READY FOR PAMUKAW. Drummers of barangay-based tribes rehearse in preparation for 'pamukaw' slated on Dec. 14, 2019. Nine tribes will perform in district plazas and selected venues in Iloilo City to drum up the 2020 Iloilo Dinagyang Festival. (PNA photo courtesy of City Mayor’s Office)
ILOILO CITY -- Barangay-based tribes are thanking the city government here for allowing them to come back and perform in the 2020 Dinagyang Festival slated in the last week of January.
They are more thankful of performing again in the level-up “pamukaw” that will happen two days before the Christian community commences with the traditional Aguinaldo masses.
“The tribes would perform on streets as they celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ to whose image as a child Señor Santo Niño we celebrate in Dinagyang,” Iloilo City Tourism Operations Officer Florence King Erlano said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Erlano said the “pamukaw” (to awaken) this coming December 14 will not be the traditional parade of tribes like in the previous years.
“Traditionally 'pamukaw' is done in the afternoon of Dec 15. They would gather at the old freedom grandstand,” he said.
With the level-up version, nine tribes will perform simultaneously in various district plazas and selected venues for an hour starting at 8 p.m.
A short program will be held at the city hall where Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas will make the first strike of the drum and the tribes will “drumroll in unison,” Erlano added.
Participating tribes are Tribu Molave to perform in Arevalo district; Familia Sagrada, Mandurriao; Parianon, Molo; Aninipay, La Paz; Hamili and Sagasa, Plaza Libertad; Pana-ad Sunburst Park; and Angola at SM City.
Each tribe has a minimum of 15 warriors and drummers. After the one-hour performance in their assigned districts and if they still have the stamina, they have an option to perform in other plazas of the city.
Oscar Vijuan, tribe manager of the Parianon and a member of the Association of Tribes in Iloilo (ATI), said that for nine years, barangay-based tribes were unable to perform, thus the younger generation is no longer familiar with them.
Performers of the barangay-based tribes are barangay residents, construction workers, and out-of-school youth, among others.
Melvin Villanueva, tribe manager for Tribu Panaad, said they found it difficult to gather a crowd for their tribes because the younger generation prefers to play in computer shops.
He added though that their former warriors remain true to their “panaad” or pledge to continue paying homage to Señor Santo Niño that they still chose to come back.
Aside from performing during the “pamukaw”, the barangay-based tribes will also perform during the “Dagyang sa Calle Real” set on January 25, 2020. (PNA)
