Bicol celebrates ‘Sarung Banggi Festival’: “There are so many Bicolano songwriters, composers, and singers. We will give them a venue to showcase their talents and pay tribute to Sarung Banggi composer Potenciano Gregorio.” – Mayor Herbie Aguas
by Leony R. Garcia
Soon traveling to Bicol wouldn’t be complete without a stopover in Sto. Domingo, the smallest and most disaster-prone town in Legazpi, Albay. Located on the foot of the famous Mayon Volcano, Sto. Domingo is blessed with rich natural resources, but it is prone to typhoons, storm surges, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, lahar flows, earthquakes, liquefaction and sedimentation, just to name some.
“We are the only town in Albay that has all the hazards,” said Mayor Herbie Aguas.
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The town is in the path of 30 percent of the more than 20 typhoons that visit the country each year. Then Mayon, for all its beauty, is an active volcano that can spew death and destruction when it acts up.
In fact, when Aguas took his oath of office during his first term as mayor in 2001, when he was only 26, Mayon was raining volcanic ash on the town.
Today,Sto. Domingo is the envy of other communities in the country when it comes to disaster risk reduction management and resiliency program. Although classified as a fourth class municipality, Sto. Domingo has the sole distinction of being the only community in the country whose villages all have their own fully functioning Barangay Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (BDRRMO) and BDRRM committee.
In 2014, Aguas received for Sto. Domingo the ‘Gawad Kalasag award’ for Best DRRMC for municipalities.
When the DRRM law, or Republic Act 10121, was enacted in 2010 Sto. Domingo was the first to adopt the measure, creating the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office and the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council.
The creation and constitution of the MDRRMO and MDRRMC led to the adoption of the Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Plan, which was ratified by the Albay provincial board.
Now, the local government is only too happy to share its knowledge and experiences in DRMM through various fora in the country.
Aside from being the safest place in Albay and the Philippines today, Sto. Domingo takes pride in having a cultural festival celebrating a regional folk song that captures the character and aspirations of its people. “Sarung Banggi,” Bicol’s signature ballad, and one of the country’s most popular and well-loved folk songs.
The month-long festival now on its 13th edition, ‘Sarung Banggi Festival’ is highlighted by various musical and cultural events capped by an intimate evening street parade on May 25 in keeping with the theme of the song ‘Sarung Banggi.’
As in the past celebrations, the festival serves as a forum in which Bicolano songwriters and singers can showcase their talents. “There are so many Bicolano songwriters, composers, and singers. We will give them a venue to showcase their talents and pay tribute to ‘Sarung Banggi’ composer Potenciano Gregorio. Since I started the festival in 2001, even kindergarten students know the composer of ‘Sarung Banggi’ who now lies in a special mausoleum in the town plaza. He will remain an inspiration for music-loving Bicolanos,” Aguas said.
‘Sarung Banggi’ literally means “one night.” It tells about an enchanted evening encounter between a love-struck man and a lovely rural lass.
It was written on May 10, 1910 and the song was arranged for a band by Gregorio in 1918 and performed by Banda de Libog, the municipal brass band. Because of its growing popularity, the composer arranged it for symphony orchestra in 1930.
The song has become so famous nationwide it spawned an LVN movie starring Rogelio de la Rosa and Mila del Sol and used as background music in many commercials in the ’40s and the ’50s.
The late Filipino violinist-conductor Redentor Romero made a special arrangement of Sarung Banggi and was performed by prize-winning Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu in Virac, Catanduanes in 2000. That seamless performance of ‘Sarung Banggi’ by a prize-winner of the Paganini Competition in Italy and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris ended in a rousing standing ovation that had audiences in Virac town shedding tears of joy.
Last year again with pianist Mary Anne Espina, violinist Christian Tan (prizewinner of the National Music Competition for Young Artists) played the Romero violin arrangement of Sarung Banggi for an encore in another concert in Catanduanes. It again ended in a standing ovation which once more confirmed the timeless appeal of the Bicol song that originated from Sto. Domingo, Albay.
Meeting the amiable Mayor Aguas for the first time during the Daragang Magayon Festival coverage, the Manila media group including the Philippine Showbiz Republic (PSR), had this notion that he himself had a life as colorful as his town and achievements. Afterall, he was acknowledged to be the ex-boyfriend of sexy-star turned chef Aya Medel.
While waiting for the right woman, Aguas remains faithful to his constituent while enjoying farm life at Aguas Farm, a sprawling 11 hectares of land dedicated to rural farming which he also intends to develop as agri-tourism site in the near future. We can’t help but marvel at the beauty of the farm over looking majestic Mayon and the open seas. “This is the best site to see Mayon’s fury while spewing ash, lava and rocks,” he stated matter-of-factly.
