Sinukwan Festival, 19 years and beyond T

oday marks the culmination of the week-long, prov ince-wide Sinukwan Festival. Now on its 19th year, the Sinukwan Festival is organized yearly by the Foundation for Lingap Kapampangan, Inc., under the battle cry, “Save Pampanga!”.

The festival aims to bring together not only the towns and cities of Pampanga, but all the Kapampangan-speaking communities even beyond our geographical boundaries, in a celebration that highlights our rich and colorful culture and heritage. More importantly, it seeks to propagate and popularize the use and preservation of the Kapampangan l an gu age.

How far has the Sinukwan Festival gone in the past 19 years? A long, long way from where it started. And a long way to go, too.

While we Kapampangans have no street dancing extravaganza that will equal the AtiAtihan of Aklan or Sinulog of Cebu, the Sinukwan has instilled in our consciousness the seeds of street dancing as a festive art form. Today, many of the Kapampangans in Pampanga await the yearly Sinukwan street dancing competition.

Sadly, not all of the Kapampangan local governments are able to send their official contingents. In recent years, the Provincial Government has introduced its own street dancing parade and competition to coincide with the opening of the Pampanga Day Celebrations, while it still maintains a certain amout of donation to the FLKI. More courageously, where the local governments have failed, it is the schools and communities which stepped up in sending their homegrown contingents.

The Sinukwan Festival also popularized the concept of a cultural pageant with its Lakan, Lakambini and Prinsensita ning Sinukwan. Unlike the majority of the beauty pageants in our province, these three focus on the use of Kapampangan language, the creativity and artistry of cultural and festival costumes, and the promotion of Kapampangan music and arts through the talent competition.

However, what is popular is not always correct and there is a danger of on indigenous traditions being taken out of the traditional contexts, as in the case of some talent presentations through the years. Along this line, our local choreographers and talent coordinators need to dig deeper and understand the historicity and authenticity of the traditions which they seek to populari ze.

The Sinukwan Festival has had its battles and victories in the past 19 years. Much of it is through the efforts of selfless individuals whose unrelenting commitment and tireless volunteerism power the struggle to preserve our Kapampangan heritage.

Luid ya ing Kapampangan! Luid ya ing Sinukwan!