We Are The Champion: A Story of Victory

_{The victors wearing their biggest smiles.}

Ever since I joined Steemit, it has been a part of my daily routine. Now that I have Ginabot, I start my day by checking her to know updates related to my blog and my favorite authors. Then, I greet my Steemit friends on our discord and Facebook messenger group chat.

Last February until the first few days of March, I had a very busy schedule. I could no longer update my blog, if so, just short articles, and upvoting my followers and leaving meaningful comments to them.

So today, I will be sharing with you the reason why I have been out of the radar in the past month! I'm pretty excited about sharing this!

As I have written in my previous blog post, Tagum City, my hometown, is called the City of Festivals. Every month, there is a celebration in our hometown that highlights the city's culture, traditions, agriculture, and talents. Among all the festivals we have, the most celebrated is the Musikahan festival.

Musikahan (music) festival aims to showcase the Tagumenos talents in terms of music. On its first year, all the participants were locals of the city. But every year, it grows bigger. It is no longer exclusive for the people of Tagum, now, it is open to all. This year, musicians from all over the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao) have joined this prestigious festival.

I was chosen to be part of an amazing team, comprising of teachers, students, and some barangay officials, to represent Barangay Apokon for this year's Barangay Musikahan Urban Category.

I was very hesitant to join because of many reasons. First, I have an anxiety disorder and a stage performance is one of the triggering factors of my anxiety attacks. Second, I am a very busy person -- I am a full-time public school teacher and I own a small business which I need to attend to after work. Third, I am a single mother, I have a son to take care. And lastly, I am Steemian, and I need the little time left of my busy schedule to write contents and engage with the community.

However, year after year, I always say no. If I refuse this time, it will be the fourth and I have already used all the excuses I have. This time, my school principal and our barangay captain won't take NO for an answer. Hence, I had no choice but to join.

So, last February 8th, all the chosen participants gathered and we had our brainstorming. As I've said, our category was Barangay Musikahan Urban Category, so we knew that our concept should be localized. We then started to recall the history of Barangay Apokon which led us to a great concept!

The Concept

_{The settlers, the ones who will portray the Mansaka tribe.}

The first settlers of the said community were the Mansaka tribe. Apokon was derived from the Mansaka term "apuk" which literally means a muddy place. The first settlers had a difficult time planting crops because of the soil environment.

Later on, more people came and the community grew bigger. The first settlers donated some of their lands which are now where the city's public hospital, state university, and public park are situated.

Then, urbanization happened. The once powerful tribe were now part of the minority group, and they lost their strength and influence.

One of the highlights of Barangay Apokon is the celebration of its founding anniversary called "Araw ng Apokon". So, part of our presentation should be about this celebration, wherein the people of Apokon are invited to showcase their talents. For this scene, the Mansaka tribe joined the contest but their representative didn't win.

The main character of the musical play, who was a Mansaka, was disheartened and was already convinced that their culture and traditions that were once rich were no longer appreciated by the modern people.

The barangay officials saw this problem, and eventually made an intervention that would unite the Indigenous People and the non-IPs.

In the end, there was unity, and IPs are now given special recognition in terms of their contributions to the community. Their culture and traditions are also well preserved.

The Participants

_{This was taken during the awarding ceremony.}

As I have said earlier, the participants were mostly teachers and a few selected students. Some of the kids of my fellow teachers also joined the said contest. The officials of Barangay Apokon also had a special participation.

We were trained by two amazing teachers. Sir Philip (on the left), our choreographer; and Sir Ryan, our director (on the right).

The Preparation

We already had a concept in mind, but as to how we would translate them into actions was the challenge. We were just so lucky to have a brilliant director who was so good at his craft.

Another challenge that we had was the music preparation. We had the best ethnic choreographer in town - Sir Philip. And he requested for an authentic ethnic music. Luckily, we have a Mansaka in our team, Maam Shiela, who is actually a "bia" (princess) in their tribe (Mansaka). She, together with her brother Sir Kenneth (the datu of their tribe), and the overall musical director Maam Guia, arranged the music. All of them did a great job at composing and arranging our music. Actually, I also belong to the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines. I have a blood of Mandaya and Mansaka. But I can't speak the dialect fluently.

_{The brilliant singers of Barangay Apokon.}
_{(Image credit goes to Tagum City Official Photographers)}

I have included the lyrics of our music for the first scene: The Settlers. This scene portrayed the time when the Mansaka tribe settled in Apokon.

You can listen and watch our full performance on this link.

~The Lyrics~

_{Adi da kamu sang saka

Adi da kamu sang banwa

Banwa na aatag Niya

Adi da kamu sang saka

Adi da kamu sang banwa}

_{Yani da kayang banwa

aatag ng Magbabaya

Tibu tipanud magkakaysa sa lupa na aatag Niya

Pagkakaysa Pagkakaysa}

_{Si ina, si ama, si umpo

Tibu na mga iso

Kakadyawan, kakadyawan

Aatag ng Magbabaya

Pananum, puluy an, aatag Niya}

_{Untung saramat Magbabaya untung saramat

Untung saramat magbabaya sa banwa

Di kami kakabsan

Di kami kakulangan}

_{Datu: Mga Kalumunan, yani da kayang banwa

Banwa na aatag ng magbabaya, kanatun dayang banwa

Kalumunan: kanatun dayang banwa}

_{Di da kita maanlok

Di da kita kakabsan

Kay yaning banwa kanatun da

Kanatun da dayang banwa

Kanatun da dayang banwa}

~Translation~

_{Gather everyone and let's plant

Gather everyone here in our land

At the land given by our God

Gather everyone and let's plant

Gather everyone here in our land}

_{This is our land

Given by God

Let's all celebrate with this present given to us

Let's celebrate, let's celebrate!}

_{Mothers, fathers, grandparents

And all of the sons

Happiness all around

God is generous, He is great

Our land, our homes, he has given}

_{God, the provider of all, thank you

Thank you for everything you have bestowed upon us

We won't take our land for granted

We won't fall short of your blessings}

_{That's me, the second one on the left, together with the rest of the mama's girls. You'll understand why we were called Mama's Girls if you listen to the lyrics of the song "Wings". Lol!}

The most difficult part was learning the song and the steps. I am part of the "Araw ng Apokon" scene, in which I, along with two more teachers, need to sing like Whitney, and dance like Beyonce. We were given the piece "Wings" by Little Mix, and since we're not really dancers, there were so many revisions in our steps. Lol!

Since we were only given less than a month to prepare for the upcoming contest, we need to triple our time. Most of us were teachers, hence, we could only practice in the evening. So, after a whole day of teaching, we would all meet up at our school's (Tagum National Trade School) gymnasium every 5 pm. The practice would last until 8-10pm every single day.

We even practiced on Valentine's day, dates got canceled on that day. We didn't have time to bond with our families anymore because even our Saturdays and Sundays were dedicated to practice. But we were committed because in the words of Sun Tzu "Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price." This is the price we had to pay but it was all worth it!

The Performance

Everyone sang at the top of their lungs, and danced like it was their last! All the hard work paid off as we saw the smiles on the judges' faces and audiences' applause! Here are some of the highlights of our performance.

_{Disclaimer: The photos under this section were taken from the Tagum City Musikahan Festival Facebook Page. All credits are given to the Tagum City Official Photographers.}

The Verdict

There were only three participants in the Urban category: Barangay Apokon, Barangay Magugpo North, and Barangay Magugpo East. Of course, we're not the only ones who prepared for the contest. Everyone did their best.

We were the last one to perform, so, we were able to witness how great the first performers were. Everyone was nervous, yet excited. But I could no longer explain how I felt. As I have said earlier, I have an anxiety disorder.

_{Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current events. These feelings may cause physical symptoms, such as a fast heart rate and shakiness. -Wikipedia}

I had my first anxiety attack during college. I was one of the three representatives for MSU inter-collegiate debate competition. We were representing the College of Engineering. I was very nervous, although I was able to deliver. We didn't win. Lol. And right after our turn, I hyperventilated. I couldn't breathe, so everyone panicked. I was rushed to the infirmary and was given special care.

The second time was still in college, but at the school where I transferred to - USEP, Davao. I was "forced" to represent the College of Arts and Sciences for the extemporaneous speaking competition. Like my first attack, I was able to give my piece with confidence, but after I went down from the stairs of the stage, I hyperventilated again. This time, I asked for the advice of my cardiologist and he said I have an anxiety disorder. He referred me to a psychologist but I didn't go. Lol!

Since then, I refuse to join any contest that would require me to face a big crowd. For the Musikahan festival, I only said yes because it was a group performance. I never thought I would have one of those episodes again. But right after our performance at Barangay Musikahan, I couldn't breathe again, my heart was pounding so hard, my chest and stomach were in extreme pain, I couldn't understand the feeling.

I was taken to the medical team, and they gave me first aid - they helped me control my breathing through breathing into a paper bag. My mother panicked, as expected, so she called an ambulance and I was taken to the nearest hospital. Lol! Luckily, my best friend and her boyfriend were there to see me perform, so they also assisted me all throughout.

_{That was me in the Emergency Room of the Hospital. My bestfriend took this photo. Lol.}

But, before I was rushed to the hospital, I heard the emcee announced the winners! Tadaaaa, WE WON!

I remembered all the challenges we had to endure before gaining this victory - the back pains, the strain on the legs, sore throats, hurtful words from our director (lol), and so much more! Everything was worth it, especially when we received our prize of 100,000 pesos (2,000 USD) and a trophy! Tomorrow evening, we are going to have our victory party, and of course, everyone is excited!

As Bob Marley said, "the heat of the battle is as sweet as the victory!" And it was indeed, a sweet, sweet victory!

Thank you all for reading! Have a nice day everyone! :)

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