A town fiesta will not be complete without the "perya" or circus/fair. The town's plaza comes to life at night with dazzling lights, rides, freak shows, and hawkers selling just about anything.

I had the chance to wander around a perya one cool evening after our third dinner (twas the night before the fiesta in the town of Mayantoc - considered to be the Summer capital of the province of Tarlac). You have to visit a fiesta in the province to really appreciate real Filipino hospitality.



Our first stop was the Motorcycle Daredevil show. Judging from the queue, this is the cash cow of the perya. The show is just a couple of minutes and the entrance fee is 25 pesos per person. There was no shortage of people wanting to see a stunt-person ride his motorcycle on a vertical wall, round what resembles a giant wooden bucket. Fine demonstration of physics.



Sometimes a DSLR is like a Press ID, it allows entrance to places where the public is usually restricted. In this case we were allowed to enter the "wooden bucket" and take shots while the rider is taking a break. My friend Zer even went as far as staying there (inside) while the rider was performing his stunt. I can't stand the ear piercing shrill of his motorcycle, which was enough to scare even the banshees.



The ever-present ruweda or ferris wheel caught my eye too. That night was the night of the perigee moon and although I was not able to shoot it at moonrise earlier, I chanced upon it on top of this colorful wheel. Quite a sight.



And of course there were other rides, some with fancy names like Octopus or Spaceship, and freak shows like the Queen of Snakes. As the night progressed, the crowd got thicker and it was hard to get decent shots without people tripping on your tripod. After going around for a while I decided to just hit the sack. Tomorrow's going to be the actual fiesta - and that means a whole day of non-stop eating.