Seeing colors
The whole week in Negros Oriental has been geared towards the biggest event of the year - Buglasan festival. It is when cities and towns in the province showcase the best of their best attracting tourists from all walks of life. The walk is full of bright lights and loud music that seem to throb in every direction. It seems surreal to a first timer but once you get the hang of things, you are sure to love it.
As a person in the know, I have seen how the Negrenses prepare for a fun-filled week. There has been lots of practicing and constructing in lieu of the different competitions that are to be done. Raw materials coming in and out of the main city congest traffic. However, this did not disappoint the people because they know it is for something they have been waiting for a whole year.
At this point, I saw the different colors that painted this quaint province. I have seen how proud they are to bring their tourist destinations, food, and their own smiles before the whole world. They do not mind whatever has been said and done as long as they their place will make a mark in the world map.
This thought quite amazes me because they have no shame in bringing who they are unlike the typical Filipino ashamed of who Juan is. Why? Because others have made Juan's name tainted. Juan is said to be dishonest, always late, full of pride and the list goes on and on. But I would like to believe that it is the other way around. Juan may have bad flaws in and out but he can still change.
That is why this festival caught my heart because I can see that there is that love for their own place. The word love may sound so cliche but that is what we need now in order for a country to prosper. If we look back on our national hero, Jose Rizal never uttered a word for his hatred towards his country. He hated those who tried to shackle it, but he had hope for the nation. He had dreams and visions that he would have wanted to see into a reality. His heroism was not only up to his written works but also in his heart.
The man that he is known for is not the man who he really is. Rizal had a brilliant mind that was geared towards the future of the country. He even knew that we were not ready for some idealistic movements, thus his hesitation to join groups. But at the end of the day, what was done is done in the past and now we look forward.
Back to where I am, I was standing in the midst of foreign people glancing at the beautiful sights of the festival. What I would have wanted for them is to know our country beyond what they see. But the question is, do we even know who we really are? We are not just a people known for great boxers and belting singers but we were once a nation who had the strongest battalion using spears and bolos. We cannot change history but we can change how it is taught.
These colors now are new to me and I embrace them as they are. They remind me that festivities unite people together. In this unity I see hope that one day or sooner our country will have a chance at a one hundred eighty degree turn. Then once again we will be highly regarded. Like the song goes, "we will rise again."
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