Kadaugan Sa Mactan Opening

Hotel food at rock-bottom prices
By Dale G. Israel, Reporter

People were treated to a “food carousel” last night during the opening of the weeklong Kadaugan sa Mactan festival.

Dishes from Lapu-Lapu City’s international resorts and hotels will be available in open air stalls near the Lapu-Lapu Shrine and sold at only P5 to P100 per serving until Sunday.

“We want to make sure that the food is of hotel quality and affordable,” said Hembler Mendoza, general manager of the Waterfront Mactan Hotel and Casino and head of the food festival committee.

The food carousel is a highlight of the annual reenactment of the Battle of Mactan, which celebrates the victory of island chieftain Lapu-Lapu against Spanish explorers led by Ferdinand Magellan on April 27, 1521.


On Monday, April 27, celebrities like actor Joko Diaz, singer Gino Padilla and actress Maureen Larazabal will play the roles of Lapu-Lapu, Magellan, and the chieftains wife, Bulakna.

The road leading to the shrine and parts of barangay Maribago were closed to traffic for about an hour for yesterday’s opening ceremonies which lasted until 4 p.m.

Five groups of dancers performed. One group in Spanish costume depicted conquistadors battling natives of Mactan Island. Another group dressed as tribal Mantawi dancers of Mandaue City. A traditional Filipino wedding dance showed the bride having money bills pinned to her gown.

An inter-barangay sports festival was also opened yesterda afternoon led by Lapu-Lapu City first lady Paz Radaza.

Twelve hotels and resorts set up stalls for the food carousel, which is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Sunday night. In the middle of the carousel, performers serenade visitors from a 12-foot high stage.

Mendoza said changes were made to improve the activity, such as expanding the area for visitors to a vacant lot near the Magellan’s Shrine and managing the flow of guests.

“In a carousel route, visitors don’t get confused where to go first because everything is there.”
More visitors are expected to attend the event this year.

Source: http://www.cdn.ph/photostore/news_details.php?id=2244

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Kadaugan Sa Mactan

LAPU-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza is calling for unity among residents as the city starts today the week-long celebration of Kadaugan sa Mactan.

“Let’s do away with crab mentality so we can achieve progress,” the mayor said in Bisaya.

Kadaugan sa Mactan is an annual week-long commemoration of the 1521 battle in Mactan between Datu Lapu-Lapu and Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.


The festivities will kick off with a floral offering by City Hall and Philippine Air Force officials at 8 a.m. today.

At 4 p.m., the city will hold a street dance and parade from the Sto. Niño parish in Barangay Mactan to the Liberty Shrine less than a kilometer away.

Efren Belarmino, Plantation Bay general manager and chairman of the committee handling the street dance festival, said several public schools and hotel-resorts have confirmed to send contingents to the parade.

Following the parade will be the opening of a food festival at the Liberty Shrine at 6 p.m. Belarmino said the food festival will feature the menus of the different hotels in the city. During the festival, people can taste the food for free.

A platform will be built at the shrine for the holding of cultural programs during the food festival.

Radaza said the Kadaugan sa Mactan is not just about a local warrior’s victory over an invader, it is also about winning over perennial problems like poverty and the economic crisis.

City Councilor Damian Gomez, on the other hand, said the celebration is a tourist attraction and everybody should focus on its purpose.

Source: http://www3.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/kadaugan-sa-mactan-celebration-starts-today

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