ORANI, Bataan – Street dancers showcased some of the many uses of the coconut tree in the “Buko Festival” held in the mountain village of Tala in Orani, Bataan Saturday afternoon.
Organizers said the festival in its second year aimed at showing that coconut-raising is a major source of income in the village that has to be cared and thanked for. The festival also coincided with the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita.
Street dancers, their “mutya” and floats were colorfully decorated with various parts of coconut trees.
The participants first paraded around the village passing through some steep but concreted road. At the background can be seen the mountain.
Street dancing exhibition followed at the village plaza adjacent to the parish church with coconut trees at the background. The place overcrowded with people who heavily cheered at every presentation.
Four “mutya” artistically showed their dancing and modeling skills to the cheering of the big crowd.
Participants in colorful costumes carried coconut seedlings, buko, walis tingting in their varied dance interpretation.
Some even squeezed coconut gata and nagkudkod. Palaypay made of young coconut leaves used during Palm Sunday were also shown.
So with tuba gathering, baskets made of mature coconut leaves and other items were presented through dance numbers.
