THE recent fiesta of St. Augustine, the patron saint of Cagayan de Oro, last August 28 was really a success. There were admittedly mixed bittersweet emotions among the residents and visitors during the affair which extended up to a whole month due to quite a number of factors.

First of all, the economic crisis has dangerously seeped into our beloved Northern Mindanao and of course, that included Cagayan de Oro even though by far we are still the fastest growing economy outside of Metro Manila. This can be gleaned through the sorry low number of participants in the Kagay-an Dance Fest. That’s because it is hard for contingents to participate due to the expenses incurred in a troupe of 40 dance members.

Yet people still flock to the city during the fiesta. This can be deduced by the number of people who witness various events from the concert of Rivermaya to the 1^st Pyro Festival. Believe me, I cannot describe to you the tremendous volume of people witnessing the various events since Day One of the festival opened with Mayor Constantino Jaraula banging the agong to signal the start of the festivities via Kumbira 2009.

Xavier Estates Subdivision

LIVING the good life may sound somewhat clichéd but this is really true if you are in Cagayan de Oro City. If you are living somewhere at Xavier Estates for example and you wake up at 6 in the morning, what will greet you is dew and the freshness of air. Life is really laid-back here and the food is so yummy, so Southeast Asian in delight.

Take for example, an everyone’s favorite, dried fish. Dried fish as its name implies is dried and cured with salt so people will love its taste once its fried or sautéed and mixed with other ingredients. There are lots of amenities when you go downtown. One of the shopping malls here is the biggest all over Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, where you can find virtually anything that you like.

Of course, modern life in Cagayan de Oro City is typically Western-influenced yet the culture here is retained by typical Kagay-anon characteristics which are full of respect indeed. For instance, kids still kiss the hands of their elders. If you want to experience more on that, then live somewhere in Cagayan de Oro.

EVERYWHERE in Cagayan de Oro, the fiesta spirit currently pervades. Many visitors here would attest that Filipinos are spiritual in general. And many Filipinos are Catholics. That is why each city in the Philippines has its own yearly fiesta of their patron saint. And Cagayan de Oro is certainly not an exception.

What’s nice about Cagayan de Oro’s annual fiesta celebrated every August 28 is that the government is cooperating with the Church to coordinate the holding of fiesta activities. So there is the spiritual aspect, at the same time there is also a civic or a cultural aspect.

For example, the national government has declared August 28 as a holiday here in Cagayan de Oro City. One of the activities that foreign visitors are looking forward are the chain of masses called the novena. This is held for nine straight days where each mass is dedicated to St. Augustine. This will surely leave a lasting impression for expats in Cagayan de Oro City.

In fact, most villages here catering to the middle-class are already filled with expats who want to retire here because life is so laid-back. So what are you waiting for? Try to book a trip to Cagayan de Oro, Philippines during your next foreign soiree.