published on 06/23/11 by belle piccio
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by Marty Go (ABS-CBN News Bacolod)
Kansilay is Silay City’s festival about a folktale showing the bravery of beautiful Princess Kansilay who offered her life for justice and freedom. The dance-drama is the highlight of the week-long city fiesta that ends on November 13.
The 9-day celebration starts with the celebration of "El Cinco de Noviembre", a one-day bloodless revolution in Silay which caused the surrender of the Spanish civil guards. Commemorative rites in remembrance of "El Cinco de Noviembre" open the 9-day festival.
Every 12th of June, the streets of Silay City, Negros Occidental are filled with excited people to witness the Kansilay streetdancing competition in celebration of the city's charter day.
Groups from the sixteen barangays of the city are clad in colorful and artistic costumes as they dance along the music of "hugyaw Silay", the city's slogan.
Each group is led by a maiden who represents Princess Kansilay, a main character in the folktale of how Silay came up with its name.
HISTORY
It is said that in the early days, pirates invaded the land but Princess Kansilay defended her people and fought courageously with her life. They were successful in driving out the pirates but the princess died in the battle. Her people were surprised after a tree grew from the ground where they buried her body. Thus, her name was shortened to Silay.
Special events include a food festival, quiz contest, Ilonggo poetry reading, agro-industrial trade fair, and a street dance-drama competition named after a forest tree with purplish pink flowers, the "Kansilay."
The streetdancing competition is not only a spectacle for the people to behold but a tribute to the ancestors of this old city in Negros Occidental.
How to Get There
From Manila, you can fly to Bacolod (PHP2500++, round trip, 45 minutes). From Bacolod-Silay Airport, you can take a shuttle (PHP75-100 per head), or hire a cab (PHP400 minimum) to go to Bacolod City. You can also take a tricycle parked outside the airport (PHP10 minimum per head for at least 5 passengers, otherwise if you're riding alone you'll have to pay PHP50) going to Silay City proper.
Source:
http://www.choosephils.com/read_post.php?cat=festivals&id=122
http://www.lutongbahay.com/index.cfm?pagename=focusregion&opn=0&focusID=21%20
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/6946552956_6966a787b8.jpg
http://thirtyone81.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/kansilay-festival-silay-city/
http://thirtyone81.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/kansilay-festival-silay-city/