By: Jocelyn P. Alvarez
ZAMBOANGA CITY, May 22, (PIA) - - Old folks think that Gen Y (the youth), and even
children of today seemed to find fascination and entertainment in the world of
internet, computer games and gadgets that most of the “new” generation failed
to get the chance to experience the once popular “larong Pinoy” or the games of
the past that most Filipino youth and children used to play way back then.
To
revisit old-time favorite children’s games and promote and popularize once more
the “larong Pinboy” the Department of Tourism (DOT) here in partnership with
the city government, initiated “Fiesta Engrande” on May 19, at the favorite
public “tambayan” (hangout)- the Paseo
del Mar grounds.
The
Fiesta Engrande conducted over the weekend, was a whole day fiesta in Zamboanga
showcasing some “popular but forgotten” games of the past as a cultural tourism
product to be enjoyed by visitors of the city.
The
activity kicked off 2:45 in the afternoon with a grand parade with starting
point at the Plaza Pershing down to Paseo del Mar, an estimated 30-45minutes’
walk to the activity area.
The
parade was participated in by some government officials, game participants,
government and private offices, schools and people’s organization.
Juego de Antes
Sporting Events
Immediately
after the parade, the “Juego de antes” commenced with Mayor Celso Lobregat and
DOT Acting Regional Director Mary June Bugante doing the opening throw for “Tumba
Lata” (knock off the can) game, using a sleeper to knock off the can as a
signal that “juego de antes” has officially begun.
 |
| catch the dragons tail |
The “Juego
de Antes” started with sporting events like “catch the dragon’s tail” which was
participated in by some 60 players (children, youth and adults) broken down
into 6 teams with 10 members each team.
Other sporting
events like “Siatong, Sungka, Jack Stone, Pick up the stick was also played by
the participants including some part of the cheering crowd.
Juego de Antes (games of the past)
Pinoy Amazing Race
The scorching heat
did not stop the 75 players (15 teams w/ 5 players each team) to join in the
Pinoy Amazing Race, all aiming to get the grand prize of p10,000, 7,500 for the
1st runner up and 5,000 for 2nd runner up.
Tumba lata
Each team race to
the finish, starting off with “tumba lata” where each team member was required
to knock off the can/tin (once) before the team can finally proceed to the next
race task.
 |
| tumba lata |
Tumba
lata is a popular Filipino street game and is commonly seen in most Filipino
movies and TV series.
Like
other Filipino traditional games, members take the following rules: one as the
“taya”, someone who takes the rule of a-player-at-stake and holds the
responsibility of the Lata(tin can), and; the others as the players striking.
The game is performed by having the players a “pamato” (which is ones own
slipper) used for striking the tin that is held beside the taya.
After accomplishing
the “tumba lata” the teams had their “race cards” signed by a DOT race official
assigned, to verify that the team/s accomplished the task “fair and square.”
Each team was asked
to have their race cards signed after completion of every race task for easy
identification of race winners.
Buscahan
goma
 |
| buscahan goma |
Next Task was the
“buscahan goma” where the team race to “scoop” some 20 tiny rubber bands using
barbeque sticks only. The rubber bands were hidden/slightly buried under the cone-shaped,
beach sand.
Sipan race
Another once
popular children’s game was the “Sipan race”, this was the third task that
Pinoy amazing race participants need to complete.
 |
| Sipan race |
The participants
and crowd laughed their hearts out when game players sport out a barefoot race,
using only a pair of coconut husk as their “flip flop” (sleeper), cramming
their way to be the first to complete this specific task.
Sipa
 |
| Sipa |
Another “once upon
a time” game –an innovative game of Pinoys was the Sipa of which the material
is made of tingga (iron), it is shaped and sized like a P1 peso coin with close
to a hundred strips of straws inserted in the middle of the tingga.
In the Sipa task, each
player of the team was required to bounce the
“tingga” or sipa 5 times using any one of the body parts- the arm, the leg or the foot.The team that completes the task first, proceeds to the next race level.
“tingga” or sipa 5 times using any one of the body parts- the arm, the leg or the foot.The team that completes the task first, proceeds to the next race level.
Bagol (tsinelas relay)
 |
| bagol |
After completing
the sipa task, Pinoy amazing racers proceeded to do the “Bagol” or tsinelas
(sleeper) relay, where all of the 5 team members raced the sleeper in a
100-meter dash relay using the foot, the arm and the head.
Chinese garter
 |
| Chinese garter |
Who said that only
the ladies or girls know how to play the Chinese garter? Well, males do too
jump the garter, like what they did in the race, and they had fun jumping over
the garter.
In the Chinese
garter game, two people hold both ends of a stretched garter horizontally while
the others attempt to cross over it. The goal is to cross without having
tripped on the garter. With each round, the garter's height is made higher than
the previous round (the game starts with the garter at ankle-level, followed by
knee-level, until the garter is positioned at the shoulder length). The higher
rounds demand dexterity, and the players generally leap with their feet first
in the air, so their feet cross over the garter, and they end up landing on the
other side.
 |
| eating competition |
 |
| tuba drinking contest |
 |
| tire race |
After fairly
playing all the “larong Pinoy” in the Pinoy Amazing race, bonus tasks include eating competition where the
participants had to completely finish all the food served in the bilao which
include 5 pcs ballot, 5 pcs banan, mango and puto seco, then raced to proceed
to tuba drinking and finally tire race.
After having fun
under the sun, team winners in the race took home cash prizes worth P10,000 ,
P7,000 and P5,000 for the Grand prize , 1st runner up and 2nd
runner up respectively.
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| Grand prize P10,000 |
 |
| 1st runner up: P7,000 |
Traditional
Filipino Games or larong
Pinoy are games commonly played by children, usually using native materials
or instruments.
In
the Philippines,
due to limited resources of toys of Filipino
children, they usually come up on inventing games without the need of anything
but the players themselves. With the flexibility of a real human to think and
act makes the game more interesting and challenging.
A
few decades ago, kids used to gather in the streets or in their neighborhood
playground to play their favorite Larong Pinoy. These has been their regular
and popular pastimes, as well as the favorite games of their parents and
grandparents until new and modern forms of entertainment has taken over the
interests of young kids.
 |
| 2nd runner up: P5,000 |
DOT 9 Director
Bugante said the “Fiesta Engrande” activities particularly the events under the
‘Juego de antes” is the department’s way of advocating interpersonal
relationship among the young generation as modern technology slowly
deteriorates personal interaction among people specifically the youth of today.
(JPA/ PIA 9-ZBST)