Spotlight on Reyna Bulakna in this year’s Kadaugan

CEBU, Philippines — With two weeks leading up to the festivities in Mactan, the island of Lapu-Lapu is once again abuzz with excitement as the official roster of celebrities, who will be taking part in the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Mactan—which benchmarked the early resistance of Filipinos led by Datu Lapu-Lapu against foreign invasion—has been announced.

The Lapu-Lapu City government revealed that basketball player turned model Derick Hubalde, who appeared as a vampire in the recently concluded ABS-CBN series “La Luna Sangre,” as Datu Lapu-Lapu. Cebuana actress Dionne Monsanto of “Tubig at Langis” fame will breathe life to Reyna Bulakna’s character, while actor Luis Alandy, who now goes by his real name Adrian Alandy after working on the film “Citizen Jake,” will be portraying the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

Set along the shores of the Liberty Shrine, the re-enactment, called “Kadaugan sa Mactan,” is annually held on the morn of April 27 to commemorate the efforts of the country’s earliest heroes. It is a performance depicting the victory of Lapu-Lapu and his men over the Spaniards’ attempt of colonization led by Ferdinand Magellan in the historic battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.

Usually a dance spectacle showing how the battle progressed and was eventually won by Lapu-Lapu, the 498th Kadaugan sa Mactan celebration will have a special twist.

In an attempt for a more dynamic retelling, this year’s re-enactment will display live singing, chanting, and creative movements paired with instrumentals—something that has never been done before.

According to Harry Radaza, Chair of the Kadaugan sa Mactan celebration and Chairman of the Commitee on Tourism, the storytelling will also put the spotlight on Datu Lapu-Lapu’s wife, Reyna Bulakna for a change, reimagining and reintroducing her not only as a mere character along the sidelines, but also as an important woman and persona in history as well.

Another notable change in this year’s celebration is the participation of former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Dionne Monsanto as Reyna Bulakna. It has been a while since the re-enactment featured Bisaya artists for the lead role. Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell, a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, was the last native to portray Bulakna in 2015.

Known for their popular lead casts, the re-enactment has always featured popular Filipino talents regardless if they were Lapu-Lapu City natives or not. In 2016, Manila-based talents like ABS-CBN stars Ejay Falcon and Bela Padilla portrayed Lapu-Lapu and Bulakna, respectively while Matt Evans portayed Ferdinand Magellan. Last year, none of the main cast were natives with Tony Labrusca and Kris Bernal as Lapu-Lapu and Bulakna, while James Ryan Cesena portrayed the foreigner Magellan. This has become a sort of tradition, as well as a way of constantly inviting locals and tourists to take part in the festivities.

“Yes it’s very refreshing and empowering that a Bisaya talent, someone who is from here, will be portraying Reyna Bulakna. It’s very fitting,” says Radaza. “Especially that this year, the re-enactment will focus more on the story of Bulakna. We are also happy that now, we’ve placed an amount of importance on Reyna Bulakna, aside from the Rampada. We want to show who she is, aside from being the wife of Lapu-Lapu. This time, we will be able to tell her story and what she does.”

P8 million has been alloted for the activities in line with the 498th “Kadaugan sa Mactan” celebration which kicks off today and will commence on April 28.  Rudy Aviles, scriptwriter and director of the 2018 re-enactment quips says in previous reports that the choreography will be highly dramatized, and that the spectacle will also feature Visayan songs. Artistic director Victor Cuenco has also said that special guests and the audience can spare themselves from craning their necks for a good look at the performance, with two LED screens installed for them to use. The screens will also display English translations of the actor’s lines. The musical presentation’s stage artist will be by the Oponganon Performance Arts Company.

Other events lined up for the “Kadaugan sa Mactan” festivities include the Rampada, Food festival, and the search for Reyna Bulakna, among others.

“This is a different twist to the usual ‘Kadaugan’ that you see. Next year, we don’t know which direction and which part we want to go and emphasize on. But if we do it the same way every year, there won’t be anything for people to come back to. By venturing out into a new way of presenting the story, something that’s never been done before—we’re bringing something unique that everyone can look forward to,” Radaza adds.

The “Kadaugan sa Mactan” 2018 re-enactment will be held on April 27, 8 a.m. at the historic Liberty Shrine, Barangay Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City.