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| Pikoy having fun with his puppets |
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| puppets entertain children and adults |
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| woody's got a girlfriend |
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| woody |
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| woody and friends |
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| bakunawa |
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| early works |
Last weekend on a drive south,
the traffic was jammed again...
After pledging not to be upset by minor inconveniences,
I stretched my neck out the window
to see what was delaying my journey.
To my surprise,
there were three giants,
yes, higantes have conquered Cebu...
Higantes of the paper mache kind.
Wow, what fun the people were having...
bata ug tigulang, (young and old)
tambok ug niwang... (fat and thin)
All amused by these paper giants.
They are made of paper, bamboo and fabric.
It requires imagination, patience and creativity to make them.
It takes weeks to make one puppet/higante.
These higantes/ puppets,
are a Mexican influence on our culture.
They have been with us for centuries.
They only appear when summoned....
at parades, fiestas, sinulog,
town festivals and political protests.
They amuse us,
They make us think,
They provoke us into action...
Who are the handlers of these higantes/puppets?
Playful and fun-loving artists.
A higante/puppet does not just strut in the street,
it has to internalize its role,
it has to interact with its audience,
it has to entertain the public.
Who are the creators of these higantes?
A rare species of talented and zany artists.
In Cebu, one of the few puppet makers
is Pierre Famador or Pikoy.
He has been creating and handling higantes/puppets,
that have won in many Sinulog festivals.
Salamat Pikoy,
for sharing your talents
and preserving our culture.
So, next time you are stuck in traffic
because of a town fiesta,
Search for these higantes/puppets,
you never know,
they might just make a surprise appearance,
from the center of someone's creative universe.
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