KADAUGAN SA MACTAN: A Celebration of Victory and Gastronomy

One of the underrated yet anticipated festivals in the country is the Kadaugan Sa Mactan in Mactan, Cebu.

Photo credit: Aimme Ifur Bomediano

This year marks the 503rd Kadaugan Sa Mactan (Victory of Mactan) on April 27, 2024. The celebration has been around for over two decades and is commemorated with a re-enactment of the famed Battle of Mactan.

Lapu-Lapu as the first Filipino hero

Lapu-Lapu is more than just a tasty fish. He is also known as Cilapulapu, Salip Pulaka, Cali Pulaco, and LapuLapu Dimantag. Whatever his name was, he made history as the first Filipino who defeated Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.

If it had not been for Italian nobleman Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of the Spanish expedition led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, who only mentioned Lapulapu by name but did not include details about the chieftain of Mactan Island.

According to Pigafetta, Magellan had only 50 soldiers during the battle against Lapulapu’s 1,500 warriors. Lapulapu’s warriors rained arrows, iron-tipped bamboo lances, and stones on Magellan’s crew, aiming at the weak points–their legs. Even though their heads and bodies were protected with metal helmets and breastplates, the fight favored the islanders as cannons were useless in the battle as they were out of range.

Magellan was hit by a poisoned arrow in the leg, making it difficult for him to draw his sword from its scabbard. According to Pigafetta, a large javelin was thrust into his left leg, which made him weak and wounded. “On this, all at once rushed upon him with lances of iron and bamboo and with these javelins, so that they slew our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide,” he said. The soldiers retreated to the ship after Magellan died.

Historians and writers still debated whether Lapulapu killed Magellan. Some testimonies of chroniclers and eyewitness accounts even described Lapulapu to be in his 70s who probably watched the battle unfold from a safe distance.

On April 27, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared April 27 (the date when the Battle of Mactanhappened) as Lapu-Lapu Day to honor the first hero in the country who defeated foreigners.

Kadaugan Sa Mactan Food Festival

Hotels and resorts in Lapu-Lapu City would gather and sell for ten days at the Liberty Shrine (formerly Mactan Shrine) to sell their products at an affordable price. This has been a tradition for over 20 years, minus the three years of hiatus due to the global pandemic. The 500 years of Battle of Mactan and Birth of Christianity should have been a big celebration but it was pushed back to its 502nd instead (2023) with about 1,000 eskrimadors from ages varying from 5 to 92 years old.

As the Kadaugan Sa Mactan celebrates its 503rd anniversary with a food festival, it coincides with the weekend of the Ironman 70.3 Race. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will start their display as early as April 5 until the 27th, while hotels and resorts will start their display from April 18 to 27 at the Liberty Shrine.

Last year, Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino bagged the Best Booth Design at the Kadaugan Food Festival with their jeepney concept, selling mamen (ramen using mami noodles). They will be joined by Crimson Mactan, Dusit Thani Mactan, Shangri-La Mactan, Savoy Mactan, Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel, Goldberry Suites & Hotel, Jpark Island Resort, Belmont Mactan, Tambuli, Sheraton Cebu, Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, and Solea Mactan.

The festival gathers thousands of people daily including foreigners and locals from different parts of the region to experience the food culture this city has to offer. The Kadaugan Food Festival is not just a celebration of culinary delights but it provides an opportunity for the locals who cannot visit the hotels and resorts to try their products at affordable prices.

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