Drumbeating with Kids

by Gil Camporazo

My new school assignment, Balabag Elementary School annually is participating in Pasalamat Festival of La Carlota City, a week-long thanksgiving occasion for a bounty harvest of the city. There are a lot of merry-making activities and competition. One of the highlights of the said festivity is a rhythm contest of the official samba beat created by the late City Mayor Luis "Nonoy" Jalandoni.

This rhythm contest is categorized into two, the adult and the kid. The adult is representing their own barangay, while the kid is representing their school and our pupils are one of them. They call themselves as Tribu Mahogany.

Drumbeating Workshop

Tourism plays a vital in the development and progress of a city like La Carlota for it promotes interconnectedness throughout the world. It boosts the country's economy through attracting tourists and investors.

In a letter sent to elementary schools in the Division of La Carlota City, especially those that had participated in the recent La Carlota Pasalamat Festival rhythm competition and in line with the city's tourism week celebration with its theme "Tourism and Community Development" which started September 8 and will be culminated on September 12, 2014.

Drumbeating Workshop is one of the activities for this year to nine elementary schools which have actively participated in the Pasalamat Festival Rhythm Competition. And our 18 school kids have received this hands-on workshop to develop more of their skills and to be aware of the history and origin of Pasalamat Festival.

Pasalamat Festival is attracting more and more visitors and tourists every year. And every year there are new participants in every tribe or group of youths and adults enlisting themselves to among the 14 barangay of the city.

The city of La Carlota, particularly this year 2014 is conducting a clinic for a drum beating to those elementary schools that had participated in the last year rhythm contest and our school is one of the recipients for the hands-on training on drum beating.

Gerald Ted Acosta and Elicor Advincula representing the office of tourism lectured our 18 kids on the different kinds of the drum and on they're played. After the lecture, the kids demonstrated the different beats or rhythm as they took one at a time in playing the drums like rhythm, bass and timpani.

Kid Playing Drums

I remember our grandson, Toto Bryan before when he was five years old studying at Maranatha Christian School, he played the drums used by a band. I was amazed of his talent. Sad to note, however, it wasn't developed.