HUDYAKA ZANORTE STREET PARADE

The highlight of Hudyaka Festival is to showcase the extreme cultural talents of the people from Zamboanga Del Norte. It is undoubtedly the unique event in  which every Filipinos should be proud of. The finale of the event  is called the Hudyaka Zanorte Street Dance Parade in which we were excited about witnessing. Hudyaka is an old dialect which simply means “moments of Merry making”. Originally initiated by Governor Rolando Yebes and started in 2005 and almost a month-long celebration that focuses on educational and sports activities, live gala festival shows, music and art competition and a grand fireworks display show.

The parade showcases the cultural street dance moves, acts and routines which is such an extravagant competition between the representatives from different towns and schools in the province of Zamboanga Del Norte. The participants together with the judges and spectators witness the major street parades and at night will be proclaimed winners.

The street parade kicked in at exactly 1:00pm. It was  my first time watching the Hudyaka Festival so I made it very clear that I will take part of this event. Together with my group , we shone like a stars and danced as if it was the end of the world.

The Hudyaka Festival street parade is something you should experience. For me, it’s a great way to encourage youth and out of school youth to develop their special skills through music and dancing.

It seems that  the preparation of each contenders started between a month or two in advance. You can vividly pick a great float designs, costumes and other stuff that is connected to the whole production. The street parade is highly an orchestrated show with a huge proportions. It seemed as if each of them has its own dedicated role and their performances were all terrific.

Hudyaka Festival street parade is very distinct. It is also quite similar to other festivals I personally witnessed. The native costumes are ultimately creative, colorful and very well detailed. I can’t  imagine how long they prepared for this event.

I fell in love with their costumes- from their props to their own dresses. I thought they were cute, elegant and attractive. The variety of colors also stood up. I also noticed other participants wearing body paints and so many colorful glitters and big smile on their faces.  The Hudyaka Zanorte Festival greeted our summer madness with delicious food, cool destinations,  games, street and cultural performances. I am really glad that the local government of Zamboanga Del Norte embraced the power of Social media through blogging. Through them we were able to witness the best of ZaNorte and now I am sharing it with you. Hudyaka Zanorte Festival was the 4th Best Tourism Events in the country in year 2010.

See you next year for the Hudyaka Zanorte festival 2013.