SAAD FESTIVAL- Mecca of Western Visayas!

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND RANGE OF THE ELEMENT: 

                The annual celebration of the Saad Festival is held at the town proper of the municipality. Before the Grand Salvo parade, a Eucharistic Mass is held inside the Shrine of St. Vincent Ferrer. The Parish Church was established in 1858 after Iloilo was separated from the diocese of Cebu. It is the 24^th out of the 33 parishes created from 1599 to 1879. In April 2008, the parish was elevated into a diocesan shrine dedicated and consecrated by Most Rev. Bishop Angel Lagdameo.

                  The street dancing is held around the town’s main roads that commenced from the Saad Park to the Fiesta Pavilion. The Saad Park was named after the festival. It was a mini football field that was paved and beautified. A life-size statue of St. Vincent Ferrer was placed at the park for the devotees to light candles and show their veneration. The Fiesta Pavilion on the other hand is the town’s plaza. It was built in 1957. The pavilion, throne stage, and triumphal arch are considered the town’s glorious edifices. The triumphal arc was patterned from the Arc de Triomphe of Paris. Other than Saad  Festival, public events, fiesta coronation, and sports activities are also held in the fiesta pavilion.

DESCRIPTION 

 

For 165 years in Iloilo, St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Leganes has been a figure of devotion for many Filipinos of the Roman Catholic faith. People especially the devotees, would hear mass and participate in the Palapak (the placing of the small image on the devotee's head) believing it would heal them of various illnesses. Devotees believe that a “Palapak” by a blessed image of St. Vincent Ferrer heals. And because of this, Leganes has become a pilgrimage center, not only in Iloilo but in the whole country, as devotion to the saint, renowned for his miracles, has touched the lives of many who believed.

 

              In 2005, as the Leganensnon community prepares for the celebration of the 150^th founding anniversary of the parish and its dedication and consecration as a Shrine, The Municipal Tourism Office initiated the birth of Pana-ad Festival. After a year, the DOT suggested having the name of our festival changed since Negros Occidental Pana-ad sang Negros is already popular. After a series of consultations, Saad Festival was coined.

 

              Saad, a biblical Hiligaynon term for “vow” depicts the community’s intense spirituality and religious faith. The festival is filled with colors and music. Choreographed steps such as processional marches with dancers dressed in traditional Filipino costumes with scapulars hanging on their necks and carrying an image of the winged saint halts at intervals, and utters “san Vicente Ferrer, Ig ampo mo kami!” or Viva San Vicente, Arriba Leganes!

 

Leganes, Iloilo plays host to one of the distinctive religious celebrations in Iloilo. Saad portrays the Leganesnons’ intense spirituality and religious faith. The festival is also a celebration of thanksgiving for the blessings received from God with the intercession of the miraculous, St. Vincent Ferrer, the town’s patron saint. Consequently, many believers are having their “panaad” to attend the mass and experience the “palapak” or the treading of the image of a miraculous saint on the devotees’ bodies accompanied by the latter’s belief that their sickness will be healed. The festival is primarily a praise and devotion presentation that combines Leganes’ folktale with a contemporary approach of worship to choreographed steps.

 

The celebration of the Saad Festival is an essential religious festival for the province every year. It is celebrated every 3^rd Thursday of January and it ends on the 31^st day in commemoration of the patron saint’s birthday. The festival highlights the cultural dance presentation at the end of the month. Devotees from other neighboring towns would visit the Municipality to exercise their faith and devotion to St. Vincent Ferrer.

Culture-bearer/s and practitioner/s of the element

The festival started with the Grand Salvo Parade, participated in by hubons composed of at least 50 members per hubon along with them are the parents of the students, barangay officials, and their supporters and volunteers. The Miss Leganes Saad Festival Beauty Pageant was participated by young ladies ages 18-25 years old and is representing the different barangays in the municipality. Each candidate was supported by their respective barangay officials. The Leganes Youth Volunteer for the Culture, Arts, History, and Tourism was the main organizer of these crowd drawer events. The food fest which featured the local delicacies of the town such as seafood and chicken barbeque was one of the most anticipated activities of the festival. The cultural dance competitions were participated in by hubons of with over a hundred participants per hubon. There were stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Saad Festival Cultural competition as well as the sinadsad dance parade.

Leganesnons from walks of life get involved in the annual festivities. The families who tookturn in sponsoring and serving snacks during practise, the designers and choreographers most of them come from the LGBTQ and most especially the Youth Volunteers who actively participated in all of the activities, from the planning to the actual staging of the events.

 

 

  Mode of transmission 

 

The Saad Festival is one of the two major festivals of the municipality and is included in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) of the LGU for both the municipality and the barangays for fund allocation for the annual festivity. An ordinance was also passed by the Sangguniang Bayan declaring Saad Festival as the official festival of the town and the month of January as its schedule. Palapak is also still practiced up to this period. Parishioners, pilgrims, and even tourists would want to experience the palapak every time they visited the church. It is incorporated into the annual religious festival of the town.

Aside from “palapak” the rise of popularity of saad also sparked from Kasadyahan Festival which the hubon from Leganes showcased their panaad for San Vicente Ferrer through dance which they won a couple times and in the same year they represent Iloilo in the 2008 Aliwan Festival in Manila. Later on because of the title and fame they’ve got from various competitions a lot of people want to watch and witness Saad Festival in Leganes.

STORIES/NARRATIVES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ELEMENT

    Many devotees have testified the power and miracle brought by the treading of the image of St. Vincent Ferrer or known as “Palapak”, that their wish and desires has been granted. One of these was according to a former Tourism Officer of Santa Barbara, when she gave birth to her child it sadly said that it was unhealthy and so it grew to be sickly. During one of the famous “Palapak” in Leganes, and the widespread miraculous St. Vincent Ferrer that can heal the devotee's illness, she took the oath that if this patron saint would heal her child, she vowed to attend the mass every Sunday to renew her covenant from granting her desire.

 SIGNIFICANCE

Historical- It is significantly historical because the parish of St. Vincent Ferrer was established first before the town. The practice of the palapak was believed to have originated from St. Vincent Ferrer and has been practiced for over 150 years which became the culture and tradition of the Leganesnon. In 2005, as the Leganesnon community prepares for the celebration of the 150^th founding anniversary of the parish and its dedication and consecration as a Shrine, the Municipal Tourism Office initiated the birth of Pana-ad Festival. After a year, the DOT suggested having the name of our festival changed since Negros Occidental’s Pana-ad sang Negros is already popular. After a series of consolations, Saad Festival was coined. This festival is in its 18^th year and the activities lasted for one week. Hence, the Miss Leganes Saad Festival is also on its 18^th year of showcasing the exquisiteness and vibrancy of empowered women in the Municipality of Leganes, Indeed, social relevance lies in gathering Leganesnons to experience yet another celebration rooted in the tradition of thanksgiving to the town’s patron, St. Vincent Ferrer for the abundant guidance.

Aesthetic- the Saad Festival has proven to be Leganes’ most colorful vibrant event. It raised tourist arrivals and expenditures. Because of the influx of devotees and spectators during religious activities and the crowd drawer nightly food fest and cultural presentation, the Saad Festival becomes an anticipated event.

Social- the Festival was the time of the year when Leganesnon from all walks of life were one is celebrating their true leganesnon culture and happy to share with every guest their true leganesnon hospitality which is innate in every people in Leganes and Ilonggos as a whole.

Socioeconomic- The beneficiaries of the festival were the 35,000 more or fewer people of the Leganes from all walks of life, the devotees of St. Vincent Ferrer, the students and pupils of the public schools in the municipality, and the community people who in their own way have benefited from the festivities.

                Every activity that unfolded during the duration of the festival has its own kind of audience and participants. The dressmakers, make-up artists, fashion designers, set designers, choreographers, carpenters, and craftsmen also benefited from the festival, not to forget the tricycle and jeepney drivers, haulers, labourers, cooks, and carenderia owners. Souvenir items are bestsellers during the festival which benefited the t-shirt printers, mug designers, key chains, and wood crafts. Dish gardens and ornamental plants also served as souvenirs. Since the town is famous for the “ukay-ukay” flee market, it was a triple income week for the vendors. And most of all were sellers of candles and religious articles.

The event was not just for the benefit of the Leganesnon but also to promote tourism in Leganes as a whole.

Spiritual- Leganes, Iloilo plays host to one of the distinctive religious celebrations in Iloilo. Saad portrays the Leganesnons’ intense spirituality and religious faith. The festival is also a celebration of thanksgiving for the blessings received from God with the intercession of the miraculous, St. Vincent Ferrer, the town’s patron saint. Consequently, many believers are having their “panaad” to attend the mass and experience the “palapak” or the treading of the image of a miraculous saint on the devotees’ bodies accompanied by the latter’s belief that their sickness will be healed. The festival is primarily a praise and devotion presentation that combines Leganes’ folktale with a contemporary approach of worship to choreographed steps.

 

CONDITION/STATUS OF THE PRACTICE

The Saad Festival is one of the two major festivals of the municipality and is included in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) of the LGU for both the municipality and the barangays for fund allocation for the annual festivity. An ordinance was also passed by the Sangguniang Bayan declaring Saad Festival as the official festival of the town and the month of January as its schedule. Palapak is also still practiced up to this period. Parishioners, pilgrims, and even tourists would want to experience the palapak every time they visited the church. It is incorporated into the annual religious festival of the town.

Aside from “palapak” the rise of popularity of saad also sparked from Kasadyahan Festival which the hubon from Leganes showcased their panaad for San Vicente Ferrer through dance which they won a couple times. Later on because of the title and fame they’ve got from various competitions a lot of people want to watch and witness Saad Festival in Leganes.

 

An Ordinance declaring the Saad Festival as one of the official festivals of the Municipality of Leganes adapting the Resolution No. 2021-504 on April 14, 2021. Whereas, the Saad Festival is one of the major festivals of the Municipality which depicts religious beliefs blended with the tradition of the Leganesnons and was recognized as one of the best religious festivals in the country. This refers to the Local Tourism Council of the Municipality of Leganes under the control and supervision of the Municipal Mayor. This body is mandated to plan, organize and implement various activities in relation to this ordinance.

 

Currently, despite the pandemic, the Saad Festival is still celebrated in other forms such as caravans, online competitions, and a lot of activities that won’t compromise people’s health by strictly following health protocols.

 

CONSTRAINTS/ THREATS/ ISSUES/ CHALLENGES: 

·         Social gathering and touching other people is prohibited since there are health protocols being imposed because of the pandemic.

·         Typhoon that will force the event to postpone or worst, cancel. 

All photos were taken by Mr. Nonoy Ubal