My brother, Ken, invited me to watch him play with The Hiyas ng Bulakan Symphonic Band and since we do not have an activity lined up last Monday, I eagerly agreed.

We arrived at the Malolos Convention Center a little before 5pm, it was drizzling that afternoon so we had to wait for the sky to clear before heading out. The area was bustling with activities. It turned out Fiesta Republika 2013 was being held that day and students from neighboring provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija joined in to participate in the contest dubbed as Dulangsangan, where they reenacted our forefathers’ fight for the country’s freedom from Spaniards all those many years ago. It was in fact a special non-working holiday in our city and the town mayor just announced that the President has  just proclaimed 23 January as a working holiday for the rest of the country, too, to commemorate the glorious day of our very first republic.

A little trivia:  the First Philippine Republic was formed in Malolos through the Malolos Congress. During those times, people from nearby provinces, especially those included in the 8 provinces, who where later represented in the 8 rays of the sun in our National Flag, who first revolted against the Spanish regime would come down to celebrate and play at the Barasoain plaza {or whatever it is they call it during those days}.

There were large groups of people gathered around the makeshift stage, so the little man and I decided to go and look around, instead, and headed to check out the carnival next. We’ve  passed by this place on a few occasions and the little man would never fail to point at the Jollibee-inspired ride. He was excited to try it, so off we went. Continue reading →