Halad sa Pagtuo: A Cebuano Festival of Faith Meets the Challenges of AI and Climate Change

The idea of a Cebuano festival of festivals is basically a good one. To hold an event as big as Halad sa Pagtuo (Offering of Faith) toward the end of August, as the Cebu Provincial Government did on August 29, adds life to the month. This somehow makes up for the caution and inclination to belt-tightening with which we have begun to view this time of year, given that it is Ghost Month in the eyes of our Chinese brothers and sisters, to whose cultural beliefs we open ourselves as much as we open ourselves to other cultures on our planet.

Halad sa Pagtuo is already different from other festivals and fiestas on different levels. For instance, its predecessor when Gwendolyn Garcia was governor of Cebu was Pasigarbo sa Sugbo (Cebu's Show of Pride) and focused on the dancing that developed in light of the fiestas of the various locales in Cebu province.

Sacred roots of secular celebrations

Halad sa Pagtuo under Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, in contrast, put on center stage the patron saints of these places. Their carrozas, moreover, were taken in procession before the cultural program in which contingents representing a variety of festivals danced in an exhibition of their respective traditions.

It may be said that Halad sa Pagtuo made the sacred roots of the secular celebrations across this archipelago that we call Cebu more pronounced. It underscores, in addition, that the festivals rooted in faith in which everyone is welcome take place both in and outside January and in fact pepper the calendar year from start to finish.

Given two developments in human history which contextualize Halad sa Pagtuo and other festivals and will continue doing so in the foreseeable future, the unbridled development of artificial intelligence and the climate emergency, organizers must seize the opportunity to make the fiesta of fiestas a model of authentic humanity in opposition to the anti-culture of artifice and of sustainability as a counterweight to the throwaway culture at the root of our ecological crises.

Examples of authentic humanity

Take these for examples of authentic humanity. A netizen who attended the festival thanked the organizers of Halad on social media for the distribution of free food to all spectators. The governor, meanwhile, thanked a water firm for donating its products to spectators.

This power of the fiesta, so to speak, to trigger the preparation of welcoming communal tables ultimately ought to compel Cebuanos to build a culture in which no one who lives on the island is hungry or without shelter or clothes. There must be a better solution than simply telling nongovernment organizations, as Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival did back in May, to put a halt to street giving.

Could each fiesta as well as Halad be new channels for addressing malnutrition in Cebu, a cause that is dear to the governor?

The generosity that a fiesta occasions is the true heart of devotion to the saints, although a procession is a rather indispensable reminder that open hands are not some vague principle floating in the ether but belong to flesh-and-blood men and women, representable in sculpture, who were fully immersed in history and responsive to human suffering.

The ceremonials of faith, including honoring its heroes with well-wrought floats, floral arrangements, meditative walks, choreography, music, and lights become genuine expressions of faith only when they culminate in a consistent culture (at the risk of redundancy: culture because consistent) of helping the poor.

Care for the earth

Now it would be quite tragic if this culture of mercy and helping remains exclusively anthropocentric. We must also care for the earth from which we draw everything we need for ourselves and to help one another.

Danao City, for its carroza in honor of Saint Thomas of Villanueva, a patron of the poor, used recycled materials as decoration. Designer Dan Wilson Damicog said preparations took nearly two weeks, with the team choosing an eco-friendly design to save on costs while putting available materials to use, CDN Digital's Lyle Andales and Airam Limatog reported. The approach reflected the spirit of Laudato Si', Pope Francis' encyclical that calls for care for the environment and responsible stewardship of natural resources.

The municipality of Tudela, for its carriage for Saint Isidore the Laborer, a farmer, used as decoration fresh produce such as watermelons, bananas, cassava, and coconuts.

More sustainable festivals

The two locales' judicious choice of decoration represent good beginnings for Halad as a template for sustainable festivals. The next laudable steps would be checking the carbon footprint of Halad. Sinulog has become infamous for the amount of waste it generates. How far might Halad stress the planet if it becomes bigger and better as organizers would want each year? The cut-flower industry, which feeds into the decorations of carrozas, is a high-carbon footprint one, and more discerning traders have begun a movement for sustainable floristry. Halad must take inspiration. Are fireworks necessary or can organizers shift to a light show? Would the budget for one be acceptable in the face of our other struggles?

For those who have pagtuo (faith), a cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) such as Saints Thomas of Villanueva and Isidore the Laborer remind festival goers and organizers that there is a Divine Master who deserves devotion in the needy and to whom all will have to answer for how they treat the earth, his garden.