Sorteo Festival, also called Sorteo ng Bukid ng Bayan Festival, is a triennial cultural and harvest festival of Carmona City, Cavite, Philippines every February 20. It commemorates the tradition of sorteo, a lottery in designating farm workers to till fertile lands every three years. Carmona also celebrates Charter Day every February 23.
Etymology
Sorteo Festival is derived from the word sorteo, meaning raffle or lottery. It is a celebration of the origin of Carmona City as an agrarian town.
History of Sorteo Festival
Sorteo Festival remembers the town-wide tradition called sorteo. A sorteo was a public lottery where names of farm workers were drawn by lots and they were given a piece of the communal land to till.
Carmona began when it was cleared by three brothers and it named Labac. When the Spaniards came, it was known as Latag (which means plain) and became part of the town of Silang in 1595.
The borders separating Silang and Biñan were finalized and approved by Pedro Calderon Enriquez on March 9, 1746. Nevertheless, Carmona’s status remained to be an annex that of Silang. Infrastructures were built in the settlement such as public buildings and irrigation, and the population grew. A request to then gobernardorcillo of Cavite to amend the rules governing communal lands was sent on November 15, 1759.
In 1838, a clamor rose calling for the separation of Latag from Silang and for its establishment as an independent town. The dream for its separation was realized on February 20, 1857, its initiative championed by the cabeza and elite clans. It was renamed to Carmona inspired by a Spanish town located in the province of Seville.
The sorteo tradition began in 1861, four years after the town was created and its borders fixed. A decree issued by Governor General Ramon Montero y Blandino allocated communal lands to be made available for the people could utilize them for cultivation and for their livestock.
The decree inspired people to move to Carmona. To prevent and settle disputes on the lands, farmers were drawn by lots and they were assigned a piece of land to work on every three years. The tradition has lived on in modern times and is the basis of the Sorteo Festival.
The first Sorteo Festival was launched by Mayor Roy Loyola in 2003.
Sorteo Festival Activities
In 2016, the raffle went for four nights with parcels of lands and cash prizes up for grabs. In 2020 when pandemic was in full swing, the local government announced that communal lands of the city were developed through joint venture and a virtual raffle was drawn for cash prizes among residents to register online.
Other activities of the fest includes street dancing, parade, house decorating contest, talent contests, and beauty pageant (Binibining Sorteo).
How to reach Carmona City, Cavite
Public transport is available from Metro Manila.
References
- Sorteo Festival. Provincial Government of Cavite. Retrieved February 23, 2024
- Carla Buato Deña. Carmona, Cavite’s historical Sorteo Festival goes high-tech. Manila Bulletin. February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2024
- Gladys Pino. Carmona slates countdown to Sorteo Festival on Nov. 12. November 7, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2024
- Anthony Giron. Carmona, Cavite’s ‘Sorteo’ Festival underway. February 18, 2016
Sorteo Festival Summary
Name Sorteo Festival Celebration Culture, Harvest Country Philippines Date February 20 Established 2003 Facebook www.facebook.com Founder Roy Loyola Location Carmona City, Cavite Organizer City Government of Carmona Other Names Sorteo ng Bukid ng Bayan Festival Website carmonagov.net
| Name | Sorteo Festival |
|---|---|
| Celebration | Culture, Harvest |
| Country | Philippines |
| Date | February 20 |
| Established | 2003 |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Founder | Roy Loyola |
| Location | Carmona City, Cavite |
| Organizer | City Government of Carmona |
| Other Names | Sorteo ng Bukid ng Bayan Festival |
| Website | carmonagov.net |