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By Fr. Leo Pabayo

I WROTE earlier that there is always something new in the way the fiesta is celebrated each year. But there is always something old also. It does not matter if some of the ways by which people celebrate are old fashioned. Neither does it matter much if the manner of celebrating is modern.

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What matters most is the spirit in which they are celebrated. The important question to ask is: Is it in the spirit of what the fiesta is supposed to mean.

Sometimes that is a difficult question to answer because it is not easy to discern the workings of the spirit. Whether the good spirit has been served in a fiesta celebration usually becomes evident only after a while, after we have looked closely at the various activities of the fiesta and their overall effects on the people.

Some questions that help us discern if our fiesta celebration is done in the right spirit are: Is there order in the way we celebrate? Is the spirit of camaraderie and cooperation evident among the leaders of the celebration? Is there real joy among the people? Are the activities meaningful and uplifting to the human spirit? Was it a peaceful celebration and not marred by infighting? Were the merry making true expressions of joy or were they but “sound and fury signifying nothing”? (Sometimes we try hard to bring out joy by excessively loud celebration. But noise is not always the same as joy. The joy of the human heart is in fact oftentimes calm and quiet.) These are some questions that help in the evaluation of a fiesta celebration. The quality of the celebration is but a reflection of the quality of the life that we the people of Cagayan de Oro have been living. Our quality of life gets to be projected in the activities of our fiesta celebration.

How true the previously mentioned themes are in the lives of the Cagay-anon, particularly the one highlighted this year, namely, “Higalaay”, has been challenged by what have been happening in the city for many years now. There is so much about this city that has been lost that badly need to be recovered. Once upon a time the city peace and quiet, order and courtesy in the streets, real “Higalaay” etc….abound. No doubt it had its share own share of disorder and crimes but never in the degree and frequency that we have seen in recent years. We did not have then hooliganism in the streets, drug addiction, snatchings, hold ups and killings in broad daylight, and of “salvagings” in the night, etc..

Some say that we should be optimistic because we are on the road to recovery. They say that the economy of the city is looking up. There are more investments. There is more order in the streets, infrastructures have been built, etc..

These are no doubt signs of material progress. But the really important questions however are: How is the spirit of the people, particularly the spirit of the leaders of the people of Cagayan de Oro? Can we say that the prevailing spirit is good? The fiesta is a good time to reflect on these questions particularly during the most important part of the celebration that goes on in the Cathedral, in the Novena of Masses in honor of St. Augustine the patron saint of the city whose feast day we are celebrating.

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