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| The Zamboanga Hermosa Festival |
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Zamboanga is situated at the southern end of the western arm of the island of Mindanao. The people of Zamboanga speak a variety of languages including Pilipino, English, Cebuano, Tausug, Samal and Chabacano (the local dialect which is a mixture of Spanish and Philippine languages).
The port bustles with the activities of passenger ships alongside cargo vessels and naval craft. The barter markets are filled with goods from a vibrant (and now legal) trade with Borneo to the southwest.
Each October, the city celebrates the Zamboanga Hermosa festival which lasts for nine days and then climaxes with Fiesta Pilar, which is dedicated to the patron saint of the city. These pictures were taken during the fiesta.
These guys were jammin' while seated on the back of a horse-drawn flatbed that pushed its way slowly through the crowded streets as part of a parade. The horse driver's contribution to wacky costume was to be wearing a motorcycle helmet.
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Men dressed in the traditional barong tagalog and women with the traditional "butterfly" sleeves of the terno perform dances dating from the time of Spanish colonization.
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