Minalabac

Minalabac is a third class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.It is known for the so-called "Tumatarok ni San Felipe-Santiago" dance festival where young boys aged 10 to 12 years old performed the dance ritual.BarangaysMinalabac is politically subdivided into 25 barangays.DemographicsIn the, the population of Minalabac was people, with a density of {{sigfig{{PH wikidata.Tumatarok FestivalConsidered as one of the most colorful and interesting fiestas in the Bikol region, the Tumatarok Festival is celebrated every 11 May which is done in honor of their two patron saints, Sts. Philip and James. Main highlights of the festive occasion include the evening tide fluvial procession where colorful floating pagodas crowd along the banks of the Bikol River ; the religious dancing of little boys who are called here as the Tumatarok ni San Felipe-San Tiago or the Rice Planters of Sts. Philip and James. These little boys, ages 8 to 11, sing the traditional Bikol hymn to the two saints. Likewise, after the celebration of the mass the next morning, the ten tumatarok once again performed another ritual, this time a sacred dance, in the sanctuary of the Church. It was said that their dance was a prayer to God, thanking Him for blessing upon the coming rice planting season which then and even now is the main source of income to many Minalabacueños.The dance component of Bicol religious ritual was retained in colonial times. On the feast of San Felipe and Santiago in May, in Minalabac, Camarines Sur, men carry the saint's images and estandartes of bamboo towers, while the children in costumes that change annually, dance the tuatarok (literally, "rice planters"), clicking their castanets and singing verses of praise to the twin patron saints and imploring their help for the officials and members of the community. Among the secular dances, the engano, a graceful sway, and the waltz step are of Spanish origin. Boys and girls dance Albay's inkoy-inkoy to three-part music, sagurang being its oldest Bicol version. The jota Bicolana is lively as the Spanish jotas