Regada 2010

Regada Annual Water Festival in Cavite City or simply Regada is a water festival held at Cavite City yearly in celebration of San Juan Bautista festivity whose feast day is June 24. Regada started in 1996 during the tenure of the Mayor Tim Encarnacion.

Cavite City’s party-loving people have combined their love for water and celebrations through the Regada event, derived from the Spanish word “regar” which means to water, to sprinkle or to irrigate. The one kilometer stretch along P. Burgos Avenue is closed to traffic and rigged with pipes to simulate rain transforming it into a wild party venue. The three-day long celebration also has several activities depending on who the current mayor is.

Over the years, the St. John the Baptist festivities have witnessed a decline in their simplicity and solemnity. Gone are the days when joyful and smiling lolas, lolos, and balikbayans would dance to the traditional karakol music, embodying the true spirit of the celebration. Instead, the atmosphere has become increasingly commercialized. Nowadays, the festivities are dominated by rowdy teenagers and middle-aged men, often intoxicated with alcohol. Regrettably, instances of chaos and even stabbing incidents have occurred, which I have personally witnessed. I yearn for the good old days when the celebration was characterized by its simplicity and solemnity, when the true essence of the festivity was deeply felt and understood by every Caviteño.

Cavite City has a very rich history and hoping someday we will have a festival wherein we can showcase our history, culture, beauty and talents of what we really have and not just noisy and rowdy individuals especially teenagers flirting and partying all day until they get drunk, wild and lost.

VIDEO taken from : https://www.facebook.com/regada.cavite.city