Pandanggo is a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

folk dance which has become popular in the rural areas of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The dance evolved from

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

, a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

folk dance, which arrived in the Philippines during the Hispanic period. The dance is accompanied by

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...

. This dance, together with the

Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of t ...

, became popular among the ''illustrados'' or the upper class and later adapted among the local communities. In the early 18th century, any dance that is considered jovial and lively was called Pandanggo.

Versions

There are many versions of this dance and each locality has its own version. Local dancers have many ways of doing the Pandanggo, but there is one thing in common between different versions: they have gay and sprightly figures. It may be danced at any social gathering and is usually accompanied by clapping. In some places, the musicians do not stop playing until four to five couples have danced, one after the other. When one couple tires, another takes its place until there are no more who to dance. The musicians play faster and faster after each repetition until the dancers are exhausted. Two of the most popular versions of Pandanggo, as a performing art, are the Pandanggo sa Ilaw (fandango with lights) from

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

and Oasioas. Pandanggo sa Ilaw, which originated from

Lubang Island Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the gro ...

, Mindoro, involves the dancers performing while balancing lights. Another Philippine folk dance,

Cariñosa The ''cariñosa'' (, meaning loving or affectionate) is a Philippine dance of colonial-era origin from the Maria Clara suite of Philippine folk dances, where the fan or handkerchief plays an instrumental role as it places the couple in a roma ...

, has Pandanggo as its base dance. Pandanggo is still danced by many people but mostly in religious rituals and processions such as the Pandangguhan sa Pasig, during the procession of St. Martha, and the Sayaw sa Obando which has a pandanggo for childless couples. While Fandango in Spain was superseded by its modern version, the Flamenco, it has evolved into a popular folk dance, and as a ritual dance in many religious processions in the Philippines.PHILIPPINE NATIONAL DANCES. PHILIPPINE FOLK DANCES AND GAMES. Francisca Reyes-Aquino. "DAGAW: Eastern Visayan Culture" by "Saiaopinoi", Ybabao Chapter of the Balangaw Kandabaw Foundation, Inc.

References

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Versions

References

See also