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| Details for Barbara's Cultural Dinner Show. |
Growing up, I had fond memories of enjoying Filipino food while watching folk dances. We would often bring to these cultural dinners our guests who are balikbayans, family and friends who have migrated abroad and are back for a visit after many years of not seeing the Philippines. They would usually be hungry for Filipino food, and the accompanying folk dances and music would unfailingly bring about a sense of nostalgia. Last week, my uncle Fr. Manuel Serranilla, arrived from Canada. I invited him to dinner at Barbara's in Intramuros. I knew the area would trigger recollections of the past, after all, my uncle was ordained at San Agustin Church just across from Barbara's, and he knew the area well for he frequently walked the historic streets of the walled city as a young seminarian training to be a priest decades ago.
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| The ensemble of dance scholars performing the jota. |
I made sure to bring Narra, it's her turn now to tag along the way I did with my parents in the 80's whenever they had guests. When I was young, we would drive to Taal Vista Lodge in Tagaytay, where the hotel's restaurant regularly held performances. A nearer destination was Josephine's restaurant in the Greenbelt of old, which had dinner shows nightly. I was so happy to hear Barbara's has such a show now. I used to associate Barbara's with stiff fine dining, the type of place that induces diners to sit up straight. But now, with the cultural show and buffet set up, I felt comfortable enough to bring my toddler. I knew there would be lively music, and a lot of people moving about - the combination of a buffet and a show gives people license to stand up, walk, and take photos - so I knew Narra wouldn't be a nuisance in such an environment.
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| My mom Sonia, carrying Narra to give her a better view. |
My mom absolutely loves cultural performances. Watching shows brings her back to her early days as a young teacher who directed various types of school shows and student theater productions. A night of music and dancing always makes my mom glow. She carried Narra off to the side, to give her a better vantage point. She was whispering explanations to my daughter as the show went on, personally bequeathing to her grandchild history and heritage as she knows it.
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| Fan dance from the Southern Philippines. |
The dance scholars who were performing that night were very engaging. Their youthful enthusiasm was infectious, and they easily filled the dining space with their energy. The audience was quiet as they performed the Muslim dances with the required emotional distance and regal decorum; then they made the audience cheerful with their exciting fiesta dances: sayaw sa bangko, binasuan, pastores, and the perennial favorite, tinikling!
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| The exciting sayaw sa bangko. |
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| Binasuan, similar to Pandanggo sa Ilaw. |
Narra was enthralled! Her eyes were glued to the dancers the whole time. Narra could normally eat by herself already, but that night, my mom had to feed her, delivering periodic spoonfuls as the show progressed. My little girl couldn't sit down! The rest of us adults, got to enjoy our food: Almondigas soup, ensalada, palabok, bacalao, classic adobo, pinakbet, and beef kaldereta.
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| My mom trying to feed Narra. |
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| Narra, mesmerized with the dancers. |
By the end of the show, the dancers posed with diners. My dad and my daughter excitedly ran to the dance floor. Narra was just in high spirits. Our guest for the night, Father Manny, was likewise energized. He was videotaping the dances, and he even participated in the tinikling when volunteers from the audience were invited to give the dance a try.
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| Lolo and Apo posing with the dancers. |
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| Our guest for the evening Fr. Manny Serranilla from Canada. |
When one thinks of a kid-friendly place, an elegant restaurant in a 19th century building isn't usually what comes to mind. But with a dinner show featuring Filipino dances, it's a different story. Our folk dances are colorful, vivid and vibrant - alive and exciting, charming and inviting. Performed by energetic dancers, they have a disarming effect. Imagine this: we were stuck in nasty traffic, it was raining, and there was a procession going towards San Agustin church! Malas naman! I thought to myself how unlucky our timing was. I carried Narra, walking nervously on slippery cobblestone streets making my way to Barbara's, only to discover she only had one shoe on!...the other one was left in the car! I had to go back in the rain for that other shoe and my mood became as gloomy as the weather. That night had all the makings of a terrible evening. But by the time the show was over, we were in good spirits. There's nothing like a good round of tinikling to snap one out of a bad mood. I was infused with the fiesta spirit, and the procession that irritated me just an hour earlier, already looked to me like a cause of celebration! What luck that my daughter gets to witness a procession of devotees braving the rain in the name of faith. What luck that she sees this historic part of town abuzz with activity, alive!
I was thrilled that Narra loved watching the performances that night. I love our folk dances, and so does my mother, and her mother before her. And that night, on Dec. 8, we got to introduce another generation to the joys of Philippine folk dance.
Barbara's Official Website:
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