From Imagination to Destination: The Memoirs of Victories and Grapples of Mati City Creative Team Toward Tourism and Cultural Influx through Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan Festival
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21987939Keywords:
creative tourism, cultural heritage, festival performance, phenomenology, destination promotion, Indak-Indak sa KadayawanAbstract
This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of the Mati City Creative Team of Balangay City High Performing Arts during its participation in the 2025 Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan Festival, with emphasis on the factors shaping creative participation, the grapples and victories encountered, and the team’s perceived contribution to tourism and cultural influx in Mati City. Ten members who directly participated in the creative team were selected through purposive sampling. Data were generated through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings showed that creative participation was driven by cultural pride, local heritage, integrated artistic storytelling, and continuous refinement through feedback. The team encountered demanding rehearsals, time and manpower constraints, limited resources, difficult production decisions, and performance pressure, yet these conditions also stimulated collaboration, resilience, adaptation, and strategic problem-solving. Victories extended beyond competition recognition to successful cultural representation, stronger confidence and discipline, creative growth, cultural appreciation, team unity, and meaningful collective memories. Participants perceived the performance as a cultural ambassador that made Mati’s identity, heritage, stories, and attractions more visible and stimulated audience curiosity about the city. The study concludes that festival participation can function simultaneously as creative production, cultural representation, community capacity building, and destination promotion when it is supported by authentic cultural research, sustained stakeholder collaboration, documentation, and institutional support.
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