“Viva Señor San Agustin!” is a greeting in Cagayan de Oro for
the feast day of Saint Augustine every August 28. Today’s fiesta is the
culmination of the activities of the Kagay-an Festival 2013 that
included Kumbira, garden shows, PBA legends basketball game, marathon, cowboy
fest, beauty pageant, fireworks displays, P.E. rhythmic dance, Higalas Parade of Icons, among others. The activities of the Kagay-an festival concludes today
with a religious procession which includes a fluvial parade on Cagayan River.
Fiesta and the holding of related activities have become the
tradition of the people of the city. It
is a Roman Catholic tradition that is inherited from the Spaniards who celebrate
a village or a town saint’s day with a banquet. Since every barangay in the
city has its own patron saint, there are many fiestas that are held in the
city. But the one that takes the center stage is the feast day of Saint
Augustine because he is the patron saint of the city proper. Usually, it is
only the people of that area who give banquet on Saint Augustine’s day, but the
fiesta and the Kagay-an Festival are considered as the events for most people
of Cagayan de Oro. Other people though
because of religious belief do not celebrate the fiesta.
Other than being parts of the tradition of the Cagayanons, the
Kagay-an Festival and the fiesta are also an instrument to showcase the city to
people from other places and the rest of the world that it is a good destination
for tourism and investment in the Philippines. The people of the city have just
felt the negative impact of the bombing at the Lim Ket Kai Center on July 26,
2013. In spite of it, people from all walks of life, in a show of solidarity,
have worked hand in hand so that the city can get back on its feet. This year’s
fiesta is celebrated under the new administration of Mayor Oscar Moreno. With
him the Cagayanons hope that the coming years will bring in more
economic progress and improved peace and order situation to the city.
Pictures of the fluvial procession:
Pictures of Miss Amadea Lucia Piatti Miss CDO 2013 and the runner ups of the beauty pageant
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| Miss Amadea Piatti, (second from left), Miss CDO 2013 |
Pictures related to Kagay-an Festival 2013
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| Saint Augustine Cathedral |
