FOR HALF an hour last night, an unseen hand splashed colors in the skies above Manila Bay to the sound of stirring music, moving many spectators to tears.
Millions of Filipinos were mesmerized as they trilled to what has been billed as the greatest fireworks display in the country.
The spectacle in the sky capped the daylong Grand Centennial Parade which reenacted important events in Philippine history before and after the declaration of independence from Spanish rule on June 12, 1898.
The firmament was lit up with the red, white and blue of the Philippine flag turning into the golden rays of the sun, and later into glittering star-like effects falling from heaven.
The breathtaking fireworks also featured small chrysanthemum designs that slowly burst and transformed into a giant chrysanthemum of various colors.
It was set off at 8 p.m. from four barges in Manila Bay 250 meters off the shore, between the Manila Yacht Club and the US Embassy.
The show, which started 30 minutes late due to delays in the parade, lasted a half-hour and was met with a roar of applause by people at the parade grounds.
People froze in their tracks and the world seemed to stand still when the first blast of fireworks was set off.
Shapes and designs in various colors painted the night sky to the accompaniment of a collection of popular and classic Filipino music arranged by Moi Ortiz of The Company and produced by Margot Gallardo of Ivory Records.
The music was interrupted at least thrice by the voices of three hysterical women who paged missing relatives over the public address system.
The most applauded effects were those that accompanied the song ''Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika.''
Other dramatic explosions of light were accompanied by ''Bayan Ko,'' and ''Magkaisa,'' a song composed by Sen. Tito Sotto and his brother Vic Sotto and popularized after the 1986 Edsa revolt by singer Virna Lisa.
People who booked rooms in hotels on Roxas Boulevard had the best view of the sky show. People on the ground had to crane their necks as trees lining the boulevard partly blocked their views.
A total of 700 effects were displayed, including designs of indigenous flowers and heart-shaped stars.
It was learned that the whole production cost P17 million, way above the budget of P5 million provided by the National Centennial Commission for the project.
Teary-eyed creator
The display was seen as far as five kilometers away and was visible from the historic Corregidor Island where Allied Forces made their last stand against the invading Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
Ricardo Crisostomo, president of Hannah Corp., one of the two companies which created the pyrotechnics display, was almost in tears as he directed the firing of shots from a remote control center at the Quirino Grandstand grounds.
The presentation, dubbed as ''Kulay at Kinang ng Kalayaan,'' took a year to prepare, and cost almost P17 million.
Crisostomo and a crew of 18 Filipinos and 20 foreigners had spent six days at the Manila Harbor Center, owned by R2 Builders, to set up the shells on the barges.
17,000 shells
As millions of revelers watched the parade that snaked through Roxas Boulevard, the four barges of Metropolitan Shipping silently sailed into the Manila Yacht Club before 5 p.m.
The barges resembled small missile platforms, with black PVC pipes from Liberty Pipes containing pyrotechnic shells standing erect on wooden supports and sand bags.
A total of 17,000 shells were fired. The 12-inch diameter shells shot up as high as 1,400 feet in the air and spread as wide as 1,300 feet.
In an interview hours before they sailed from the Manila Harbor Center to the launch site some six kilometers away, Crisostomo sounded confident that nothing, not even a rain shower, would spoil the show.
''This happens only once in a lifetime,'' said Crisostomo, 44, who personally oversaw the completion of the production.
Biodegradable items
They had three public test runs, albeit on a smaller scale, before last night's show.
The fireworks were set off by electrical switches, and any misfiring or manmade accident would automatically cut off the current and stop the show.
Crisostomo said the fireworks used biodegradable materials such as kraft paper, resin and potassium nitrate, more commonly known as salitre.
Crisostomo's Hannah Corp. had collaborated with US-based Global Pyro Networks in creating the masterpiece. Experts were also hired from two established pyrotechnics firms abroad, Nico of Germany and Glorious Co. of China.
Hannah was one of the firms which produced the fireworks display during the opening night of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as well as the July 1, 1997 Hong Kong handover.
Millions of Filipinos were mesmerized as they trilled to what has been billed as the greatest fireworks display in the country.
The spectacle in the sky capped the daylong Grand Centennial Parade which reenacted important events in Philippine history before and after the declaration of independence from Spanish rule on June 12, 1898.
The firmament was lit up with the red, white and blue of the Philippine flag turning into the golden rays of the sun, and later into glittering star-like effects falling from heaven.
The breathtaking fireworks also featured small chrysanthemum designs that slowly burst and transformed into a giant chrysanthemum of various colors.
It was set off at 8 p.m. from four barges in Manila Bay 250 meters off the shore, between the Manila Yacht Club and the US Embassy.
The show, which started 30 minutes late due to delays in the parade, lasted a half-hour and was met with a roar of applause by people at the parade grounds.
People froze in their tracks and the world seemed to stand still when the first blast of fireworks was set off.
Shapes and designs in various colors painted the night sky to the accompaniment of a collection of popular and classic Filipino music arranged by Moi Ortiz of The Company and produced by Margot Gallardo of Ivory Records.
The music was interrupted at least thrice by the voices of three hysterical women who paged missing relatives over the public address system.
The most applauded effects were those that accompanied the song ''Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika.''
Other dramatic explosions of light were accompanied by ''Bayan Ko,'' and ''Magkaisa,'' a song composed by Sen. Tito Sotto and his brother Vic Sotto and popularized after the 1986 Edsa revolt by singer Virna Lisa.
People who booked rooms in hotels on Roxas Boulevard had the best view of the sky show. People on the ground had to crane their necks as trees lining the boulevard partly blocked their views.
A total of 700 effects were displayed, including designs of indigenous flowers and heart-shaped stars.
It was learned that the whole production cost P17 million, way above the budget of P5 million provided by the National Centennial Commission for the project.
Ricardo Crisostomo, president of Hannah Corp., one of the two companies which created the pyrotechnics display, was almost in tears as he directed the firing of shots from a remote control center at the Quirino Grandstand grounds.
The presentation, dubbed as ''Kulay at Kinang ng Kalayaan,'' took a year to prepare, and cost almost P17 million.
Crisostomo and a crew of 18 Filipinos and 20 foreigners had spent six days at the Manila Harbor Center, owned by R2 Builders, to set up the shells on the barges.
The barges resembled small missile platforms, with black PVC pipes from Liberty Pipes containing pyrotechnic shells standing erect on wooden supports and sand bags.
A total of 17,000 shells were fired. The 12-inch diameter shells shot up as high as 1,400 feet in the air and spread as wide as 1,300 feet.
In an interview hours before they sailed from the Manila Harbor Center to the launch site some six kilometers away, Crisostomo sounded confident that nothing, not even a rain shower, would spoil the show.
''This happens only once in a lifetime,'' said Crisostomo, 44, who personally oversaw the completion of the production.
The fireworks were set off by electrical switches, and any misfiring or manmade accident would automatically cut off the current and stop the show.
Crisostomo said the fireworks used biodegradable materials such as kraft paper, resin and potassium nitrate, more commonly known as salitre.
Crisostomo's Hannah Corp. had collaborated with US-based Global Pyro Networks in creating the masterpiece. Experts were also hired from two established pyrotechnics firms abroad, Nico of Germany and Glorious Co. of China.
Hannah was one of the firms which produced the fireworks display during the opening night of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as well as the July 1, 1997 Hong Kong handover.
Among the government agencies that took part in the fireworks display were the Department of National Defense, Navy, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Health, Bureau of Customs, Department of Transportation and Communications, Air Transportation Office, Manila City Hall and Metro Manila Development Authority.
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