Aliwan Fiesta 2013

Uncle Dougie?

I was at the junction of Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard yesterday afternoon. I met up with new friends at a burger joint and we started talking about random stuff. Then we decided to slowly walk our way to the parade site. We had agreed to go on a photo shoot of the annual Mardi Gras that's organized by the Manila Broadcasting Corporation. Dubbed as the Aliwan Fiesta, the event gathers different regional organizations to take part in a hodge podge of activities that had become a yearly draw on Manila residents.

This year, a lot more regions took part in the parade that snaked its way from the Quirino Grandstand all the way to the Star City headquarters at the side of the CCP where the street dancing competitions were held. The parade, however, did not start on time. So a lot of waiting, eating street food and exchanging funny stories took place as we waited for the parade to begin. 

The parade began at nearly five. So as the first participants started passing us by, we had to make adjustments to our cameras to accommodate the fading light. I learned a lesson here... I failed to recharge my  dslr's battery so midway in my shoot, my dslr lost its juice. Glad I had the foresight to bring my micro four thirds camera.

No it didn't feel the same, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances. I had to take pictures with a minimum of equipment and a maximum of patience. So don't expect the best artsy-fartsy photos. You're not gonna get them this time. Sheeesh! 

It didn't stop me and my new found friends from having fun, though... It was grander this time, but they started later than the previous years. There were so many sidelights from the volume of  human traffic that was worth shooting but well...

I think this will become a major event i shall look forward to every summer. Kudos to MBC for never giving up on their pet project. The logistics are so amazing, I would shudder at how things got organized from planning to execution. There were  so many participants of the gay persuasion I think 20% of the gay population of the country was there either as a street dancer  or as amateur photographers.

Meantime, enjoy the pictures... ;-)