BIBBAK-IL Performs at Reunions

On August 6th, we performed at the St. Mary's of Sagada High School reunion and at the Baguio City High School Reunion. Below are sample videos of the fun that we had.

Passport to the Philippines a Success!

It’s Sunday, and the Passport to the Philippines that started Thursday is coming to a close. We are proud to announce that yesterday’s parade and performances were a success! It would not have been possible if not for all the Igorot families that came out to support and partake in this wonderful event. We were first unsure of how many people were attending because of the few responses from our BIBBAK members on Facebook and our Webpage. However, any questions and concerns about having enough participants to represent us Igorots were quickly answered when the line for the parade outside Navy Pier showed many Igorots eager to lead the Filipino parade.

The day started out cloudy, and the temperature was cool with a light mist in the air, but this didn’t hold back the smiles of all the lolos, lolas, parents, teens and young children. They held their ground dressed in their tapis and wanes. The younger children held their instruments while the teenage boys held their shield and spears. The men clung to their gangsas in anticipation, while the onlookers to our left, right and ahead took pictures and observed.

This is our third year doing the Passport to the Philippines event at Navy Pier, and some changes have taken place since our first time. The most pleasing of those are the increase number of new faces joining us; new not only to the event, but to BIBBAK-Illinois. This year, the women and girls also added a beautiful touch to their apparel by including beautiful flower arrangements, which were made by Raul, one of our new members. Again, thanks to Raul, the men and boys included tattoos to add more flavor to our already flavor-filled cultural recipe. Inside the Children’s Museum where we performed, we held our first Igorot workshop that featured coloring of pictures by Steve Limpkin, tattoos by Raul Buendia and the touristy-like picture board by Arlene Sadcopen.

Another pleasing alteration to our portion of the event was the focus of having our children do most of the dancing inside the museum. This was something we discussed in the beginning of the year: focus on our youth. Unlike the last two years, the adults performed the music on the side, while the children took the stage. Their first dance was the Tayao or Tayaw. After that, two of our younger boys, Royce and Darryl, performed the Bontoc war dance. Since there were many children in the audience, we pointed out that the bravery and courage displayed in the dance portrays the importance of using the Igorot trait of bravery and courage to stand up for good when bad things try to change us to bad people. The last dance was the Bendian in where all the children joined the lolas and some parents.

All, but one thing were great new changes/additions to our portion of the event. Ah, and what is that one sour apple you may ask? Well, we were asked prior to the event not to expose our ubet (buttocks), which is written more about in Rex’s blog (topic of g-strings). Maybe we can convince the event leaders next year to allow us to be truly “free” (at least those who want to be).

We are very pleased to see the change of attitude in some of our youth, who understandably had reservations about wearing the bahag or participating in dances. What may have been reservation in the eyes of our youth a month ago, turned into a sparkle of pride yesterday. This is such great and encouraging news because we live in a culture that can easily sway our children from their heritage.
For those who could not attend, we hope you plan on participating in more of our future events by keeping up with our events calendar. For those who attended: THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! There are many pictures and videos currently circulating throughout Facebook, but for those who are not Facebook members, please enjoy a snippet of those pictures below. Also, please share this with your friends. Hope to see you all at our Early Summer Picnic in July (see event calendar)!

2011 Spring Picnic

Thanks to everyone who attended our Spring picnic yesterday.  Even though rain and chilly weather made its way to our location, we still had a wonderful turnout.  It was great to see new and old faces, but it was even better to see all the young children who attended.  We had plenty of food, dancing, games and singing.

The picnic was a clear indication that frequent gatherings are key to growing BIBBAK Illinois.  Every time we gather and participate in events, our bond and sense of community becomes stronger.  Knowing this, we decided to have another picnic this coming July 16th.  Please check the events calendar  for updates and details.  Until then, enjoy the pictures and video of yesterday's wonderful picnic.

SPRING PICNIC - Memorial Day Weekend

Come celebrate the coming of Spring, Memorial Day, and our wonderful Igorot heritage this coming Saturday (5/28/11) at Whalon Lake.  See event calendar for more details.

Dancing in the Park

Marlon teaching the girls

Hello everyone!  We just finished our first practice for the Passport to the Philippines (P2P) parade/performance that will be held at Navy Pier this next month.  The turnout was far from what we need it to be, but we made the best of it anyway - like any Igorot would.

The sounds of our gangsas and sulibao created curiosity from people passing by.  In fact, a chef from Egypt stopped by to talk about how similar our instruments are with some of his country's instruments.  It's always nice to see and meet people who are interested in other cultures, particularly ours.

The chef is just a smidgen of what we might encounter at Navy Pier as we parade down the entire pier amidst tourists and unsuspecting onlookers.  Our interest in performing at the P2P is primarily fueled by our desire to share our Igorot culture to the world, so please help us out by coming out to our practices and to the P2P event.  

We need as many boys and girls to participate in our dancing.  We also need the support of those of you who have been active with BIBBAK-IL in the past.  Please see our events calendar for times and locations of our P2P practices.

Getting Ready for Passport to the Philippines at Navy Pier

We will be gathering every Saturday in May to practice our dances for the Passport to the Philippines (P2P) parade/performance in June.  Our gatherings/practices will be outdoors when weather permits.  We plan on having as many of our kids participate at P2P, so please bring your children.  In addition to practice, we will have food at each gathering.  If you plan on coming, please bring a small dish to share.

For more information, see our events calendar.

Please pray for the family of Agustin Sarmiento III

Agustin A Sarmiento III

February 10, 1964 - March 26, 2011

It is with great regret to inform everyone of the loss of one of our extended Igorot brothers, Agustin A. Sarmiento III (Joey), who passed away on March 26, 2011.  He is the son of Agustin (Joe) and Ida Sarmiento, who are one of the founding Igorots of BIBBAK-IL.  At the age of 46, Joey left behind a beautiful family.  Please take the time to visit the link below to find out more details and view his pictures.  Also, while visiting the site, please take the time to send his parents and family your condolences by signing the guest book located on the right side of the page.


Obituary: Agustin A. Sarmiento III