Faces of Kadayawan 2017

The Kadayawan Festival, the biggest annual festival being celebrated in Davao City, in the Philippines derives its inspiration from the city's rich cultural origins. Often called "The Festival of Festivals", the Kadayawan celebrates the diversity of the local culture and the richness and abundance of nature. Thus, the faces and costumes of its main participants portray the various ethnic groups that peacefully co-exist in the city and its surrounding towns; communities that inhabit the bountiful land, from the rolling slopes of the Mount Apo, to the vast, fertile plains and the scenic coastal areas of the Davao Gulf; tribes that unite to nurture nature's gifts from Muslim groups, to Christians and the many ethnic minority groups. It tells legends of how these tribes came to existence and how nature played a vital role in their cultures. I had a great time capturing participants' photos as they try to portray the stories of their tribe.