"The ramada traditional games happen every Tres de Mayo. Tres de Mayo is a feast day honoring Apo Lakay or the Sto Cristo Milagroso de Vigan who is believed to have saved Vigan from a plague in 1882."

[VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR, PHILIPPINES] ► When you visit Vigan on the first week of May during the feast of Sto Cristo Milagroso de Vigan, you'll notice that there are huge structures made of light materials scattered around the city poblacion. These structures are built on the streets of Vigan. It's like a welcome arch made of bamboos, palms and/or coconut leaves. Fruits and goods are hanging from these light structures. In Vigan, we call this ramada.

[VIGAN] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO VIGAN!

These ramadas are usually set up in Vigan's poblacion barangays (Brgys I to IX). I live outside the poblacion barangays of Vigan but I've been seeing these ramadas ever since my brain started to store memories.

Each ramada is made for the feast of Sto Cristo Milagroso de Vigan or locally called as Apo Lakay. It's a tradition here in Vigan that every barangay or village in poblacion should set up a ramada. The main event falls every third day of May (Fiesta del Tres de Mayo honoring Apo Lakay) where traditional games happen under the ramadas.

Actually, I've never blogged about ramada before and honestly, I didn't know its significance in our Bigueño culture. But when I started documenting and sharing my love for culture and heritage, a huge curiosity developed in my system that in every little thing I see or observe, many 'whys' occupy the corner of my mind that is hungry for answers, facts or trivia. So last May 3, I decided to document this ramada thingie so I made rounds in the city.

[VIGAN] ► THIS IS HOW A RAMADA LOOK LIKE.

[VIGAN] ► THIS RAMADA WAS DECORATED WITH FRUITS AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCES THAT ARE COMMON IN ILOCOS LIKE THE ILOCOS GARLIC AND THE VEGETABLES FOR PINAKBET.

[VIGAN] ► A RAMADA SET UP ON JOSE SINGSON STREET, SANTA ELENA VILLAGE, BRGY VIII

[VIGAN] ►THIS RAMADA WAS BEING SET UP FOR BRGY I.

[VIGAN] ► RAMADA IN BRGY I

I asked my grandma and my mom why there are ramadas in Vigan's poblacion district but they too didn't know the answer. My mom was kind enough to ask his friend (tito Ted) living in Cabasaan (a village in Vigan's poblacion district in Brgy VIII) who has been into this culture since childhood.

So I learned that the ramada is about thanksgiving. If you notice, there are fruits hanging under every ramada. It signifies prosperity and a form of giving thanks to God for the blessings He showered to the people.

According to tito Ted, during their childhood days, longganisa, bagnet and even litson were also hung under the ramada. Traditionally, these food I mentioned are all brought down after the ramada games for the community picnic. Usually, the rich families of the community donate these stuff but as time passed by, no one seemed interested to donate anymore.

Today, only fruits, toys and sometimes cash placed inside a transparent plastic bag are hung. On the third day of May, children of the poblacion barangays gather under these ramadas to play traditional games.

The ramada traditional games happen every Tres de Mayo. As we all know, Tres de Mayo is a feast day honoring Apo Lakay or the Sto Cristo Milagroso de Vigan who is believed to have saved Vigan from a plague in 1882.

The Tres de Mayo feast starts with a mass in front of the Simbaan a Bassit where the image of Apo Lakay is enshrined. If you notice, the mass platform and the altar is also placed under a ramada with fruits hanging signifying the bountiful blessings received by the people of Vigan.

[VIGAN] ► A RAMADA HOUSES THE ALTAR AND THE PLATFORM FOR THE TRES DE MAYO HOLY MASS

The things I shared above are, I believe, just a little part of the rich culture of Vigan during Tres de Mayo feast day. I haven't made further research and study about the ramada tradition so I only have a limited information to share. Next time, I will post additional photos featuring the children of Vigan playing traditional games.

If you want to correct something on this post, feel free to share them. You can email me at edmaration@gmail.com or you can also contact me using my social media accounts (fb.com/edmaration, twitter: @edmaraition, IG: @edmaration).

If you want to share your knowledge about the Vigan ramada tradition, I would greatly appreciate it. I envision this blog to be a reliable source of information about the rich culture and heritage of Vigan so for my fellow Bigueños who are knowledgeable in this field, I hope you could impart to me your knowledge so that I can improve the contents of this blog, especially the posts related to Vigan. At the end of the day, my goal is to educate the world about the culture and heritage of my hometown Vigan as accurate as possible. | end |
______________________________
More posts related to Tres de Mayo ► |

03 MAY 2016: RAMADA IN SANTA ELENA VILLAGE, BRGY VIII
THIS RAMADA WAS COLORFULLY DECORATED WITH BANDERITAS.

[VIGAN] ► HELLO! WELCOME TO THE RAMADA OF TRES DE MAYO

► FOOTNOTES, DISCLAIMERS, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, ETC

[1] This post is filed under the category "Customs and Traditions." This is a category here on my blog where I write my experiences, note down my insights and post photo essays about customs and traditions I've seen or experienced then I weave them into stories. There is a section below where you can see other related posts from this category.

[2] All maps I used on this post are the works of Eugene Alvin Villar and Mike Gonzalez published on Wikipedia. Source: 1 | 2

[3] All photos are mine.

[4] The insights, conditions and name of places or properties I mentioned here are based on the facts and situation on the day of my visit. Take note that you may have a different experience when you experience or see the Tres de Mayo ramada in Vigan. Names of places and properties may also change by time.