lawyer with a talent for turning notorious defendants into local legends.

But in Chicago, there’s only room for one legend!