Atyu no deng tarat. (The shrikes are here.)
So what’s the significance?
The arrival of the bird signals the start of the avian migration south to escape the cold weather up north and more importantly, olden stories say it is the signal that reminds Angeleños that the fiesta in Angeles City is near.
This year’s celebration of the Fiestang Kuliat goes back to its roots 30 years ago, most especially after the harrowing experience Angeleños, and the whole world for that matter, has gone through with the still extant COVID-19 pandemic.
Fiestang Kuliat 2022, with the theme “Kapagmasusian king Kuliat… Tapang at Tetagan da reng Angeleños” (Celebrating Kuliat… Courage and Resilience of the Angeleños), takes on the very same purpose for which it was conceived back in 1992: to celebrate courage, resilience and life amid adversity.
On June 15, 1991, neighboring Mount Pinatubo woke up badly from a 600-year slumber and turned into a volcano, erupting and devastating Angeles City and the provinces of Pampanga, Zambales and Tarlac, with the effects of the actual eruption and the subsequent lahar (mud) flows later spreading like an octopus’s tentacles to neighboring provinces.
A year later, still reeling from the effects of the eruption, then Acting Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan and his most trusted staff, local artists and friends, came up with the idea of a celebration that would boost the morale of the people and show them that all was not lost.
So the city’s creative minds came together and the result was the first-ever Fiestang Kuliat.
Angeles City is quite unique to have two, and later three, religious fiestas in October: the Feast of the Holy Guardians Angels (Santos Angeles Custodios) on October 2; the La Naval Fiesta in honor of the Most Holy Rosary on the second Sunday of October; and, the Fiestang Apu in honor of the Apung Mamacalulu on the last Friday of October.
These three religious celebrations all in October became the bases for the month-long activity that would encourage the Angeleños to rise from the ashes.
Contributions came from everywhere and everyone in the city. Politics, political and personal differences were set aside to make the month-long fiesta a success.
The effort led to a fiesta-style food fest featuring Kapampangan dishes, the Mutya ning Angeles, and the first-ever Tigtigan at Terakan keng Dalan (TTKD), the culmination of the Fiestang Kuliat, the street party where everyone can celebrate.
Nobody knew what to expect then. But the organizers believed that after more than a year of desolation and sadness because of the disaster that dampened the partying spirits of the Angeleños, something had to be done.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
To borrow the title of my friend Kiko Sison’s article about the event, which is true today as it was 30 years ago, “a crest-fallen city celebrates”.
I should know.
I was there.
The fledgling photojournalist who documented the month-long celebration of life, courage and resilience.
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An exhibit featuring the various iterations of the Blessed Virgin Mary would definitely be a hit.
And the Kuliat Foundation Inc. (KFI) did just that.
On the Feast of the Nativity of Mary on September 8, 2022, the Marian exhibit “Indung Alang Musing” opened at the Museo ning Angeles. The exhibit was opened and led by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias of San Fernando.
For the first time ever, at least to the best of my knowledge, 17 images of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her various titles are on display at the Museo for everyone to admire and adore.
Proceeds from the exhibit will be used for the still ongoing repair of the Holy Rosary Parish Church that was heavily damaged during the April 2019 earthquake.
Go and see her. Mother is calling.
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Whatever.
I’m still wearing my face mask wherever and whenever I see fit.
