Arnis coach to play Lapulapu in Victory at Mactan reenactment

Arnis team coach, Jonel Espinosa Pepito, will play Datu Lapulapu at the Kadaugan sa Mactan reenactment on April 27. | Jonel Espinosa Pepito’s FB page

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A local arnis team coach and a local freelance host will play the roles of Datu Lapulapu and Ferdinand Magellan respectively in the reenactment of the Victory in Mactan on April 27, 2021.

Jonel Espinosa Pepito, 31, who is also a public school teacher for nine years, would take on the role of the Datu Lapulapu, who had been considered as the first Philippine national hero, said Cindi Chan, Lapu-Lapu City Tourism, Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (TCHAC) chairperson, in a phone interview.

Datu Lapulapu defeated the Spanish colonizers led by Portuguese Explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

Chan also said that Witchtofen Heinrich Intong, who is a freelance host for 10 years, would play Magellan in the reenactment of the Victory of Mactan.

The event is in line with the city’s celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Victory of Mactan.

Chan said that due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Lapu-Lapu City government decided on hiring local performers instead of actors and actresses from Manila.

She said that this was a way to cut on cost and the money would be spent instead on the reenactment.

“Excited ug mapasalamaton ko nga nahatagan ko og chance nga mo-portray sa role ni Datu Lapulapu,” said Pepito, who originally lived in Cebu City, but has transferred to Barangay Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City since he started teaching nine years ago.

(I am excited and grateful that I am given the chance to portray the role of Datu Lapulapu.)

“Ilang ma-expect nga kami performers, dancers, and warriors, mga arnisadors nato nga moapil sa reenactment. Ma-experience nila nga kinasing-kasing gyud ang among ipakita sa pag-reenactment sa nahitabo sa battle of Mactan,” he added.

(They can expect from us — performers, dancers, and warriors — that we are arnisadors who participated in the reenactment. They can experience a sincere performance in the re-enactment of the Battle of Mactan.)

 He said that they were still familiarizing with their routines so that they could give a good performance in the upcoming reenactment.

Witchtofen Heinrich Intong, a freelance host in Lapu-Lapu City, will take on the role of Ferdinand Magellan in this year’s reenactment of the Battle of Mactan. | Witchtofen Heinrich Intong’s FB page

Meanwhile, Intong, 29, is a resident of Soong I, Barangay Mactan. 

 “First kay medyo pressure, at the same time excited. Imagine this is a celebration sa 500 years sa Kadaugan sa Mactan. First kay nidili ko, kay wala ko naanad. Karon kay excited ko kay 500 years celebration, nya not everybody are given a chance to portray kay from celebrities, karon kay local,” Intong said.

(At first, I felt pressured and at the same time excited. Imagine, this is the celebration of the 500 years of the Victory in Mactan. At first, I turned it down because I am not used to this kind of things. But now I am excited because of the 500 years celebration and not everybody is  given a chance to portray because this time only local performers will be hired.)

Though he has a foreign name, Intong clarified that he had no trace of foreign blood. He said that his father’s German friend was the one who gave him his name.

Pepito and Intong said that they would try to give justice to the role that they would portray, and they would give more than 100 percent to their performance during the reenactment of the Battle of Mactan.

 Miss Lapu-Lapu 2019 Kashel Serafica will also play the role of Reyna Bulakna during the reenactment.

/dbs

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