Important Facts About Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival in Davao City

• The Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival originated from the tradition of thanksgiving amongst the indigenous communities called Pahinongod. Various farm tools, baskets of fruits, trays of colorful native orchids, rice and corn grains and vegetables were displayed on mats as thanksgiving to the Almighty for the year's bountiful harvest.

• In the seventies, Mayor Elias B. Lopez, a Bagobo, initiated feasts in the poblacion with representatives from the different ethno-linguistic groups Tagabawa, Clata, Ata, Manobo, Mandaya and the Islamized Indigenous Communities. They performed dances and rituals of thanksgiving.

• The first title of the feast "Kadayawan sa Dabaw" was "Apo Duwaling Festival". It was a contraction from the things the city was known for: Mt. Apo, Durian and Waling-Waling. The first festival was done in 1986 which was aimed at promoting Davao as a peaceful city. Early on, feasts were not as grand and the Apo Duwaling Festival revived celebration of colorful festivals. This was organized by the Floriculture Industry Council of Southern Mindanao (FICSMIN).

• In 1988, "Apo Duwaling" was renamed "Kadayawan sa Dabaw" which is Dabawnon expression for anything that is good, excellent and brings great fortune. It was derived from the aboriginal word "dayaw" meaning good or "madayaw" referring to things of great value, profitable, superior or beneficial.

• In the year 2005 until 2010, Kadayawan was revered as the Festival of Festivals. This was so having various festivals such as Mindanao Indigenous Dance Festival, the World Music Festival (Tugtog, later known as Tunog Mindanao), the Indigenous Music Festival (Agongan or Kulintangan), the Indigenous Peoples Festival and the River Festival. In 2011, the tag line was changed to King of Festivals.

• The Hiyas sa Kadayawan was originally a model search conceptualized to contribute to the growing fashion industry in the city. In 2007, it was changed to a competition among young, indigenous ladies who are knowledgeable of the culture and history of the indigenous community they represent. The first model Hiyas 1997 was Marie Rose Cadorna Escalada and the first indigenous Hiyas 2007 was Samrah Nuh, a Kagan.

• The Kadayawan Theme Song was composed by Joey Ayala, 2000 Datu Bago Awardee.

Showbiz Personalities at Pamulak Kadayawan 2012

There were plenty of nice floral floats during the Pamulak sa Kadayawan 2012. This year's winner in the big category was the float of Kisan Lu Lands, Inc. But it wasn't just the large colorful floats that catch the spectator's attention, there were also the presence of various showbiz personalities who attended the parade. Although I missed half of the parade since I was late, I was still able to see some showbiz personalities particularly Angelica Panganiban and rumored boyfriend John Lloyd Cruz to name a few. I heard after the parade that Coco Martin, Jessy Mendiola also joined the parade but I was unable to see them .

Below are some of the photos of showbiz celebrities that joined the Pamulak sa Kadayawan 2012:

GMA Kapuso Stars in their float

Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati

GMA Hunk Richard Gutierrez

Janine Gutierrez, Benedict Campos and Mark Gil

Daughter of Lotlot de Leon - Janine Gutierrez flashing a lovely smile 

The beautiful  Sarah Lahbati

Sarah Lahbati waving to her Davaoeño fans

Benedict Campos showing some tongue biting

John "Sweet" Lapus posing for the crowd

John "Sweet" Lapus having fun posing for the crowd

Rumored couple John Lloyd Cruz and Angelica Panganiban with Maja Salvador

John Lloyd Cruz and Angelica Panganiban looks cute together

Lovely smile from Angelica Panganiban and Maja Salvador

Maja Salvador really looks beautiful in this photo

Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival 2012 - Pamulak Kadayawan

Pamulak sa Kadayawan for me is the most anticipated part of Kadayawan 2012. What I like about Pamulak sa Kadayawan or the Floral Float Parade as all Davaoeños call it, is the beautiful and colorful floats. Aside from that we also get to see some showbiz personalities join in the parade.

This year I was a little late on arriving at the parade, I was tired on Saturday's Kadayawan event which was the Indak Indak sa Kadalanan. When I arrive at the downtown area, I think almost half of the parade has gone by, but still I get to see some beautiful floats that participated and some showbiz personalities such as Angelica Panganiban, Maja Salvador, John Lloyd Cruz to name a few.

This year's winner of Pamulak Kadayawan 2012 are:

Big Category:

1st place

Kisan Lu Lands, Inc.

2nd place

International Pharmaceutical, Inc. (IPI)

3rd place

DMMA College

Small Category:

1st place

Villar Foundation (CSR Arm of Camella Homes)

2nd place

Synnex Concentrix Corp.

3rd place

Sr. Sto. Niño de Davao

Here are some photos of the Pamulak Kadayawan 2012:

Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival 2012 - Indak Indak sa Kadalanan

I was a bit disappointed to last year's Indak Indak sa Kadalanan because the participants were no longer performing some of their routines on the street. Most of them were either walking or running. I guess maybe the plan was not to tire out the participants which were mostly kids and have them perform at San Pedro Street (in front of city hall) when the competition is already judged. Well I guess this was nice, but to those spectators who don't want to exert too much energy trying to find a spot to watch the contestant perform near the City Hall (believe me its very crowded on that place) would rather see the contestant show of some of their dances on the street (me in particular).

But this year well they went back to what Indak Indak sa Kadalanan was about, contestant dancing on the streets, and spectators where in such a delight seeing those participants perform all out on the streets. 

Here are the winners of the Indak Indak sa Kadalanan

Davao based:

1st place

Jesus Soriano National High School

2nd place

Sta. Ana Performing Arts Guild

3rd place

Tribu Kalibungan of Fatima Elementary School

4th place

San Isidro Elementary School

5th place

Vicente Hizon Elementary School

Open category:

1st place

Bamban National High School

2nd place

Notre Dame of Sto. Niño

3rd place

Kutawato Institute of Technology

4th place

Mabuyok Surigao del Norte

5th place

Bobongan Dance Arts Talaingod

Here are some photos of the Indak Indak sa Kadalanan 2012:

Pretty Davaoeñas at Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival 2012

Last Saturday and Sunday was the Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2012, Indak Indak sa Kadalanan and the Pamulak Kadayawan. There was plenty of nice floats that participated, and some nice dancing from various schools too. There were also pretty celebrities that participated during the Pamulak Kadayawan, but the beautiful Davaoeñas that participated during the event were eye catchers also. Below are some photos of pretty Davaoeñas that participated during the Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2012.