Havenella Angela Amit

BA in Psychology 4
2018-09641

Activity 5: Art as a Social Practice

When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they staged lavish fiestas to induce Filipinos to
convert. Despite the changes that Fiestas have gone through, such colonial roots still exist. As a result,
the religious traditions pounded into us by Spanish invaders have successfully blended with indigenous
ceremonial activities. Most Filipino fiestas are celebrated to honor patron saints and major events in the
lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Fiestas have become a greater role in today's society than the
religion and faith that the Spaniards sought out to attain in the first place. Many Filipinos believe that
they are essential because of the Saints' miraculous power, which expresses itself in good fortune and
favor. The Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, the long march and dance tributes commemorating
Santo Nino during the Sinulog Festival in Cebu, and the colorful parade to worship the Holy Child Jesus
and mark the conversion of Natives are just a few examples.

The sacredness of fiestas, however, is only a portion of it. As previously stated, the conquerors'
religious customs harmonized nicely with those of the Filipinos. Then Filipinos began to adopt fiesta
(together with its foreign aspects) as their own. It was just a short step from there for Filipinos to start
using them for political purposes. From there, as human agency continued to impose on fiestas, the
function of fiestas in Philippine culture grew and changed to suit the needs of society. Celebration of
fiestas has been used in order to attract tourists. These celebrations have grown into festivals, contests,
street dance, and other sorts of tourism activities. In other words, as a result of governmental and secular
sector participation in the conduct of festivals, the sacred religious fiestas of the Spanish colonization
era became the secular spectacled fiestas that Filipinos claim today.

People are emphasizing on the festival's aesthetic qualities and tourist-related activities rather
than its religious and traditional customs to fit the needs of commercialism and tourism. Santa Cruzan’s
transformation from a religious reenactment of the holy cross quest into a modern-day ceremonial
extravaganza is another example. Physical traits, social standing, power, and wealth have taken the role
of values in representing biblical and figurative characters.

Fiestas aren't what they used to be, on the whole. Because cultural practices grow in conjunction
with society, they are subject to change. People may employ cultural rites like fiestas to attain their
goals mostly because of human agency. As a result, it's only natural for fiestas like the ones described
in this study to adapt.