REGION 9 - ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA

VISUAL ARTS
FEATURED ARTIST:

Icelle G. Borja 
- is one of Zamboanga City's premiere artist, a true painter and sculptor, with a style that is as varied
as her other talents.
- She is currently working as an executive assistant in the Office of the City Mayor, and is overlooking
the City Hall restoration.
- She also writes a weekly arts column, and does extensive research in the arts & culture of
Zamboanga.  
https://www.zamboanga.com/arts_and_culture/Featured_artist_Icelle_Borja.htm 

Gieward J. Hulagno 
- graduated from Western Mindanao State University with a Computer Science degree, born in
Molave, Zamboanga Del Sur on December 12, 1986, Hulagno at young age, was already earning
recognition in various arts competitions.
- He is a watercolorist and his key interest is to travel around places to capture the essence of nature
and landscape to paint. Despite the recognition he earned, he remained humble and demonstrated
altruistic undertakings by sharing his gift in painting to art enthusiast and fellow artists. Hulagno does
not stick to a singular content. He has painted landscapes, still life, and social realism in his preferred
medium watercolor.
https://www.saatchiart.com/giewardhulagno 

Edwin Jumalon
- born in 1954 in Misamis Occidental, Edwin Jumalon is a visual artist who was admitted to the A.E.
Colleges Zamboanga’s Civil Engineering program in 1976.
- The vision and concept that inform Edwin Jumalon’s art practice is not the depiction of nature or the
linear recording of life experiences. Rather, it is finding the way of shaping incidental narratives
through recontextualization of imageries.
https://www.artmajeur.com/edwin-jumalon 

Lorna Fernandez
- is a Zamboangueña artist known for her assemblages and collages involving found objects,
industrial items, and recycled materials. She also works in the field of painting.
- In the 1990s, Lorna emerged as a self-taught artist who displayed a passion for surreal self-portraits
and paintings of flora. This developed into an exploration of the interplay between sexuality and
domesticity and expanded her media to include constructivist sculptures, clay figures, cloth dolls, and
wall-hung assemblages.
- Her works have been featured in numerous exhibitions in Manila, Baguio, Davao, Gensan, Cagayan
de Oro, Zamboanga, Venice, Hong Kong, and Bologna, among others.
https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Habitat/1123529/6316275/view 

Winner Jumalon 
- (born 28 December 1983, Zamboanga, Philippines) is a Filipino contemporary visual artist based in
Manila.  His works of oil and encaustic on canvas have been described as "late capitalist
masterpieces marred by illogical marks, haze, and aggregations of reality that not only displaces
portraiture as the totemic symbols of power and status but questions the formation of identity itself as
the trap where man cannot go forward".

https://www.askart.com/artist/Winner_Jumalon/11142042/Winner_Jumalon.aspx

Mijan Jumalon 
- comes from a family of painters from the southern part of the Philippines in Mindanao. She has
spent 3 decades as a visual artist and has had numerous art exhibitions launched in many parts of
the country in Manila, Davao, Cebu, as well as abroad, in Rome and in Singapore.
 Her latest series of works form a multiptych, an entire landscape of forked pathways pushing their
way through the crimson prairie.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Mijan+Jumalon&source=lmns&bih=685&biw=412&client=ms-
android-samsung-gj-
rev1&prmd=isvn&hl=fil&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjezPHX3bz6AhXwTPUHHbDODJsQ_AUoAHoECAAQ
Aw#ip=1
THEATRE ARTS

Marco Alfino V. Miranda

- who now is fondly known as Kiko Miranda, is a native Zamboangueño theatre artist who has
devoted almost a decade of his life to creating artistic performances and cultural projects for and
about his sisters and brothers in Western Mindanao.
https://kikomiranda.wordpress.com/about-kiko-miranda/ 

DANCE

Pangalay Tribe: Badjao Origin: Zamboanga del Sur  A pangalay native to the Badjao,
sometimes known as the "Sea Gypsies." Pangalay is a dance that emphasizes the agility of
the upper body. The rhythmic bounces of the shoulder with simultaneous alternating waving
of arms are the basic movement of this dance.
Pangalay (also known as Daling-Daling or Mengalai in Sabah) is the traditional "fingernail" dance of
the Tausūg people of the Sulu Archipelago and eastern coast Bajau of Sabah.The dance has a
similarity to classical Balinese and Thai dances, where it is also the most distinctively Asian of all the
southern Philippine dances because dancers must have dexterity and flexibility of the shoulders,
elbows, and wrists – movements that strongly resemble those of "kontaw silat". The Malaysian art of
Buah Pukul is classified as silat despite its Yunnan origin, kuntao is "way of the fist", from kun 拳
meaning fist and tao 道 meaning way. This term was originally used for Chinese martial arts in
general. The Pangalay is predominantly performed during weddings or other festive events. The male
equivalent of the Pangalay is the Pangasik and features more martial movements, while a pangalay
that features both a male and female dancer is called Pangiluk.The original concept of the Pangalay
is based on the pre-Islamic and Buddhist concept of male and female celestial angels (Sanskrit:
Vidhyadhari, Tausug: Biddadari) common as characters in other Southeast Asian dance .
Neighbouring Samal and Bajau peoples in the Philippines call this type of dance, Umaral or Igal, and
they sometimes use bamboo castanets as substitutes for long fingernails.

The Philippines’ Nawan Cultural Dance Troupe from Zamboanga City raised the country’s flag in
Bulgaria after winning the gold medal at the European Association of Folklore Festival, XI World
Championship of Folklore “World Folk 2021.”
The multi-awarded folk dance troupe of Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University was
hailed champion among dance groups from all over the world in the online dance competition of the
festival held from August 23 to 28.

MUSIC

NON-ISLAMIC MUSIC (Subanen-Lumad of Zamboanga)

            The Subanen is a group of Lumads or non-Muslim indigenous cultural community in
Mindanao. They are the first settlers of Zamboanga peninsula who are also known as Subanen or
Subanun, taken from the word "suba", a Bisayan word meaning river, from which they distinguish
themselves from their roots or origin. They are slash-and-burn farmers, as most of their settlements
are near river or mountain streams who fish, hunts, gather, and practice little trade.
            This cultural group originally lives in low-lying areas and once roamed the seas in great
numbers. However, they have been pushed to the hinterlands, mountains and forest upon the arrival
of Muslims who often attack the group to collect taxes and capture slaves, by the Spaniards in the
16th century, and with the migration of the different groups of people in the area. The destruction of
the forests, the building of the towns and cities, and the efforts of the lowland majority of people to
assimilate them into Christian culture, forced the Subanen community to struggle in protecting their
ancestral domain and cultural identity.

I. Traditional Musical Instruments include:

1. Gagong
-single brass gong
2. Durugan 
- hollow logs beaten like drums
3. g'lantoy or thulali 
- is the ring flute of the Subanun (Sindingan Zamboanga del Norte). It has three finger holes-
one on the underside and the two on the opposite side. This flute is played by both men and
women mainly for entertainment. The melodies express different sentiments-love, joy, grief or
imitate sounds of birds and insects. It is often used to lull babies to sleep.
4. Thumping 
 - is another type of flute with a V-shape duct cut on the edge of the mouthpiece and is covered
by a piece of wood and glued into the duct with hardened wax from the house bee. The flute
has five or six holes, all situated on the frontal side of the tube. It is played mostly by women
for self-entertainment, usually heard in the early morning, early evening or while keeping over
the rice field.
5. Kubing 
-or the Jaw's harp made from bamboo either plain or with more ornate designs dye-painted on
the handles with accompanying bamboo containers.
6. Sigitan 
-is a five-string-polychordal tube zithers made from bamboo tubes which is closed on both
ends by nodes with a small opening for resonance. It is played by plucking the strings by the
player and by tapping the body of the instrument with two bamboo sticks by another player to
produce drone. It is used to accompany a dance or to express human sentiments of love,
sorrow, sadness, or joy.
7. Subanun tabobok, thambabok is a parallel stringed tube zither made from a heavy bamboo
tube closed at both ends with a node. The upper node has opening which the player covers or
uncovers while performing. They play this instrument mainly for self-entertainment and
relaxation.

II. Subanen has a musical ensemble same with the Tiruray Karatun.
1. Gagung Sua 
- is an agung ensemble (large hanging, suspended or held knobbed gongs which act as a
drone (continuous musical note of low pitch) without any accompanying melodic instruments
like kulintang) same with the Tiruray Karatung. It is made up of five shallow bossed gongs of
graduating size, each played by one person. The smallest, the segaron (high pitched) is used
as the lead instrument providing a steady beat.

III. Subanen music are often performed in different social events including:
a. agricultural rituals
b. wedding ceremonies
c. victory celebrations 
d.  curing rites
e. rituals for the dead
f. entertainment for visitors
g. other community rituals

IV. Drums and gongs are used to accompany ritual dances like:

a. Pangalitao is a courtship dance. It is played with courtship songs and is performed with an
accompaniment of traditional instruments

b. Sinalimba a dance that utilizes swing, a representation of a mythical vessel used to travel.

c. Buklog is a thanksgiving ritual performed at the start of planting and harvesting season to pray for
the bountiful harvest throughout the year. It is also thanksgiving festival among the Subanen involving
several rituals. This is conducted to express gratitude to the spirits ensuring harmony among family,
clan, and community members, as well as among the human, the natural and the spirit world.
The ritual includes dancing, to mark the renewal of relationship in the community on an elevated
wooden structure called "Buklog" a sacred and social space which resonate with a sound believe to
please the spirits. They include asking permission to the spirits to gather material from the forest,
presenting coin offerings, inviting spirits of the departed to feast, invoking spirits of water and land
and music and dance. A constant sound of an agung or a single brass gong is produced a week prior
to the celebration to signify the upcoming buklog.

d. gukas a ritual ceremony performed as a memorial for the death of a tribal chief. It is accompanied
by ritual offerings of bottled drinks, canned milk, chocolate, margarine, sardines, grilled fish, chicken,
and pork. The songs begin inside the house by the balian.
V. Subanen vocal music includes singing several types of song and chanting of epics.
 A. Several types of song: 
1. Dionli
- love songs
2. Buwa
-lullaby songs
3. Giloy 
-funeral song for dead chieftains. This is usually sung by two singers, one of which is a balian
(who is believed to be able to visit the heavenly) during gukas. The balian and his assistant
 usually bring a bottle of pangasi (rice wine) and pour it to the earth to be followed by singing
inside the house.
4. Inadung
-the elders' way of conversing when having a visitor from another area, discussing matters with
their children, when a maiden and a young man are given to marriage and people are drinking
rice wine. 
5. Gagonapu
- work song referring to fishing and hunting.

B. Singing/chanting of epics
     Epics feature Diwata, as well as myths, legendary heroes and chiefs who are partly divine and are
told that it took one night to complete the story. Epics chanters must have strong memory and strong
voice, pronouncing some syllables meaninglessly, giving them the tone and duration of the recital,

Examples of Subanen epics are:

a. The Guman of Dumalinao 
-tells about Datu Pomb'nwa, his wife Bayslaga and their young daughter who were drowned in the
rivers, and their sons venturing out in search of them but failed to return. The guman ends with the
return of the missing children. A traditional "buklog" or feast is held to celebrate the union of the two
kingdoms. https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/english-version-of-epics-mga-epiko-the-guman-of-
dumalinao-of-the-suban-on-tribe-of-northwestern-mindanao-1191.html 

b. Ag Tobig nog Keboklagan (Keboklagan kingdom) 

- contains 7590 verses which tells about the dream seen by Datu Tomitib Manon fighting alone in
Keboklagan kingdom.
https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/english-version-of-epics-mgae-piko-the-kingdom-of-
keboklagan-of-the-suban-on-tribe-of-northwestern-mindanao1192.html 

c. Keg Sumba neg Sandayo (The Tale of Sandayo) 

- has 6577 verses. The story is about a young Datu who was born with outstanding feature that made
him unique among other Datus. It also depicts his adventures and misadventures in life.
https://jcrispino.carbonmade.com/projects/3878542 

          The biggest group of lumad is the Subanen (Subanon, Subanun) of Zamboanga del Norte and
Zamboanga del Sur. Their vocal music is characterized by chants and different types of songs such
as the dionli (love song), buwa (lullaby), and giloy (funeral song), among others

OTHER FEATURED ARTIST: 

Musicians: 
a. Marc Velasco - a recording artist from Zamboanga City who performs under the Sony Music
Philippines recording label.
Sample:Song For A Rainy Day

b. DNA Project - The band was formed last May 2000. We are an all Zamboangueño band
playing music that covers hits from the '70's (classic rock) to the Generation X music of today. 
We've been travelling around the HardRock Cafe chains in Asia  for 3 years now. 
               https://www.zamboanga.com/html/arts-culture_artists_DNA_Project.htm 

c. There is a successful Boy band group in Zamboanga named "MIRAGE".  Mirage started on
May 15, 2009.at JayR's birthday inspired and guided by his Mentor Rico J Puno,  JayR comes
home to Zamboanga with an idea which he dubbed as the "Mirage project"
"Mirage" (pronounced as Miryaj) a beautiful hallucination, which means "Mira el image
Zamboangeño" with an objective to be ambassador's of good will

d. Buddy Zabala – a Filipino musician and producer. He was the bassist of Filipino punk rock
band Hilera and also currently of Cambio. He was also a member of Eraserheads and bassist
for The Dawn
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamboanga_City 

FILM AND BROADCASTING

A. Film
        The Dia de Zamboanga, observed every 26th of February, is a special non-working holiday
celebrated with scores of activities such as food and film festivals, photo exhibits, cheerdance
competitions, and the annual grand civic military parade.
https://zamboangacity.gov.ph/dia-de-zamboanga/

 Zamboangueña Mijan Jumalon, the director and screenwriter of Ola, which earned the 44th
Gawad Urian’s Best Short Film plum on Friday, October 21, said the work was based on a
tragedy she endured six years ago.
In 2015, Jumalon had lost her second son in childbirth, and since then has dealt with the loss
through art.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mijan+jumalon+film+director&client=ms-android-samsung-
gj-rev1&sxsrf=ALiCzsYqw_C2ekecoCsJkNXAC-wuy2GyDQ
%3A1664722618497&ei=uqY5Y5bYHa7u2roPnPqEkAg&oq=mijan+jumalon+film+director&gs
_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEANKBAhBGABQ5xNY_Dhg8ztoAHAAeACAAQCIA
QCSAQCYAQCgAQHAAQE&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#ip=1
 Alyssa Alano – a Filipina-Australian film and TV actress. She was a former member of the
popular Viva Hotbabes franchise.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamboanga_City 

       
         “Raiders of the Sulu Sea” A Historiography Documentary film focusing on Zamboanga City
depicting how the Spaniards defended the city with the Fort Pilar as Spain’s last stronghold and
bastion of defense and economic expansion in the South of the Philippines . It depicts the Southeast
Asian flourishing free trading in the area and the adverse effects and repercussions when Europeans
such as the English, Dutch and Spanish who wanted to control the economy as well to colonize and
Christianize.
https://www.zamboanga.com/arts_and_culture/Icelle_raiders_of_sulu.htm 

CITY OF FLOWERS  by XEPH SUAREZ

            "City of Flowers is an anti-war short film dedicated to my hometown. When outsiders think of
Zamboanga and Mindanao, they think of war and conflict. My film acknowledges this but insists that
we are an island of hope and beauty. I am still hopeful that justice will be served, and it won’t be long
for peace to bloom again"
https://cinemalaya.org/city-of-flowers/ 

LITERATURE
           Zamboanga Peninsula is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX.
The region consists of three provinces and two cities. The region was previously known as Western
Mindanao.

Did you know that Zamboangeños speak Philippine Creole Spanish or Chavacano?
:CHAVACANO is a Spanish-based creole spoken in parts of the Philippines especially in and around
the city of Zamboanga by over 600,000 people.

        Chavacano combines vocabulary mainly from Spanish only with grammar mainly from Tagalog
and Cebuano. It is used as a primary spoken language which dates back 1635, when Zamboanga
became a Spanish stronghold with the construction of San Jose fortress. 
Chavacano/Zamboanga Literature Project:
a. Songs 

Title: Zamboanga Hermosa 

Zamboanga hermosa,
Preciosa perlita
Orgullo de Mindanao 

Tus bellas dalagas

son las que hermosean
Tu deliciosa ciudad 

Flores y amores
Te adornan tu jardin
Tu eres la imagen
del bello Eden 

Zamboanga hermosa,
 preciosa perlita
Orgullo de Mindanao 

Flores y amores
Te adornan su jardin
Eres la imagen
del bello Eden 

Zamboanga hermosa,
preciosa perlita
Orgullo de Mindanao 

-Music by Borromeo Lou. Lyrics by Vicente Orendain

Zamboanga Hermosa was written by Vicente Orendain during the early part of the 20th
century.

No Te Vayas de Zamboanga(1898) 

No te vayas, no te vayas de Zamboanga

Que me puedes, que me puedes olvidar
No te vayas, no te vayas, ni me dejes
Que yo sin ti, no puedo estar 

No llores, paloma mia

No llores que volvere
No llores que en cuando llegue
Paloma mia, te escribire 

Con un pluma de ave

Y un pedazo de papel
Con la sangre de mis venas
Paloma mia, te escribire.

-No Te Vayas de Zamboanga is a Zamboangueño Spanish folk song written by Juan

Cuadrado, Sr., a Spaniard who decided to stay in Zamboanga after the Spanish soldiers left
the country.

b. Poetry 

Title: Samal  by : Ben D.Nillo 

Sin camisa, sin calson

Si Toto – grita le
“Sencilio Sencilio!”
Dol pobre ta bega con abieto mano
Mentras parao na viejo banca
Pirmi ancina puede mira 

Na pantalan del Zamboanga.

Si cerca ustedes na ventana del lansta.
- El aplaya claro
Pero hende el futuro de Toto. 

Durante ta grita si Toto

Y llama el atencion del maga hente.
Cuando ya tira sincilio el hente
Alerto si Toto y salta na aplaya. 

Sambuli na hondo salao aqua

Para na poco sencilio.
- El aplaya hondo
Pero duda con el bajo alegia del hente.

Samal 
By: Ben D.Nillo
(Translated in english) 
 Without shirt, without shorts
Toto shouts:
“Sencilio, Sencilio!”
Like a beggar with open palm --- 

While standing in an old banca.

It’s a familiar scene
at Zamboanga’s wharf;
While viewing the window of the boat:
The water is clear ---
But not Toto’s future. 

When Toto shouted,

He got the passenger’s attention.
Someone threw a coin
Toto jumped --- 

He dived into the salted water

For that small change:
Though the sea is deep
but happiness of the people --- shallow

c. Epic

Ag Tobig Nog Rebaklogan

Ag Tobig Nog Keboklogan (The Kingdom of Keboklogan) is an adventure of Hero Taake.

Considered as one of the oldest epics of the Subanon of Zamboanga, the "guman" or epic is
chanted during "Buklog" or Festivals .
The epic begins with Timoyaw's quandary as to how to support his wife who is about to give
birth. He decides to earn money by being a whetter of tools in the neighboring villages. He
leaves Sirangaan with his assistant Kasangolan and fifteen datus. However, their boat refuses
to move until Timoway beheads one of his companions.

😵Zamboangan Authors😵

•Acas. Oliva
Compilation of English Poetries

•Descallar. Antonio
"Now before the Conqueror"

•Enriquez, Ignacio Alvarez 

"Death of a House"
"The Devil Flower
"Doll

•Villa Gonzalo
"When Death Struck 
"Death of Illusion

Antonio Reyes Enriquez

      Born and raised in Zamboanga City--A (Antonio) R (Reyes) Enriquez is the author of several
books of short stories and novels. He has been published in his homeland, the Philippines, and
regarded as the first Filipino fictionist writing in his homeland to break into foreign publication with his
short story collection."Dance a White Horse to Sleep and Other Stories." and Carlos Palanca grand
prize "Surveyors of the Liguasan Marsh"--both published by UQP, Queensland, Australia, the latter in
1977. His short stories have been translated to Korean, German, French, and Chabacano.He has
been given the UP National Fellow for Literature Lifetime Award and the S.E.A. Write Award and the
National Book Development Trust Fund. He has won several prizes for his fiction: the Palanca
Memorial Awards and the Unyon ng Mga Manunulat na Pilipino (UMPIL). Two of his novels The
Activist and Survivors were also released by the UST Publishing House.

Subanons 
  by Antonio Reyes Enriquez
          Subanons. Published in 1993 depicts the lives of the Subanons in Mindanao at the height of
the government's military campaign against NPAs. The Subanons are not merely caught in this
crossfire: they are singled out as the primary casualties of war. Their days are fraught with a violence
against which their only recourse are their values and their gods. The novel Subanons by Antonio
Reyes Enriquez is a fact-based occurring in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Mindanao during the Marcos
regime. At a surface level. the main theme is to expose the conflicting situation of the Subanons
being sandwiched between NPAS demand for revolutionary taxes and the Military's inhuman and
unjust killing of innocent residents of the Zamboanga Peninsula.Other themes could include the
tension between solidarity and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, preservation of
cultural and personal values and strong faith in their gods amidst the terror of torture and death.In the
novel. Subanons, adults and children were tortured mercilessly and brutally killed by military with high
powered rifles creating holes on helpless bodies. It happened after the brave Datu was executed by
the guerillas.Atrocious killings followed after the datu's nephew was caught with a www Il grenade
vintage which he brought with him to show off to his friends. The boy was made to name names that
should be included in the hotlist as rebels. The Mayor of that town ordered the murder of all these
people in the list.

Subanon by Antonio Enriquez is an award winning novel submitted to Mindanao State University -
lligan Institute of Technology last March 2009

ARCHITECTURE
Zamboanga City, city and port, western Mindanao, Philippines. It is a busy port strategically located
on the southwestern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula, on Basilan Strait and sheltered by Basilan
island. The immediate coastal lowlands are narrow, with low, rugged hills located a short distance
inland. Zamboanga’s Spanish-style architecture, fine beaches, and mountainous backdrop combine
with a climate that is cooler and less humid than that of Manila to make it a favourite tourist spot.
Zamboanga was founded by Spanish forces in 1635 on the site of a native settlement. Its name is
derived from the Malay jambangan (“place of flowers”), and bougainvillea, orchids, and other tropical
flowers line its roadsides. Fort Pilar, the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar, was built in the 17th century
for the protection of Christian settlers against Moro (local Muslim) pirates; it now houses a branch of
the national museum. The city is also the site of Western Mindanao State University (founded 1918).
Incorporated in 1936, the city was largely rebuilt after World War II.

 Fort Pilar in Zamboanga City- Fort Pilar houses in the museum. It has wide collections
of cultural memorabilia and paintings which could be a good reference for the history of the people of
Zamboanga.
 Father Melchor de Vera
The Real Fuerte de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar
of Saragossa), also Fort Pilar, is a 17th-century military defense fortress built by the Spanish
colonial government in Zamboanga City, Philippines.

Design
             A Yakan is one of the 13 Moro groups in the Philippines, are originally settling in Basilan until
political unrest got hold of the island and they were forced to move to the mainland of Zamboanga.
Traditionally, Yakans wear colorful hand woven clothes but nowadays, they wear modern clothing
and only wear their weaving garbs on special occasions.
         Yakan weaving are inspired by patterns, like the Palipattang inspired by the rainbow and a
Bunga-sama inspired by the skin patterns of a Python. From here they play around with combination
of colors.
https://ironwulf.net/2009/04/25/zamboanga-yakan-weaving-and-people/

Vintas
The vinta (locally known as lepa lepa or sakayan) is a traditional boat found in the Philippine island of
Mindanao. These boats are made by Bajau and Moros living in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga
peninsula, and southern Mindanao. It has a sail with assorted vertical colors that represents the
colorful culture and history of the Muslim community.
Festival

FESTIVALS IN REGION 9
SINULOG FESTIVAL IN DAPITAN
 

Sinulog Festival is to celebrate and honor for Santo NiÑo. The main features of it is the street
parade,with participants wearing bright and colorful costumes dancing to the rhythm of
drums,trumpets, and native gongs.

KINABAYO FESTIVAL IN DAPITAN

It is celebrated every July 25 in Dapitan City,Zamboanga Del Norte Philippines. It re-inacting Spanish
Moorish Wars,mainly called a battle of Covadonga where the Spanish forces under General Pelagio
took their last stands againts Sacaran.

ZAMBOANGA HERMOSA FESTIVAL

It is popurlarly known as Fiesta Pilar, held to honor of the miraculos image of  Our Lady of Pilar at the
legendary Fort Pilar. Zamboanga displays her devotion with nine-night procession, there are also
fireworks,an ethnic parade,cultural show,regatta,and the most highlight is the MISS ZAMBOANGA
parade.It is celebrated on October 1 to 12.
 
 SIBUG-SIBUG FESTIVAL SIBUGAY

Celebrated during their foundation day in their province of Sibugay on February 26. Having a colorful
ethinic street dancing with rituals illustrating good harvest, and healing rituals. They endoreses also
their number one product the oyster or talaba. It is the biggest and the meatiest oyster in the country.

Megayon Festival 
The Megayon Festival  is a week-long gathering held in September to celebrate the unity among the
three settlers that contribute to the founding of Zamboanga del Sur: the Subanons (or Subanens), the
Muslims, and the local settlers (megayon is a Subanen word for “unity”). The festival is also held to
celebrate the founding of Zamboanga del Sur and, to a lesser extent, the rich harvest of crops.
Because of these reasons, the Megayen Festival is considered as Zamboanga del Sur’s official
festival.
Pasalamat Festival
Pagadian City celebrates its fiesta every third Sunday of January in honor of its patron saint, Sto.
Niño (the Holy Child Jesus). It is officially named Pasalamat Festival, and it coincides with Cebu
City’s Sinulog Festival.
Zamboanga Hermosa Festival
Zamboanga Hermosa Festival is a month-long celebration honoring Nuestra Senora la Virgen del
Pilar (Our Lady of Pillar). It is held in Zamboanga City in the province of Zamboanga del Sur every
October. The locals of the city — Christians, Muslims and Lumads gather to participate in various
activities including food fests, fashion & music shows and street dancing.

Kutsitsa Festival of Molave

The Kutsitsa Festival of Molave, Zamboanga del Sur, celebrated on April 26, is a thanksgiving for a
bountiful harvest. The dance steps depict various stages of a harvest followed by steps depicting
peace, unity, and love among people. 

Mandala Festival
The Mandala Festival is celebrated in Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur every September 9.  It aims to
preserve the local Subanen tradition of Midasalip.  
https://www.google.com/amp/www.traveltothephilippines.info/2019/01/27/watch-colorful-festivals-in-
zamboanga-del-sur/amp/
Zamboanga City Bird Festival
Address: Zamboanga City, Philippines
Takes place: February - March
Considered as the country’s biggest celebration of avifaunal diversity, Zamboanga City Bird Festival
is celebrated by bird-watchers, conservationists, and tourists from local and foreign origins.
Zamboanga is not only rich in endemic birdlife but also attractive for migratory birds since it provides
a suitable ecosystem for a myriad of bird species.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/trip101.com/article/festivals-in-zamboanga/amp
Regatta de Zamboanga
Address: RT Lim Boulevard, Zamboanga City, Philippines
Takes place: October
The culture of Zamboanga gets richer and richer with the celebration of Regatta de Zamboanga. It is
the most scintillating and most awaited event during Fiesta Pilar. It is a fluvial racing contest
showcasing locally constructed vintas and bancas—which are traditional outrigger boats of the
Mindanaoans, with colorfully painted hulls and artistically sewn sails. These sails are colored and
decorated artistically as they try to embody what hermosa is—the Spanish and Chavacano word for
beautiful.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/trip101.com/article/festivals-in-zamboanga/amp

Geographic location       
     The region is located on the eponymous Zamboanga Peninsula of the island of Mindanao,
that lies between the Moro Gulf (part of the Celebes Sea) and the Sulu Sea. Along the shores of
the peninsula are numerous bays and islands. The peninsula is connected to the rest of
Mindanao through an isthmus situated between Panguil Bay and Pagadian Bay. Its territory
consists of the three Zamboanga provinces and the city of Zamboanga, and the boundary between
the peninsula and mainland is artificially marked by the border between the provinces of Zamboanga
del Sur and Lanao del Norte.
     Zamboanga Peninsula (Chavacano: Peninsula de Zamboanga; Cebuano: Lawis sa Zamboanga;
Filipino: Tangway ng Zamboanga) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated
as Region IX. 
      The region consists of three provinces (Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga
Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur) and two independent cities (Isabela City and Zamboanga City).
The region was previously known as Western Mindanao before the enactment of Executive Order No.
36 on September 19, 2001. The city of Pagadian is designated as the regional center.
https://alchetron.com/Zamboanga-Peninsula