The weather was fair and it doesn’t seem like there will be any late afternoon showers on the fourth and final day of the World Pyro Olympics. Now the organizer La Mancha Productions had lots of making up for the delays and postponements of this event. And I’d say they did very well during the last day of the event.

At 6:00 pm, the parking lot beside Imax theater is already packed with excited spectators from all age range. Certainly this is the show for everyone. Surprisingly, though I know this is not the first time, One E-com Centre is also crowded with several yuppies who are probably working inside the building. As usual, multilevel parking lots are fully occupied. All of the above, I guess enjoyed the show, for free!

The whole stretch of the ledge part of Esplanade is already fully occupied with families and photographers, hoping to get vantage view of the fireworks. Wait, this is supposed to be a pyromusical. So where is that speaker system that’s supposed to be connected to the main viewing area? Upon learning there’s none, I headed to the general viewing area nearest the central viewing area, only to find out that I wouldn’t be able to get a decent view because of the thick crowd.

Without second thoughts, I stormed the central viewing area, and asked for ticket upgrade. I had to pay the rest of Php 1500 to get in. And alas I can have the whole lawn to choose from. The ledge has very few spectators perched on it. Plus there’s not much photographers. Man, this is the last day, so I’d better make the most out of this. The two barges are almost directly fronting me. But I realized that either I am too near to the barge or the barge is too near to the breakwaters.

A collaboration of all the contingents made up the so-called Fellowship of Fire and showcased the best in each in ten-minute show. A bit short, but that’s just fine.

The central viewing area has two concessionaires to choose from – Italianni’s or Via Mare. I chose the former.

Mr. Ricardo Crisostomo, the founder and president of La Mancha Productions addressed to the crowd and talked about the Filipino being at par with the best of the world when it comes to pyrotechnics. As Mr. Crisostomo, I guess I’m falling in love again and again with fireworks and the experience is truly enthralling, though I cannot fully explain the feeling. Let’s hope the next generation, namely his sons, who are about to replace Mr. Crisostomo will be as good as he is.

This year’s prestigious trophy was bagged by no other than Parente Fireworks of Italy. The award was received by the Italian consul, with the Department of Tourism undersecretary in attendance.

Mr Crisostomo made some introductions about the pyromusical show that the crowd is about to witness. This is a show where the music will have to synchronize with the fireworks bursts (not the other way around). I cannot contain my excitement anymore. This could be the longest pyromusical show I’ve seen so far. Afterwards, the Philippine National Anthem was played as prelude to the pyromusical exhibition of La Mancha Productions.

And without a doubt, the crowd was awe-struck as the shells exploded one after the other synchronizing with the tunes. Some of which I can’t fully discern, but nevertheless, enjoyed. Some of the tunes played were themes from Superman, Mission Impossible, Starwars and even Lord of the Rings. My cam is as excited as I am, as it was trembling right there atop one of the loud speakers!!! Unfortunately, my SD card ran out of memory space right when LOTR theme was being played. Overall, I enjoyed the show and won’t tire watching the video over and over again. I like how the explosions blend very well with the music and how the show transitioned from one scene into another like a musical play.

I love it and the kid inside me is once again awe-struck by the colorful lights filling the black canvass creating one figure after another. I wish I had my siblings with me that time so they can enjoy the same show as I do. Now I am thinking about the next WPO and I could not wait to know who are set to stage their pyrotechnic expertise again. I hope I can have my whole family that time.
To the organizer La Mancha Productions, congratulations to the job well done. It’s worth the long wait and all the traffic chaos to see this fantastic event. You successfully brought the world closer to us, and the country closer to the world. I hope this will now become an annual event. Let’s do this during summer though, when afternoon rains are less likely. That’s also the time of the year when my kids (siblings) are on vacation, so we can watch the show together! Sounds selfish eh, but that’s for all the kids out there! Hehehe….

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.