"Bayle", one of our Dance tradition

"🎶🎶🎶I can't believe what I just heard, could it be true. Are you the girl I thought I knew. The one who promised me her love. Where did it go, does anybody ever know🎶🎶🎶" Anyone familiar with this song? A lyric from " How do you heal a broken heart'. Maybe some here are not, as it was I guess released during the 80's.

I just overheard this song from our neighbor and it made me reminisce about some of my teenage years. During our time there was no social media where you can meet someone. So if it happened you had a crush on someone living in the next town. You would be lucky if you can see him often.

So I went back to when I was still a teenager in the early 2000's. Hahah. Are you trying to compute my age? Teenager in our Barrio are so excited for "Fiesta" ( it is a celebration of our patron saint). Why? It is because of BAYLE.

BAYLE is a social gathering usually the highlights of events during fiesta. It is held at night at the town plaza. So visitors as well as natives of the area are invited to this event especially the gentlemen and maiden. Oh, before I forgot it is not for FREE. There is an entrance fee and gentlemen usually pay higher than the ladies. Well sometimes ladies get a free entrance. Sounds unfair? hahaha that's the tradition.

During this event, people are just there to enjoy, specifically dancing. There are three categories of music.

Disco - this is you can freely dance even alone with those melodic and upbeat songs. You can even jump or head bang if you want too.

Cha-cha - is a ballroom dance which is under the Latin American dance category. I actually did some research and I just knew as of today that it actually originates in Cuba. Wow, and it even reaches the Philippines. Amazing.

The last but not the least is SWEET.

Sweet - because music played is love songs. This is the chance for the gentleman to ask the lady he likes to dance with him. So now you understand why gentlemen pay higher? Hehehe. Well, we girls can't ask the guy we want to dance with us.
I,on the other hand, usually chose to leave if this is the music played. Not because I don't want to, but because my strict Mom was just outside the plaza. She is just standing there and never lets us out of her sight.
So as a typical teenager how can I do some "landi-landi" (flirting)? It is so awkward right?

I remember there was a time, my crush who lives in the next Barrio approached me. We exchange few a conversations, usually getting to know each others questions. I was so KILIG that time. When the sweet music played, he asked for a dance. And since mother is making " bantay"( guarding) I declined him. He thought I was just shy, so he asked me if I wanted to go outside to have some refreshment maybe. Still I declined and told him that I can't and I pointed to my Mom standing in a corner. Without a word he left. Huh! and I don't understand why.

I attached here a video courtesy of YouTube for better references as I am not sure if I had described it well.

Closing thoughts.

That was the reason why that song I overheard from our neighbor reminds me of my teenage year. I remembered all my failed supposed to be moments with my crush. My parents were really strict back then and we are only allowed to go to " bayle" only in our town. Unlike teenagers in our Barrio, they visit other " Baylehan".
My Father reasoned out that it is not necessary for us to go since we have nothing to do there aside from flirting. Oh Father was so judgmental. Could it be we , my sisters and I just want to enjoy?

I bet only few have experienced this.

Have a good day everyone. I need to sleep as it's already 09:38 PM here as of this writing. I still have work tomorrow and I need to get up at 5:00 AM.

Find me at noise cash, here.