LAGAYLAY FESTIVAL By Nixy Relucio Nicole Mendoza Missy

LAGAYLAY FESTIVAL By: Nixy Relucio, Nicole Mendoza, Missy Payumo & Chiara Alcazar of IA - GROUP 4

¡Devotion to the Holy Cross consisting of a series of prayers written in verses ¡Celebration in honor of a tradition where women dance on the streets while chanting prayers to find the real cross

HISTORY ¡Started in 1858 ¡Originated from a pre-Hispanic ritual called Halea - a song and dance ceremony performed for the moon

PURPOSE ¡Reenactment of the discovery of the Holy Cross by St. Helena ¡Participated by lovely maidens with sweet melodious voices

HISTORY ¡The annual performance of Lagaylay began in 1963 when Guillerma Arlante became Hermana Mayor of the Cofradia de Hermanidad

HISTORY ¡From 1952– 1962, Lagaylay could not be shown for some reasons ¡ During that time they still had the novena’s and the dotok

HISTORY ¡On May 11, 1962 the last day of the novena, Mrs. Guillerma Arlante recalled an incident that happened to them while she and several companions were praying at the patio

HISTORY ¡They saw the Cross swaying (Nag-giay) as she described it ¡ They interpreted this incident as a sigh to them that the Lagaylay be revived

HISTORY ¡The following year 1963, when Mrs. Guillerma Arlante became the Hermana Mayora, she revived the Lagaylay ¡Since then time on Lagaylay was always celebrated every year

PURPOSE ¡To the faithful of Canaman, Lagaylay is a manifestation of their strong faith and great love of God worthy of perpetuation, it is a community prayer which binds people together

MUSIC ¡Maestro Gaspar Advincula was the earliest known trainor of the Lagaylay assisted by Maestro Antero Gomez and Maestro Sabas Chica ¡This original Lagaylay had more emphasis on the lyrics of the song than on the expression of the movements

MUSIC ¡It was followed by another set of trainors like Maestro Hugo Gomez who made some revisions in the lyrics, and musical arrangements were composed by Maestro Juan Nuñez ¡ By this time the interpretation was more on body language

MUSIC ¡New trainors came up like Mr. Geronimo Nuñez, Mr. Ignacio Alano and Mr. Melecio Porcioncula ¡ They were succeeded by Mr. Carlos Salcedo Sr. who did much in the improvement of the old Lagaylay adjusting it to the present trends and mood of life

MUSIC ¡Adaptations and some modifications were made adding more grade to the dances and giving more meaning and expressions to the lyrics of the verses ¡Hence, this present Lagaylay which has evolved from simplicity to a refinement and beauty in its religiosity

STATUS IN PRESENT TIME ¡Performed for nine nights with a novena to the Holy Cross ¡Starts on the third day of May, which is believed to be the day of the finding of the Holy Cross ¡Ends on the eleventh

STATUS IN PRESENT TIME ¡Currently, Aurora Lara, Letty Chavez, Carlos Salcedo Jr. and Noel Salcedo maintain the tradition

SOURCES ¡http: //www. 1 stphilippines. com/pp 45034983 ad 9364 b 1820597 b 610 dca 52 b. html ¡http: //newfrontierscompsoln. com/~canamanp/index. ph p? option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=1 54 ¡ http: //newfrontierscompsoln. com/~canamanp/index. p hp? option=com_content&view=article&id=33&Itemid= 137