Seeing Lambigit Festival Through the Eyes and Heart of a Lambigit Queen

There are so many things that make Dipolog a pretty rockin’ city; from the unbeatable food to the amazing people, and let’s not forget about the rich culture inside and outside the city. One of the things that helps to set this place apart, however, is the overwhelming amount of festivals that are held to celebrate its people, culture, and commodities. Lambigit Festival is one of them.

Lambigit Festival is unlikely one of the most renowned festival in the province of Zamboanga del Norte. This originated in St. Vincent’s College — one of the promising college in the city to celebrate the life of its patron, San Vicente Ferrer. Its celebration usually sets on the month of February and has been celebrated annually for the past years.

This prestigious festival has already been witnessed by a thousands of eyes from different places, but it has been said that you have not seen Lambigit until you have seen it through the eyes of a festival queen. I may be biased, but I believe that this statement holds so many truths. Not everyone can relate to these things, but I have a feeling that if you were part of the sisterhood, these things will bring so many memories flooding back and remind you how lucky you were to be one of the Lambigit Festival Queens.

Your contingent will always be your favorite and it occupies your entire heart.

Even after you graduate, you get a job, travel somewhere else, but, once another Lambigit celebration is approaching, you can’t help yourself to wonder who represents your team in the present year. The team I was so lucky to represent will forever hold a special place in my heart.

You will never be able to explain to someone how it felt when you were devotedly dancing for San Vicente Ferrer.

No matter how much you have tried to to put it into words for people to understand, but no amount of words can capture how it felt. Everyone holds up the excitement, butterflies, and tears. Queens, let’s face it, though. Not many people get it when you’re dancing for devotion. You stood up there hands shaking, heart pounding so loud that you could hardly hear with a wide smile and just dance your heart out to the beat.

You fall in love with the memories of Lambigit and all of the little things. 

Not to mention the sleepless nights of rehearsals which probably is one of the most unforgettable memories of the preparation. I never even thought it was possible to fall in love with memories that even if practices do not involve you anymore, you still keep coming back and stay up late just to watch. The people, the culture, and everything else made it absolutely beautiful in my eyes.

You learn that a year can go by in the blink of an eye.

As cliche as this sounds, it seemed that I never fully understood this until my year as lambigit queen seemed to happen overnight. I remember the beginning so vividly. The excitement, the memories, and thinking I had all of this time to take it all in. Years flew by and before I knew it, I was standing in one of the crowd while watching another set of girls get into the open court, dances their hearts out to the drums and rhythm of Lambigit. It may have happened in the blink of an eye, but without a doubt it was the greatest year of my life and houses some of my most fondest memories. I wish I could blink and relive it time and time again.

Being a Lambigit Festival Queen is not just about the grandest gowns or who’s the heaviest head and back dresses. It is something that not everyone gets to experience as a Vincentian. So, here’s to you, my queens. Whether you reigned or not, always know we are a part of distinguished group of women so lucky to call ourselves as a Lambigit Festival Queen.