TOPAZ HORIZON

I can't let August slip away without sharing with you the costumes my boys wore for Buwan ng Wika. Proud mama me is happy to report these were inexpensive and partly homemade. Also, blogger me is disclosing I'm blogging about this because so many people were saying they were Googling "Visayan costumes for boys" so - lightbulb moment! - nakakuha ako ng idea for an SEO-friendly post hehe!


August was super busy so I really wanted to buy a costume first kasi wala talaga akong time! But everything I found online were either Katipunero/farmer costumes or Igorot and Muslim costumes. For my older sons, their assigned costume was Visayan. When I asked a costume maker about that, she said, "Naku, ma'am, ang mga Bisaya, mga nakahubad ang mga yan. Example po, si Lapu-Lapu. Bale, bigyan ko na lang kayo ng bahag at pambalot sa ulo tapos hubad na lang yung mga bata." 

Is this true??? She sounded condescending.

But this is what I found on our hero, Datu Lapu-Lapu so baka nga totoo:

Anyway, Visayans are also known for their fierce tattooed bodies. From the islands of Panay to Leyte, there are people called Pintados. Even Lapu-Lapu had tattoos. So we Googled Pintados and a lot of fabulous photos from festivals came up! As in. Nakakatuwa sobra. But here's the one in Wikipedia:


My sons weren't so hot about going naked and wearing a diaper. But I figured since taga-Leyte mga magulang ko and the fact that Visayas were their assignment, we should just commit to it. By this time, our costume supplier was fully booked so hindi na raw siya available so off I went to Megamall because "Here at SM, we've got it all for you!"


At the tourist-favorite shop Kultura, there were lots of parents buying Filipino costumes. And grabe ha, hindi sila mura. Basically mga P1500 kada costume. Parang OA naman. So I figured I'd buy a nude shirt, make a Pintados design, buy tela na may traditional print (kahit hindi na strictly Bisaya) and gawan ko ng paraan yun.


Sa SM Department Store kiddie section, nakahanap ako ng nude undershirts. If you're looking for the same, sabihin niyo naghahanap kayo ng pang-barong. Mga P150 lang sila. Yey! Sa Kultura ko nabili yung tela. P800 siya. So lumabas na wala pang 1K per costume! Super kuripot me was so happy!!!


The kids helped with the design of their shirts and, armed with permanent markers, sila na ang gumawa ng sarili nilang tattoos. Ayaw nila ng bahag so binalot na lang namin yung tela around their waists and they wore shorts sa ilalim. Super happy sila sa costumes nila!!! These photos were taken at 5:30 in the morning and buhay na buhay sila sa excitement haha


Of course, my bunso also had his own Buwan ng Wika celebration sa school niya. With him, sabi ng teachers niya na okay na yung Katipunero costume that he wore when he was in Nursery last year. We just needed a bigger shirt and binaba namin sa hips niya yung pants para hindi bitin. We just used a straw fedora instead of the usual straw hat para mas cool siya haha He's sooooo cute, diba???

So, mga mamas, I've been super enjoying all the Pinoy costumes I've been seeing on social media. Medyo nakaka-stress maghanap ng costume but the results are always worth it. Parang motherhood lang!


*Lapu-Lapu monument photo from Country Within a City; Pintados photo from Wikipedia.