27/04/2026
๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ | SIDLAK 2026: Where Passion and Artistry Meet Recognition
From memorable campus performances in visual arts, theater, dance, and music, recognition was not only deservedโit was inevitable.
This year, SIDLAK 2026 placed the spotlight on each sub-organization under Alab Kultura, honoring their efforts to keep the spirit of culture and the arts alive on campus.
United by one passion, their artistic prowess radiated throughout the URSM Function Hall. Through intermission numbers and talent showcases, the event beamed with expression and creativity.
It was, without a doubt, a successful event. Yet behind the almost flawless assembly was a rigorous and demanding process.
๐๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐
For Alab Kultura President Carlo Hunggay, the journey to SIDLAK 2026 was anything but easy.
โ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ-๐ช๐ฅ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฅ๐ง๐-๐ง๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ช๐ก,โ he shared.
Budget constraints added another layer of difficulty. Like many student-led initiatives, the organization had to make do with limited resources. โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐จ๐ฉ-๐๐ช๐ฉ, ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ,โ Carlo admitted.
Time, too, was not on their side. Despite the polished setup that greeted attendees, the team had an hour to prepare the stage before the event began.
Still, what could have unraveled the program instead revealed the strength of the team behind it.
โ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ช๐จ๐ก๐ฎ,โ Carlo explained. โ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐จ๐ฉ, ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ .โ
The result was not perfection, but something more meaningful: an experience that resonated.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
At its core, SIDLAK is more than an annual showcaseโit is a statement.
โ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ผ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐,โ Hunggay said.
โ๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ช๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ,โ he added.
In a time when cultural work is often overlooked, the event stood as quiet resistanceโa declaration that art matters, and so do the people who create it.
๐จ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ง๐๐ฟ๐ป๐
While the event celebrated excellence, it was not without surprises.
Despite difficulties that was handled efficiently, the night took an emotional turn when Juliana Marie San Miguel from Rajah De Mayaw (RDM) was announced as the Overall Artist of the Year.
โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐๐โ๐จ๐ค๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค. ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐ค ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐-๐๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐โฆ ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ค ๐๐ก๐๐ข ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐-๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ค ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ,โ she shared.
๐๐ป ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ
As the event concluded, both Carlo and Juliana, graduating students, left meaningful messages for future members and the student body.
โ๐๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐จ๐ก๐ฎ ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ช๐จ, ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ค๐๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ค๐๐๐ง๐ฃ-๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐๐จโ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐๐๐, ๐ช๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ง๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ช๐จ. ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐จ,โ the organization president said.
โ๐๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ผ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐! ๐๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐! ๐๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐!โ he added.
Meanwhile, Juliana encouraged aspiring artists to not be afraid of trying: โ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐จ, ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ๐๐ง๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎโ๐จ๐ช๐๐ช๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐. ๐ฟ๐ค๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ ๐ค ๐ฃ๐๐-๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ.โ
โ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ, ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ง ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐๐,โ she added.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐
Truly, Alab Kultura deserves recognition not only for their talent, but for the legacy they continue to build.
It is given that art and expression serve as gateways to awareness, shedding light on issues and amplifying what mattersโand Alab has proven mastery in this craft, offering a kind of service that goes beyond trophies.
It is a reward not measured in accolades, but felt through passion and purpose.
Written by Leonard Renzo Estrabo | Editor-in-Chief
Photos by John Yousef De Mesa and Tifany Espejo
