The Makati City government will implement a traffic rerouting scheme on Friday to give way to its annual Flores de Mayo parade.
The city’s Cultural Affairs Office also announced it has chosen actress and celebrity model Kate Valdez as this year’s Mayflower Queen. The traditional procession will be held Friday afternoon after the coronation at City Hall.
According to the Public Safety Department, some portions of Jose P. Rizal Street will be closed to traffic from 4 p.m. onward, as follows:
• J.P. Rizal St.—from F. Zobel Street to A.P. Reyes Street: public utility jeepneys from Guadalupe area to Manila can take F. Zobel Street, turn left at Morong Street, left at Angono Street, right at Hormiga Street, left at Trabajo Street, turn right upon reaching Hippodromo Street, and cross A.P. Reyes toward their destination.
• A.P. Reyes Street—from J.P. Rizal Street to Pascua Street (north bound only).
Other intersections will be on stop-and-go mode, the PSD said. Traffic enforcers will be deployed to assist motorists and the public.
Actress and celebrity model Kate Valdez will be crowned as the Mayflower Queen of Makati City for 2017.
Mayor Abigail Binay will lead the coronation rites with her daughter Martina as one of the “sagalas” (princesses).
The Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) Festival, also known as the Santacruzan, is one of the most celebrated events in May in Makati and throughout the country.
The procession of sagalas and their escorts depicts the search of St. Helena for the cross of Jesus Christ, and gives honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the festival was first introduced to Filipinos by Spanish friars in 1854.
Valdez, the Mayflower Queen, is currently an exclusive talent of GMA Artist Center, and is known for her role as Violet in “Destiny Rose” and as Mira in “Encantadia.” She was born on Aug. 21, 2000 and acted in school plays when she was younger.
According to the city’s Museum and Cultural Affairs Office, Valdez plus 53 sagalas and their escorts, representing the city’s 31 barangays, will be wearing traditional Filipino costumes as they parade on board flower-adorned floats.
Sagalas from 13 city hall offices and private companies, including Discovery Primea, Makati Cinema Square, Rockwell Land Corp., and SM Makati, will also participate, along with five persons with disabilities.
Last year, the city government chosen celebrity model and TV host Georgina Wilson as Mayflower Queen
From the lobby of the City Hall Building II, the procession will proceed along J.P. Rizal St. to A.P. Reyes St. toward the Globe Circuit Event Grounds at Hipodromo St. Brgy. Carmona.
A group of Makati senior citizens forming a “Human Rosary” will wait for the entourage in front of McDonald’s at A.P. Reyes Avenue, then will lead the procession from that point to the Globe Circuit Event Grounds.