A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; . . . — John Keats Birth and beginnings are great moments, they open avenues and foster hope and promise—just like January, first month of the calendar year that rings as the favoured month to start new things […]
A Memoir of Pangalay as Told by Pacita “Punch” Gavino
“It seemed easy enough to do,” I thought to myself as I watched the pangalay program at the Roman Garden on the bank of the Marikina River in 2005. I had already seen Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa give a short demonstration of it at a conference at the Cultural Center of the Philippines many years ago, and […]
AlunAlun Trains GMA Network’s SAHAYA Actors in Dance
The successful airing of Sahaya, the first drama series about the saga of a Badjao community in Tawi-Tawi, may be considered a milestone in Philippine TV broadcasting. The primetime drama series aired from March 2019 to Sep 2019. Tackling the issues of the Sama Dilaut / Badjao with fidelity to cultural traditions and heritage of […]
AlunAlun Dance Circle in GMA Network’s SAHAYA
by Louanne Calipayan The AlunAlun Dance Circle (ADC) joined the final episode of GMA 7’s Sahaya telecast on 6 September 2019. The ADC participated in the production by dancing on the show during the celebratory ritual scenes, where the Badjao/ Sama Dilaut community gathered together for thanksgiving and feasting. Sahaya is the first primetime drama […]
FLASHBACK 2015: LFA Presents Paper at 1st Sama Dilaut International Conference
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi- Ms. LIgaya Fernando-Amilbangsa presented a paper on Igal/ Pangalay on the first day of the 1 st International Conference on the Sama Badjao (Sama Dilaut) held at the Marine Science Museum of the MSU Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography. The conference, which was held from December 1-3, 2015, had the theme: Sea-bound and Cross-borders Maritime […]
FLASHBACK 2015: Tawi-Tawi Honors Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa with Lifetime Achievement Award
BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi- On Sept. 25, 2015, the provincial government of Tawi-Tawi again recognized the contribution of Ms. Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa to the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the province during the Agal-Agal Festival program held at the DepEd Compound as part of its 2nd annual Kamahardikaan celebration. Immediately before the awarding, Dr. Filemon G. Romero, Chairman of […]