CAVITE CITY, Cavite – Local revelers and foreign tourists enjoyed Sunday’s kilometer-long “Basayawan,” or the traditional street dancing while getting doused with water, during the wet party dubbed “Pambansang Goli,” an annual highlight of this city’s ‘Regada Water Festival’ in celebration of the feast day of St. John the Baptist, the city’s patron saint.
The “Basayawan” stretched to a kilometer, where participants in costume paraded and danced to the rhythm of the bands and artists such as 6 Cyclemind, Loonie Gummy Bas Delolo and Marcelito Pomoy.
The annual event, which started in 1996 as religious-cultural and festive celebration, also featured the competition dubbed as the “Biggest Goli” (biggest bathing) in town, the “Paulan” (raining) street party using water sprinklers, and the customary dousing with pails of water to participants and revelers.
Caviteños spiced up their celebration with the cheerful “Chavacano” greetings “Viva Regada,” displaying largely Spanish influence in this festivity and religious cultural event, as the image of St. John the Baptist was paraded around town.
The event organizers said that participants and even the crowd were expected to get wet in the festivities. Even Cavite City Mayor Totie Paredes and Vice Mayor Denver Chua – with special guests former Governor Jonvic Remulla and Jhing Hernandez – are joining the fun.
The Cavite towns of Noveleta and Tanza likewise observed their traditional “Zumbasaan,” or the Zumba party, where dancers enjoyed getting drenched in Noveleta’s Barangay San Juan “Welcome Arch” to the rhythms played by local bands of the Green Department and The Youth; and in Tanza at the Barangay Biwas Rotonda.
Other Cavite places honoring the patron St. John the Baptist similarly observed the festive drenching celebration, such as General Trias City, where Mayor Antonio Ferrer, Vice Mayor Morit Sison and city councilors joined the water dousing as early as 8 a.m. Sunday along the major roads stretching from Barangays San Juan 1 and 2 to Barangay Tejero.
GenTri’s celebration of water dousing was participated in by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) fire trucks positioned at strategic sites to shower participants with water. (Dennis Abrina/PNA)
