Samar’s capital to celebrate 401st fiesta

CATBALOGAN CITY, Aug 3 – The city government here gears up for its 401st fiesta on Aug. 24, with emphasis on celebrating culture and modernization.

This year’s celebration is anchored on the theme “Karisyo (rejoice) Catbalogan: Forward, Farther, Further.” 

Several activities have been lined up to encourage people to celebrate the fiesta with adherence.

“Adherence for people to celebrate and adherence to our culture that gives us identity and future,” Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said on Thursday.

“This is also a call to celebrate and continue the momentum of progress and development as well as to highlight the colorful and vibrant culture that the city enjoys today as shaped through the unique blend of faith, governance and society,” she added.

Activities and program this year, according to the mayor, is a continuation of the activities they lined up last year for the 400th year celebration since it was founded by the Jesuit Priests in 1616.

Highlight of the 401st fiesta celebration is the 2017 Manaragat (fishing) Festival where various schools in the city will present through dances the fishing heritage of the city since the Spanish colonization up to the present. 

“This unique show highlights the different fishing practices in the city in an effort to rediscover and reinvigorate old traditions of the city as well as to educate the community on sustainable practices in fishing as a climate change mitigation program,” Uy-Tan explained.

Officials from the City Tourism, Culture, Arts and Information Office and the Local Culture and Arts Council with cultural coordinators from primary, secondary and tertiary schools in the city are on the forefront in the preparation for the cultural presentations.

Other activities are beauty pageant, cooking contest, singing competition, and folk dance contest. There are also nightly activities intended for senior citizens, farmers, youth, women, person with disabilities, academe and business sector. 

Jesuit priests founded Catbalogan in 1616 and became the capital of the entire Samar Island. Today, the city is a major commercial area in Samar province with a population of 103,879. The city is 112 kilometers north of Tacloban City, the regional capital.(Roel T. Amazona/PNA)