April 25th was Litratong Pinoy’s Summer EB (eyeball) at the Aliwan Fiesta in Manila. Aliwan Fiesta is an annual competition of floats and street dancers representing the most popular festivals around the Philippines. You can read more about the Fiesta here.

I arrived late, as usual, and as soon as the LP EB-ers were done eating lunch, the fun began. Lino took our jumping group photos first. Umpisa pa lang, kakapagod na. But it was really funny! Then we headed off to CCP were the floats were parked and the street dancers were rehearsing. We got separated sometimes but were able to regroup again and again.

It was a really hot day and it was pretty tiring but the colorful floats and the performances by the street dancers were well worth it. And it was fascinating to see numerous photographers, both amateurs and professionals, gathered together in one place, dooing their thing. It was actually overwhelming and I was a bit intimidated, seeing all the DSLRs and me with my pink and old-fashioned Holga. Haha! And I couldn’t imagine how much energy the participants have. They were dancing almost the whole day under the scorching heat of the sun then got soaked in rain later that day. I mean, I just walked around and took some photos and I got pretty tired, what more dancing and wearing those costumes complete with body paints. I don’t think I have the energy for that.

So anyway, it was such a wonderful and learning experience for me, especially as a photography enthusiast and I will definitely be watching again next year.

P.S. Thanks to Lito Almuenda for the photos.