By Helen Castaño | 11:10 PM December 07, 2022
The town of Corella won the Pastores contest on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the provincial Capitol.
Corella outperformed Lila and Loay which were named first and second-runners-up, respectively.
Corella won P150, 000 cash prize. Lila received P100, 000, while Loay received P75,000 cash prize.
Corella also won the Best in Heritage Content and Best in Production Design awards.
Meanwhile, Jagna won the Best in Instrumentation.
Other finalists were Bilar, Tagbilaran City, Tubigon and Guindulman.
“We are happy…very thankful to the province of Bohol for having this activity which is useful and helpful to our youth for them to feel the importance of keeping the Filipino culture,” said Jun Camacho, trainor and coach of Corella.
The Pastores contest coincided with the Christmas lighting ceremony of the provincial government of Bohol headed by Gov. Aris Aumentado.
He said this year’s Christmas celebration, people can sense a feeling of peace, joy, love and goodwill after the pandemic halted celebration for two years.
” In the mix of the hustle and bustle, we should remember the birth of Jesus Christ. He is the reason to be thankful and to celebrate,” he said.
He also encouraged Capitol employees and residents to foster the spirit of joy and celebration so that it spreads throughout their homes and the community.
The giant belen (nativity scene) is the center piece at the provincial Capitol designed by local artists. A tunnel of lights and three giant stars are also an attraction at the CPG Park.
The Pastores is a musical re-enactment of the age-old story of Nativity, a beautiful commemoration of Christmas with the pastores, or dancers, singing the first Christmas carols, honoring both Baby Jesus and the biblical shepherds who were among the first to see Him in the manger.
Pastores means shepherds in Spanish.