Annually, Obando town in Bulacan honors three saints – Santa Clara (the most famous of the three), La Virgen de Salambao, and San Pascual Baylon. Each saint has a feast day set aside where they are moved in a procession accompanied by dancing through the narrow streets of the town. The women devotee-dancers are dressed in bright baro’t saya or balintawak with matching flowered hat, waving buri fans which are similarly decorated with flowers and colorful ribbons. Men sport camisa de chinos of old while others use contemporary flowered shirts.
Each saint is prayed to for specific favors sought – Santa Clara for a female mate, San Pascual for a male mate and the Virgen de Salambao, for a child. Different saints for different favors cause devotees to pray to a different saint for a different favor in a merry mix-up confusion. The sure-fire solution was to pray to all three in one kneeling. In fact, Santa Clara is always inadvertently approached by barren couples for a child.
The Obando triumvirate of saints hold such strong influence on the devotees that dances of fertility and for other intentions were popularized. People from far and near come to pray, dance, make merry and get high. This feeling of highness is what is brought back home and shared with families and townmates.
The music of this song is the most popular accompaniment to a throng of devotees dancing on the streets of Obando in a native dance called Pandanggo Santa Clara or simply Sayaw sa Obando. The music is traditionally played by a brass band or the native musikong bumbong, a local band with instruments made entirely of bamboo.
In nearby Malabon and Navotas devotees who missed performing their annual pilgrimage to Obando, await with great eagerness the return of their townmates from Obando. A brass band or the unique musikong bumbong (bamboo orchestra) provide welcome music playing the same tune and other popular 3/4 time pieces to which the devotees swing and sway lining up in a procession while carrying estandartes or large cloth frames with pictures of saints. Their intention is to duplicate Obando’s magical enchantment and the high that the devotees achieve. Dance for San Pascual Baylon, “magbayluhan tayo!”
The song can be translated: The finest Saint Claire (of Assisi)/ My vow is this: / If I reach Obando (for my pilgrimage)/ I will dance the pandanggo. // Aruray, araruray, I will fulfill my vow/ Aruray, araruray, I will fulfill my vow.
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