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Cebu

Kumbira Festival

Kumbira Festival is a cultural festival and founding anniversary held in the municipality of Compostela, Cebu, Philippines every January 17. It coincides with the creation of the municipality of Compostela on January 17, 1919.

It is also one of the festivity participating in Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.

Another Kumbira Festival is held in Cagayan de Oro City.

History of Kumbira Festival

Before Kumbira Festival, Compostela organized the first town-wide public celebration called Caballo Festival every July 24. Its name comes from caballo, the Spanish word for horse, and was inspired by St. James the Greater. According to a legend, St. James mounted on a horse and came to the aid of the Spaniards to defeat the Moors in the Battle of Clavijo during the time of King Ramiro I of Asturias.

Caballo Festival was organized in 2005, however it was placed on hold when new elected officials were voted into municipal seats. It was held again in 2010 and 2012.

It was during the Caballo Festival that the caballo cultural dance was popularized. It originated from linangbay, a lost dance that mimicked the movements of a crab with pincer-like choreography that was in itself a version of the local eskrima.

In 2013, Caballo Festival was replaced with Queseo Festival that promoted the local product called queseo, a cheese derived from milk of water buffalo or carabao. The cheese is produced mainly in the upland barangay of Lupa.

A cultural dance was also developed that gives tribute to the way the cheese is produced. Its choreography provides a sort of performative snapshot of the resources and labor that go into the cheese-making process. The local government, in partnership with the Philippine Folk Dance Society Cebu Province, conducted a workshop among participants to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of the dance.

Limpyo (clean) suggests the washing of the beast’s udders to keep them clean and the milk free from dirt. Puga (squeeze) refers to the act of pushing the milk out of the udders by pressing the glands. Sa-an (filter) is a way to remove impurities by pouring the milk extract through a sieve or mesh.

Init-kaldero (hot pot) is the process of heating up a pot by a woodstove. Huwad-suka (pouring of vinegar) is a mixing of a portion of vinegar to the milk. Hulma (molding) gives shape to the cheese, and putos (package) is the final stage of wrapping the cheese with banana leaves.

In 2024, Queseo Festival was rebranded as Kumbira Festival. It was created to “level up and showcase other dishes” in Compostela. The rebranding was done to promote the town’s other products and as a response to the decline in milk supply and consequently in the production of queseo.

The change was made official by the Cebu Provincial Board through the passage of Ordinance No. 11 series of 2024 under Resolution No. 121 (which amended Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 3 series of 2013), otherwise known as “An Ordinance Renaming The ‘Queseo Festival’ to ‘Kumbira Sa Compostela Festival’ as the official festival of the Municipality of Compostela, Cebu.”

Kumbira Festival comes from kumbira or banquet. The festival serves as a platform to celebrate local culinary culture and to give the spotlight to unique products that the town offers such as fried eggs, empanada, and bikong pinalatik, fried egg, street foods (isaw, barbecue, kwek-kwek), queseo, roasted native chicken, empanada, pork adobo, bikong pinadukot, bola-bola, etc.

In addition, it is also a way to celebrate fellowship and “love of family, love of friends, love of the community and love of all the Compostelanhons.”

The first Kumbira Festival was conducted during the town’s 106th founding anniversary in January 17, 2025.

History of Compostela

Compostela began as encomienda as early as the 17th century. Canamucan was assigned to Jose Garces in 1623 and Fernando de Silva was granted Najalin as an encomienda on February 21, 1653.

Its people were first Christianized through the missionary efforts of the Augustinian friars. The church they built was part of Danao whose administration passed over from the Augustinians to the Recollects between 1752 and 1755.

In 1844, the colonial government oversaw the political organization of the localities north of Cebu and Compostela was instituted as a barrio of Danao. Its name was made through a suggestion by Fr. Mauel Alonzo after St. James the Apostle, the patron of Compostela, Spain.

In 1863, Compostela was founded as a town along with Cordova based on the historical record Erecciones de Pueblos. Two years later, its church separated from Danao and became a parish.

The coming of the Americans saw the end of the town’s independence as its status was dissolved and it was annexed as a barrio of Liloan in 1903.

The petition to re-establish Compostela as an independent town gained currency during the time of Manuel Roa as governor of Cebu. A special committee led by Hilario Kanen was formed that advocated the proposal to Sergio Osmeña Sr.

Osmeña, who was then the Speaker of the Philippine Assembly, introduced a bill before the legislative body. Compostela became a municipality officially on January 17, 1919. This is the date that the Kumbira Festival is based on.

How to reach Compostela, Cebu

From Mactan International Airport, take a ride to North Bus Terminal and then get on a bus to the northeastern town of Compostela.

References

Kumbira Festival Summary

NameKumbira Festival
CelebrationCulture, Founding Anniversary
CountryPhilippines
DateJanuary 17
EstablishedJanuary 17, 2025
Facebookweb.facebook.com
Historical eventCreation of the municipality of Compostela on January 17, 1919
LocationCompostela, Cebu
OrganizerMunicipal Government of Compostela, Cebu
Previous NameCaballo Festival, Queseo Festival
Websitewww.compostelacebu.gov.ph