Hailed as overall champions for the 73rd Ateneo Fiesta, the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers successfully defended their title for the third consecutive year.
The SEA Tigers also emerged as victors in the fully-online Palarong Atenista 2021, dethroning the Accountancy (ACC) Griffins as defending champions in 2019.
SEA Cluster Representative Jose Javier Salvador shared there was a lot of pressure for them, especially that the SEA had been fiesta champions for the past two years.
“Honestly, there was a lot of pressure to maintain the #StrEAk. But from what I saw, there wasn’t a single aspect of Fiesta that lacked the best efforts from the people handling them. Regardless of ranking, the SEA showed me what it was truly like to be a champion,” Salvador said.
Salvador also mentioned their struggles amid community restrictions, with regards to looking for participants and providing support for the latter.
“It is very difficult to efficiently communicate in the online setup, lalo na since maraming deadlines and academic deliverables,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Salvador was grateful for everyone involved in the success of their cluster.
“I am proud to say that our Fiesta Heads were able to bring the BEST out of every tiger. Despite the online set up, our Communications Team, Course Reps, and Club Presidents were also able to bring the fiesta to everyone in the liveliest way!”
“Getting this victory was a huge step for their cluster in ensuring that ‘everyone gets to hear the roar’,” he added.
The School of Nursing (SON) Panthers bagged second place in the 73rd Ateneo Fiesta, followed by the ACC Griffins as third placers.
Meanwhile, the ACC Griffins and Business and Management (B&M) Vipers won second and third place, respectively, in the Palarong Atenista 2021.
Fiesta day 3 reveals event winners
The awarding ceremony was held on the third day of the Ateneo Fiesta to recognize the efforts of each cluster during the non-competitive and competitive events.
The ACC Griffins won this year’s Ignatian Cup, making them back-to-back champions, followed by the B&M Vipers and Computer Science (CS) Chameleons, respectively.
Princess Jumawan and Jhoanna Grace Cayanan, two of the Griffin debaters, were tied as the Overall Best Speaker, while another Griffin, Anne Gayle Binancilan was declared the Finals Best Speaker.
SON Panthers finished first place in the Banner Making Contest, followed by the SEA Tigers and B&M Vipers, tied in second place.
The Panthers showed dominance once again as they bagged gold in Sulat Tinyo: Essay Writing Contest. The SEA Tigers placed second, while the Social Sciences (SS) Dragons placed third.
Ruled with passion and artistry, the SEA Tigers seized gold in the Creative Series: Photo Competition. The ACC Griffins and SS Dragons landed second and third, respectively.
On the other hand, SS Dragons placed first in the Creative Series: Short Film. Following behind were SEA Tigers and Humanities and Letters (HumLet) Wolves.
Claiming another gold, Jan Jocef Juanillo from the SEA cluster grabbed the gold in Star Search 2021. Runners-up were performers from B&M Vipers and Natural Sciences and Mathematics x School of Education (NSMxSOE) Lions.
Juanillo shared that his victory boosted his self-confidence, despite having doubts about his talent sometimes. He expressed gratefulness as the said event allowed him to grow as a person and an individual.
For the first time, the SON Panthers successfully reigned as champions in Group Dance Showdown. One of the team captains, Carl Vincent Gempesaw, shared the struggle to practice through Zoom meetings, manage time, and having a tight budget for shooting and video editing.
“Na-conquer namin ito through hard work lang and tiwala sa sarili and sa members. Dream ko talaga na mapasok ang nursing sa top 3 kaya grabe siya ka important, kasi from what I’ve heard, 1st-time ata na champion ang nursing sa GDS. Kasarap sa feeling na nasali ako sa first nakapa-champion sa GDS ng nursing, ” Gempesaw said.
The group leader expressed how it could have been better to run towards the stage, jump around, and celebrate if the event were not held online.
Musikahan returns, collaborates with Project Dyesebel
This year, the Musikahan made its revival during the 73rd Ateneo Fiesta, now in an online setting and for a cause.
Musikahan collaborated with Project DYESEBEL, a Badjao and youth-led organization that offers youth and sea-indigenous people opportunities to participate in and lead conservation efforts.
The benefit concert was participated by Atenean musicians who played different songs that touched the emotions of viewers.
The Bantams vocalist and AB Psychology student Samuel Lafuente told Atenews that it was their excitement upon hearing about the other bands who were playing at the Musikahan, which motivated their band to play as well.
“What inspired me and Lenard to perform for this benefit concert is the passion of the other bands. We were very thrilled when we were asked to perform and we immediately asked who the other performers were. And we were excited to hear familiar names,” Lafuente said.
They also used the Musikahan as an opportunity to promote their original song, “Let Me Go.”
“We also wanted to let everyone hear our newly produced songs at that moment and we knew that we needed to know the response of the audience to our song ‘Let Me Go’,” he added.
Other performers included Echoes, Sunshine Chasers, duo Abi & Pidot, The Octaves, If and When, and Chapter III, who serenaded the live audience with songs of love, heartbreak, and hope.
The last Musikahan event was held in 2019. The closing ceremony for the Ateneo Fiesta was streamed live via Facebook last August 14.