TARLAC CITY — The street dancers of Paniqui town in Tarlac scored a grand slam.
For the third year in a row, the Paniqui’s dancers won the much coveted Street Dancing competition of the recent KanLahi [Kanlungan ng Lahi] Festival.
The competition which started at F. Tañedo Street and ended at the Maria Cristina Park attracted 12 other participants and was witnessed by thousands of Tarlaqueños.
Paniqui edgded the municipality of Moncada by a mere 0.8-percentage points.
The street dancers of Paniqui, with their traditional portrayal of their agricultural produce and mesmerizing dance number won a cash prize of P75,000 and a trophy. Moncada got P50,000, while third placer Bamban got P25,000.
Governor Susan Yap together with Vice Governor Carlito “Casada” David, Board Members Joji David, Henry de Leon, Tootsie Cruz, Tonyboy Cervantes witnessed the street dancing. The judges were
Pampanga State Agricultural University Artistic and Cultural Director Fernan Fernandez, Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines National Auditor Arwin Paul Lingat and Baguio City Supervising Tourism Operation Officer Engr. Alec Mapalo.
In winning the competition, the Paniqui Street Dancers were featured over ABS-CBN’s popular early morning show Umagang Kay Ganda during their live airing at the capitol grounds.
“The competition is getting better each year and it is getting hard to choose a winner,” Yap said. She likewise congratulated all participants and their respective local governments.
Other participants are the municipalities of Sta. Ignacia, Anao, Pura, San Manuel, Camiling, Mayantoc, Capas, Ramos and La Paz and the city of Tarlac.