Philippine Jubilee

5/5/11

This year 2011 marks fifty years that the church has been established in the Philippines. There were many activities commemorating this event (like each member providing 50 hours of community service), but it all culminated in a nationwide cultural celebration the end of April and first of May. Each region participated locally, however we attended the event for Metro Manila. What an event it was! I have never witness such a spectacle. First it was held in a huge indoor air conditioned coliseum, it would be comparable to the Tacoma Dome. The music, sound system, lightening, colors and costumes were fantastic. The young people who provided the dancing and singing had been practicing for at least 18 months. I was told there were over 5,000 participants. The months of dance practice was evident in the hundreds of participants who moved in perfect unison. The Philippines was occupied by Spain for 400 years so some cultural dances had a definite Spanish feel to them, but the ones I liked the most were the tribal dances with quick bold movements and a heavy drum beat. It was definitely a far cry from the standard “LDS Road Show” lineup. My absolute favorite was from the southernmost part of the Philippines where there is a strong Indonesian influence. The main dancers were carried in standing precariously on horizontal bamboo poles balanced on the shoulders of four young men. That dance, the machete dance, another where dancers leaped from one elevated bench to another and a dance where a lit candle was cradled in a handkerchief and twirled over ones head I doubt would ever be performed in the USA. We can’t even light a candle in our church buildings let alone have kids dancing on poles over a cement floor. However no one fell and cracked their heads open, or caught on fire, and it was awesome!!