Elsa Angel Rose
The 42nd Bonderam is all set to bring Diwar alive with a vibrant celebration of Goa’s people, culture and traditions. This year, the festival promises an even bigger spectacle, with its much-awaited float parade, traditional flag march, food and fancy dress competition, and an exciting line-up of live entertainment. With Double R, Seven Notes Band and Skeltron taking the stage, alongside a host of food options, Bonderam is set to be a grand celebration of Goan community spirit. “Bonderam is a platform to showcase local talent and give locals a chance to work on their talent. And Jagan, being a person from Diwar, and his band doing so well, even receiving attention from Goa and even the UK, we thought it was the right time to give him a platform to be a part of this big stage. Besides that, Seven Notes Band and Skeltron have been doing really great for Goan music, which is again the same spirit that our festival shares of promoting Goan culture and talent,” said Clarence Fernandes, President of Piedade Youth Association. Bonderam 2026 begins in the wee hours of the morning at 5 am, with the brass band making its way around the entire village, stopping at prominent spots to perform music and awaken the village to the festive spirit. The main function begins at 3 pm, with the president declaring the festival open, followed by the traditional flag march accompanied by the brass band. This then leads into the All Goa Fancy Dress Competition, followed by the much awaited float parade featuring all six wards. “The float parade is usually from 4.0 pm to about 6.30 pm. Each float spans over 200 feet in length, with almost 150 participants in each ward. Besides that, there are multiple people working behind the scenes for each ward to paint, design, make original music, and all of that. The float parade competition is judged on various elements, including theme. Each ward gets to choose their own theme. These are non-commercial floats.
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The theme of each ward’s floats is a top secret. Among the six wards, the spirit is so high and strong that even the reason for creating original music is to add to that. So, the floats are judged on factors including the theme, presentation, costume, dance, and music,” shared Clarence. Following the float parade, the festival will honour the top-ranking students of the academic year with a felicitation ceremony, before bringing the celebrations to a close with an evening of live entertainment. “It’s been around 15 years since I started working on the Bonderam festival, beginning my journey when I was still in my teenage years. Over the years, it has become a very special part of my life. It has given me countless opportunities to learn, create and contribute.
Most importantly, it has kept me deeply connected to our Goan culture and traditions,” said Satyam Santosh Harmalkar, an artist from Jingle Bells ward. Santosh, who has been engaged in making floats, noted about his ward’s floats, “Each float brings its own unique interpretation, filled with imagination and artistic expression. From our ward, we hope to present something that captures attention and creates a sense of curiosity. Most importantly, we hope it touches your hearts and leaves a lasting impression.” Freddy Ferrarro, from the Romantic ward who has been participating in float making for over forty years, shared on the times when wards had just started making separate floats, “In 1985, I remember we had made UFO floats. For us, at that time, floats meant something trending you have to do. We never thought it should be traditional, showcasing all cultures and traditions. Basically, we artists met together and decided we would do UFOs because Star Trek was going on at that time. Then, because I was good at art, they asked me what we could have as props to depict something to do with the solar system. So I said we’ll do stars for girls and planets for the boys. That was my first involvement.” Themes of the floats are kept a secret, only revealed on the festival day. Freddy said, “Each ward will have 20-25 minutes allocated to showcase the float. It is not about the prize money, but about the experience, the love for the island.” Commenting on the music for the floats, Clarence Fernandes shared, “All our six wards have original music that is composed every year. So, we release six original songs on the day of the festival. We started composing songs in 2003. The album is released the following year on all streaming platforms.” The Piedade Youth Association has played an enormous role in preserving the festival. “In 1983, when the Communidade could not afford to do the traditional festival of Bonderam, they turned to PYA and asked if we could help.
And our president back in 1983, Prakash Pereira, had the drive and had that courage to take it up and preserve it. That is why it is what it is today. Also, over the years, we, as the association, have used this as a platform to make sure that the people of Diwar benefit. It is the people’s festival, and they need to benefit the most from it. So, we give them multiple ways, through art, creativity, sports, and other platforms.” Keeping the float competition is to keep up the spirit of the festival. “If you do not have a competition, there is no drive for you to do better than the rest. So, that is why the standard has been increasing over the years because there is healthy competition,” Said Clarence. This year’s festival highlights also include a dedicated food corner, complete with a live screen where attendees can enjoy the entertainment. “With the help of the church and the school, we have identified a spot, and we are setting up a food corner where there will be four food stalls this time. People can sit there, and we will have a live screen also there to watch the entertainment live,” said Clarence.
Regarding the participation in the festival, Clarence added, “Year on year, what we’ve noticed is the majority of the local crowd is about 80 per cent, and 20 per cent tourists. This festival showcases that, as a close-knit community and a close-knit village, we can do wonderful things. That’s why a lot of people from across Goa come to see this very specific event that we put together. It’s close to a lot of Goans’ hearts, besides being the closest to the people of Diwar.”
