Sights, sounds, and pyrotechnics gone awry
It was already dark outside when I awoke with a jolt. A quick glance at my clock informed me of my predicament- it was 5:30 pm of December 16 and the 2011 Lantern Parade had officially started more than an hour and a half ago. I dressed in haste and by 6:15 pm I was striding down G. Apacible Street. There were no stars, and the sky was grey and cloudy. Luckily for us in UP, it was not raining and the parade was able to proceed. We were still oblivious to the tragedy of tropical storm Sendong that would wreak havoc on North Mindanao later that night, displacing 22 989 families and leaving 652 people dead.
My usual perch at the Melchor Hall steps with the rest of the engineering crowd would not be available now, and most of the lanterns would have already gone past it. Instead, I set off towards the amphitheater of Quezon Hall, where the parade was convening for a last hurrah. Deciding that walking would take too much time, I took an Ikot jeepney to Bahay ng Alumni. The traffic there was extremely congested, as E. Jacinto Street and the Ikot routes from University Avenue to Fine Arts have been closed off to make way for the parade. I hopped down the jeepney and quickly crossed the parking lot of the Film Institute, passing by the Carillon bell tower into Osmeña Avenue. Out on the street I passed the UP Mountaineers congregation on bikes, holding up a tent lantern, but I did not have much time to peruse further. The Lantern Parade must have to be the most widely-attended UP event, not only by the UP denizens but scores of sight-seeing outsiders as well. “No signal”, says my annoying phone. I cannot receive text messages nor can I make calls, as the network must be suffering from massive congestion. It is scary to think that during an emergency, in a crowd like this you would not be able to make calls. Nor can you spot friends, which led me to spend the Lantern Parade alone. There were a lot of roaming vendors with their wares of small, whirring mechanical toys and balloons printed with popular cartoon characters of the day. Food stall lined the streets. The festivities were in full swing. It came as no surprise to me that I had to fight and elbow my way through the crowd to get a decent vantage point to better see the incoming lanterns.
Panting, I managed to catch a glimpse of the College of Home Economics’ beautiful float, a Fabergé egg-like confection surrounded by ladies in delicate white tutu-like dresses. It would later win first prize in the lantern competition. In resignation, I settled to stake out in a spot near the entrance of the amphitheater where there was only one person occasionally blocking my vision. CHE was followed by the College of Social Science and Philosophy’s nondescript Bahay Kubo lantern. The College of Science’s giant lotus flower-shaped lantern came next and was met by shouts of laughter from the crowd as Professor Peregrino, one of the emcees, amused everybody by revealing that the lantern was made out of the CS students’ recycled problems sets and home works. CS was followed by the UP Mountaineers, advocating a greener lifestyle and showcasing light-weight, foldable bikes. Then it was the College of Engineering, with a miniature Melchor Hall lantern resembling the iconic house from the Disney movie “Up”, complete with its multicolored assortment of balloons. The various organizations from CoE made an entrance as well, followed by the contingent from UP Manila.
Around this time, dozens of homemade paper lanterns were being lit and released near the center of the amphitheater, mini hot air balloons that take to the sky. These lanterns were made by freshmen, and it smelled symbolic. The rest of the parade passed by in a whirlwind of color- the UP Duckpin Bowling Club toted banners celebrating the win of their members in national competitions, the residents of Barangay UP Campus paraded with their giant homemade parol, the UP Indak Oriental presented a belly dance, the Samahang Manininda came with their lantern of realistic-looking sticks of fish ball, isaw, and other food items made of Styrofoam, and the Christian Students in Action sang Christian songs.
The Beta Sigma fraternity succeeded CSA, in black hoods and black shirts with their traditional slithering snake dance. The Beta Sigma Ladies Corps rode on a truck chock-full of kids. The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, having concluded their annual Oblation run early that morning, flashed the crowd once again with a remembrance. Next came a group advocating to save the Philippine rivers, followed by the UP Workers’ Union. The UP Christian Community strode past with a male member in full evangelical mode, his hoarse voice addressing the crowd for what seemed to be some very lengthy minutes. Ironically following them was the UP Babaylan, clad in purple in support of the RH Bill. “Baka matunaw,” someone close to me guffawed. Their contingent is always well-received, for they never fail to bring on a spectacle- outrageously fashionable outfits, debonair men, and Victoria’s Secret-like model-lookalikes. They are also usually followed by the eclectic, the grand, the pizzazz that can only come from the College of Fine Arts.
It was 7:33 pm, hot and faintly suffocating, when the emcees announced that CFA was coming next. The crowd grew visibly excited and a tremor was in the air as the lights were shut off. People started craning their necks sideways, and the suspense was fast becoming unbearable.
Finally, the CFA lanterns were able to get through the crowded entrance, and they did it in great style- a hundred and fifty taka horses from Paete, chanting “tigidig, tigidig” as they romped through was really quite enchanting. Their theme this year was “Pinoy Noon at Ngayon”, a juxtaposition of the old and the new elements in our culture. The horse-headgeared students were quickly followed by giant old and new food- popcorn, milk tea, yema, buko juice, gulaman, Hershey’s Kisses, letson. Succeeding them were the life-sized iconic action figures and dolls- Polly Pocket, green plastic soldiers, Buzz Light Year, Japanese dolls. Then came the concept lantern “ligawan”, with larger-than-life mascots portraying couples and courtship through the ages. The couples were followed by a humongous music-and-dance-themed lantern that featured Lady Gaga dancing the pandanggo sa ilaw. After this came the arcade games, and the Legos in Filipiniana costume. Then came the Darna/Narda float, with a succession of new and old superheroes. The gigantic “E-book ni Lola Basyang” was a sight to behold, as well as the Pacman versus Ali lantern. The videogames followed, and it was an eclectic mix of characters from Super Mario, Rockband, and Sky Princess. The old-timey movies that came next were wonderful to behold- big rubber-foam mascots such from movies such as “Ulong Pugot”, “Halimaw sa Banga”, “Zuma”, and “Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara”. A kalesa/jeepney hybrid followed. The last lantern came in at 8:08 pm, depicting a carabao selling modern wares. I made my way back into the thick of the crowd to better see the incoming fireworks.
The winners for the Carolfest were announced, with Engineering, Law, and CSSP coming in third, second, and first place, respectively. The CSSP Tiririt choir regaled the audience with a Christmas carol. Chancellor Saloma was called to give his message, and he tells the UP community, “mahalin ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas sa isip, sa diwa, at sa gawa”, which goes in nicely with this year’s theme of “Pasko 2011: Isang Unibersidad, Isang Komunidad”. The winners of the best lanterns were also announced, with AIT, CAL, and CHE coming in third, second, and first place, respectively. As President Pascual came up to the platform to give his message, he told the crowd, “ang tunay na bida ay kayong lahat”. He told of the very first Lantern Parade, held in 1922 in UP Manila, which featured a beauty pageant. He said that this Lantern Parade is a celebration of a year of good tidings, and cheers went up from the crowd when he announced that a Christmas allowance of P 16 000 was to be made available for the employees. But it is more than that- the Lantern Parade has always been more than a celebration of the end of classes, it has always been an avenue for voicing out protest. This fact prompted the then-administration to cancel the annual parade five school years ago when the community was set to turn the Lantern Parade into a protest rally against the proposed 300% tuition increase, an act which was met with extreme public affront.
The program officially concluded with a song- the classic carol “Pasko na Naman”. Afterward, the crowd excitedly started the countdown till the fireworks show sponsored by the Beta Epsilon fraternity lit up the night sky. Three, two, one, and a spectacular explosion of sound and color met my eyes. I was standing about five persons-deep from the thicket of trees from which the fireworks crew were stationed. Near the end of the display, around 8:30 pm, a sudden unexpected explosion hit the ground as some of the fireworks flew at ground level and smoke was everywhere, with people hurriedly backing away in fright. The fireworks show went on undisrupted, and the crowd calmed down fast when they saw that there was not going to be any more explosions.
As the fireworks ended, I made my way back to Osmeña Avenue where there was a UP Health Service ambulance, helping a man with a bleeding arm into a stretcher. There were a lot of usiseros, even television crews with cameras filming the man as he was brought inside the ambulance. Later on it would be reported that seventeen people had to be brought to the hospital to treat their injuries. The UP Administration released an official statement yesterday, confirming this. It goes on to say that, “This year, despite meticulous safety measures, it was unfortunate that in the last few seconds of the spectacular fireworks display, a pyrotechnic misfired and landed in the midst of several affected spectators.” Meticulous safety measures? The fireworks were stored in flimsy containers which could, and did easily tear when the fireworks inside it was accidentally set off, causing it to fly and explode at ground level. No safety personnel were there, only the technicians Mark Vallejo and Julieto Labete of fireworksph.com, owned by the Solar Harvest Corporation. However, the administration assures us that, “A multi-sectoral task-force has been formed to find out the causes of the incident to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future and determine how to continue sustained assistance to the injured.”
According to a popular news station, the technicians claimed that this was the first time that such an accident happened. Supt. Michael Macapagal of the Quezon City Police District supposes that some of the fireworks must have “tipped over the other big firecrackers in huge cylindrical containers”. Mishaps do tend to happen during the Lantern Parade-kids lost (this year it was Migoy in the Angry Birds t-shirt, BJ Bo John Ma, and Sandra Bartolome), lost phones and cameras. Even minor tragedies like the inability to send and receive text messages. However, explosions are quite out of the question. There is no excuse for endangering a crowd that big, especially when it could all be prevented by executing some simple security measures.
Too bad I forgot to charge my camera's batteries.
My usual perch at the Melchor Hall steps with the rest of the engineering crowd would not be available now, and most of the lanterns would have already gone past it. Instead, I set off towards the amphitheater of Quezon Hall, where the parade was convening for a last hurrah. Deciding that walking would take too much time, I took an Ikot jeepney to Bahay ng Alumni. The traffic there was extremely congested, as E. Jacinto Street and the Ikot routes from University Avenue to Fine Arts have been closed off to make way for the parade. I hopped down the jeepney and quickly crossed the parking lot of the Film Institute, passing by the Carillon bell tower into Osmeña Avenue. Out on the street I passed the UP Mountaineers congregation on bikes, holding up a tent lantern, but I did not have much time to peruse further. The Lantern Parade must have to be the most widely-attended UP event, not only by the UP denizens but scores of sight-seeing outsiders as well. “No signal”, says my annoying phone. I cannot receive text messages nor can I make calls, as the network must be suffering from massive congestion. It is scary to think that during an emergency, in a crowd like this you would not be able to make calls. Nor can you spot friends, which led me to spend the Lantern Parade alone. There were a lot of roaming vendors with their wares of small, whirring mechanical toys and balloons printed with popular cartoon characters of the day. Food stall lined the streets. The festivities were in full swing. It came as no surprise to me that I had to fight and elbow my way through the crowd to get a decent vantage point to better see the incoming lanterns.
Panting, I managed to catch a glimpse of the College of Home Economics’ beautiful float, a Fabergé egg-like confection surrounded by ladies in delicate white tutu-like dresses. It would later win first prize in the lantern competition. In resignation, I settled to stake out in a spot near the entrance of the amphitheater where there was only one person occasionally blocking my vision. CHE was followed by the College of Social Science and Philosophy’s nondescript Bahay Kubo lantern. The College of Science’s giant lotus flower-shaped lantern came next and was met by shouts of laughter from the crowd as Professor Peregrino, one of the emcees, amused everybody by revealing that the lantern was made out of the CS students’ recycled problems sets and home works. CS was followed by the UP Mountaineers, advocating a greener lifestyle and showcasing light-weight, foldable bikes. Then it was the College of Engineering, with a miniature Melchor Hall lantern resembling the iconic house from the Disney movie “Up”, complete with its multicolored assortment of balloons. The various organizations from CoE made an entrance as well, followed by the contingent from UP Manila.
Around this time, dozens of homemade paper lanterns were being lit and released near the center of the amphitheater, mini hot air balloons that take to the sky. These lanterns were made by freshmen, and it smelled symbolic. The rest of the parade passed by in a whirlwind of color- the UP Duckpin Bowling Club toted banners celebrating the win of their members in national competitions, the residents of Barangay UP Campus paraded with their giant homemade parol, the UP Indak Oriental presented a belly dance, the Samahang Manininda came with their lantern of realistic-looking sticks of fish ball, isaw, and other food items made of Styrofoam, and the Christian Students in Action sang Christian songs.
The Beta Sigma fraternity succeeded CSA, in black hoods and black shirts with their traditional slithering snake dance. The Beta Sigma Ladies Corps rode on a truck chock-full of kids. The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, having concluded their annual Oblation run early that morning, flashed the crowd once again with a remembrance. Next came a group advocating to save the Philippine rivers, followed by the UP Workers’ Union. The UP Christian Community strode past with a male member in full evangelical mode, his hoarse voice addressing the crowd for what seemed to be some very lengthy minutes. Ironically following them was the UP Babaylan, clad in purple in support of the RH Bill. “Baka matunaw,” someone close to me guffawed. Their contingent is always well-received, for they never fail to bring on a spectacle- outrageously fashionable outfits, debonair men, and Victoria’s Secret-like model-lookalikes. They are also usually followed by the eclectic, the grand, the pizzazz that can only come from the College of Fine Arts.
It was 7:33 pm, hot and faintly suffocating, when the emcees announced that CFA was coming next. The crowd grew visibly excited and a tremor was in the air as the lights were shut off. People started craning their necks sideways, and the suspense was fast becoming unbearable.
Finally, the CFA lanterns were able to get through the crowded entrance, and they did it in great style- a hundred and fifty taka horses from Paete, chanting “tigidig, tigidig” as they romped through was really quite enchanting. Their theme this year was “Pinoy Noon at Ngayon”, a juxtaposition of the old and the new elements in our culture. The horse-headgeared students were quickly followed by giant old and new food- popcorn, milk tea, yema, buko juice, gulaman, Hershey’s Kisses, letson. Succeeding them were the life-sized iconic action figures and dolls- Polly Pocket, green plastic soldiers, Buzz Light Year, Japanese dolls. Then came the concept lantern “ligawan”, with larger-than-life mascots portraying couples and courtship through the ages. The couples were followed by a humongous music-and-dance-themed lantern that featured Lady Gaga dancing the pandanggo sa ilaw. After this came the arcade games, and the Legos in Filipiniana costume. Then came the Darna/Narda float, with a succession of new and old superheroes. The gigantic “E-book ni Lola Basyang” was a sight to behold, as well as the Pacman versus Ali lantern. The videogames followed, and it was an eclectic mix of characters from Super Mario, Rockband, and Sky Princess. The old-timey movies that came next were wonderful to behold- big rubber-foam mascots such from movies such as “Ulong Pugot”, “Halimaw sa Banga”, “Zuma”, and “Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara”. A kalesa/jeepney hybrid followed. The last lantern came in at 8:08 pm, depicting a carabao selling modern wares. I made my way back into the thick of the crowd to better see the incoming fireworks.
The winners for the Carolfest were announced, with Engineering, Law, and CSSP coming in third, second, and first place, respectively. The CSSP Tiririt choir regaled the audience with a Christmas carol. Chancellor Saloma was called to give his message, and he tells the UP community, “mahalin ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas sa isip, sa diwa, at sa gawa”, which goes in nicely with this year’s theme of “Pasko 2011: Isang Unibersidad, Isang Komunidad”. The winners of the best lanterns were also announced, with AIT, CAL, and CHE coming in third, second, and first place, respectively. As President Pascual came up to the platform to give his message, he told the crowd, “ang tunay na bida ay kayong lahat”. He told of the very first Lantern Parade, held in 1922 in UP Manila, which featured a beauty pageant. He said that this Lantern Parade is a celebration of a year of good tidings, and cheers went up from the crowd when he announced that a Christmas allowance of P 16 000 was to be made available for the employees. But it is more than that- the Lantern Parade has always been more than a celebration of the end of classes, it has always been an avenue for voicing out protest. This fact prompted the then-administration to cancel the annual parade five school years ago when the community was set to turn the Lantern Parade into a protest rally against the proposed 300% tuition increase, an act which was met with extreme public affront.
The program officially concluded with a song- the classic carol “Pasko na Naman”. Afterward, the crowd excitedly started the countdown till the fireworks show sponsored by the Beta Epsilon fraternity lit up the night sky. Three, two, one, and a spectacular explosion of sound and color met my eyes. I was standing about five persons-deep from the thicket of trees from which the fireworks crew were stationed. Near the end of the display, around 8:30 pm, a sudden unexpected explosion hit the ground as some of the fireworks flew at ground level and smoke was everywhere, with people hurriedly backing away in fright. The fireworks show went on undisrupted, and the crowd calmed down fast when they saw that there was not going to be any more explosions.
As the fireworks ended, I made my way back to Osmeña Avenue where there was a UP Health Service ambulance, helping a man with a bleeding arm into a stretcher. There were a lot of usiseros, even television crews with cameras filming the man as he was brought inside the ambulance. Later on it would be reported that seventeen people had to be brought to the hospital to treat their injuries. The UP Administration released an official statement yesterday, confirming this. It goes on to say that, “This year, despite meticulous safety measures, it was unfortunate that in the last few seconds of the spectacular fireworks display, a pyrotechnic misfired and landed in the midst of several affected spectators.” Meticulous safety measures? The fireworks were stored in flimsy containers which could, and did easily tear when the fireworks inside it was accidentally set off, causing it to fly and explode at ground level. No safety personnel were there, only the technicians Mark Vallejo and Julieto Labete of fireworksph.com, owned by the Solar Harvest Corporation. However, the administration assures us that, “A multi-sectoral task-force has been formed to find out the causes of the incident to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future and determine how to continue sustained assistance to the injured.”
According to a popular news station, the technicians claimed that this was the first time that such an accident happened. Supt. Michael Macapagal of the Quezon City Police District supposes that some of the fireworks must have “tipped over the other big firecrackers in huge cylindrical containers”. Mishaps do tend to happen during the Lantern Parade-kids lost (this year it was Migoy in the Angry Birds t-shirt, BJ Bo John Ma, and Sandra Bartolome), lost phones and cameras. Even minor tragedies like the inability to send and receive text messages. However, explosions are quite out of the question. There is no excuse for endangering a crowd that big, especially when it could all be prevented by executing some simple security measures.
Too bad I forgot to charge my camera's batteries.