Albay’s Magayon Festival 2012

Fiestas in the Philippines are a chaos of colors, costumes, confetti and circus tricks. For the jaded, they all start to look the same. But there’s still something about the rhythmic drum beats that fill the air, the complicated choreography, the lighting-quick costume changes, the traditional music segueing into popular dance tunes, and the smiles on the faces of dancers during provincial fiestas that I still find fascinating.What’s most interesting to me is how fiestas make people proud of their town’s distinct product. Whether it’s the fishing industry in general, root crops, or figures from folklore, the street dances paying tribute to an aspect of a town’s culture really makes an effort to tell a story. Here are a few photos from the opening ceremonies of the Magayon Festival 2012 in Albay, Legazpi taken last April 10. The festival will last until May 10.

View the Magayon Festival 2012 Calendar of events.