“THE MOMENT we lose it, we lose it forever.”

Rudy Reveche, performing arts director of the Colegio San Agustin (CSA), made this statement referring to the fate of the age-old patadyong (wrap-around skirt) industry during the recent cultural presentations for the National Arts Month celebration in Bacolod City.

Reveche said the patadyong industry in the province of Negros Occidental is dying. He added he hoped it would be revived through the help of local government units, national cultural agencies and arts and culture groups.

“Too bad only few now are doing it [in Negros Occidental] because of the lack of support,” Reveche said in Filipino.

No one markets the product, he said, lamenting that the patadyong is no longer being sold at Bacolod’s Central Market.

Reveche mounted a fashion event making use of the native wear in order to help revive the weaving tradition in the province.

In Iloilo, this weaving tradition is still very much alive in the municipality of Miag-ao where the yearly Salakayan Festival is held, featuring the town’s weaving industry.

Patadyong weaving is also alive in the province of Antique and on Panay Island.

Aside from Bacolod, the National Arts Month (NAM) celebration was marked in Silay City.

Entitled “Ani nga Sanag,” Reveche said the local NAM celebration meant literally the harvest of traditional and contemporary artistic expressions in Negros Occidental.

Local artists from different theater and dance groups performed dance drama, sarsuwela, break dance, historical play, and even a play on disaster risk management. The Marikudo Ati Community also participated in the event.

“We would like to connect to young people for them to appreciate heritage and at the same time, we’re also presenting their art form,” said Reveche.

Fr. Miguel Carreon, cofounder of the Christian Community Theater, said the performances also promoted human development values, noting that “theater is a good venue to create values.”