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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider The theatrics of Ilonggo cuisine and society

The theatrics of Ilonggo cuisine and society

Published May 18, 2025 03:32 pm
ILOILO CITY—Ilonggo cuisine and society took center stage at the recent 11th Iloilo Theater Festival (ILOTF) organized by the University of San Agustin (USA).
THE 11th Iloilo Theater Festival. (Jon Evan Terence Yorac)
THE 11th Iloilo Theater Festival. (Jon Evan Terence Yorac)
In the play “Halo-Halo Atbp.,” the USA Little Theater (USALT) staged four short plays that fuse key known Ilonggo food staples while discussing social issues.
The site-specific performances around the USA’s main campus offered the audience a culinary journey of well-known and beloved Ilonggo staples: batchoy, siopao, fish ball, and native coffee.
With food as backdrop, the short plays unraveled the social issues of the day through the lens of the youth.
Festival founder Eric Divinagracia, USALT artistic director, said this year’s theme of “Add Theater to Taste” was linked to Iloilo City being named by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a City of Gastronomy in 2023.
The 11th ILOTF was co-presented by Teatrokon: the Western Visayas Theater Network and backed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI).
The May 3 to 4 festival had both school-based and community theater groups from other parts of Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
Participants from Iloilo were Teatro Sinag of Iloilo Doctors College (IDC), Teatro Dagami of West Visayas State University-Little Theater (WVSU-LT), Teatro Tayo of WVSU-College of PESCAR; Eksena Training Services, 033 Play House, Living Room Theatre of UP Visayas, UP Junior Theater Arts Club, Call Lab, Teatro Bugsay-Layag of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU), Theatre Kids Collaborative, and Kapawa Performing Arts of Balasan National High School.
From Negros Occidental were Teatro Laragway of Enrique B. Magalona National High School, Balangaw Artists Collective of Bacolod City, Dagiaw Experimental Theater of Bacolod City, Kanlaon Theater Guild of Colegio San Agustin Bacolod (CSA-B), and Maskara Theatre Ensemble of the University of Saint La Salle Bacolod (USLS Bacolod).
This year’s festival had training and discussions with key guests and experts, including Anton Juan, Tanya Lopez, Elvert Bañares, She Maala, Bernice Aspillaga, Noel Pahayupan, Jemuel Garcia Jr., Kyle Laguda, Anthea Dulfo, Phineemar Magbanua, Ron Matthews Espinsoa, and Char Suarez.

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Iloilo Theater Festival University of San Agustin Iloilo City
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