The
float of Baguio City depicts its well-known landmark, a
giant lion’s head
Typhoon Crising had reached Manila
by the time we boarded the bus for Baguio
City. It seemed an
inauspicious start for a trip. Eventually, the typhoon would flood several
areas in Metro Manila and leave four people dead. A few hours earlier, a bus
carrying students and teachers from Marinduque on an educational trip had
collided with a truck along Marcos
Highway in Badiwan, Tuba, Benguet, a few
kilometers from Baguio,
with seven fatalities and many injured. A couple of days after, someone tossed
a grenade inside an office under the Melvin Jones Grandstand at Burnham Park,
just before the grand float parade started at the historical core of Baguio
City. There were pickpockets and petty criminals descending on the festival
crowd, but the people would not be discouraged. Likely they were incognizant of
the unfortunate events. They flocked to Baguio City
to enjoy its famous nippy air and the Panagbenga: Baguio Flower Festival, the
highlight of which transpired in the last weekend of February. The gloom turned
to blooms, a myriad of multicolored blooms.
According to Baguio
congressman Bernardo Vergara, the police estimated visitors to be 2.2 million
this year, the highest attendance in the festival’s 18-year history. Attendance
is steadily increasing about 10 percent every year, said businessman Freddie
Alquiros, chairman of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation (BFFFI), which
operates, organizes and manages the Panagbenga festival. This, despite the
mishaps and this year’s coincidental celebration of the similarly pictographic
Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at the Clark Freeport Zone in
Angeles City, Pampanga.
Baguio City,
about 250 kilometers north of Manila, has always
been a favorite getaway, particularly in Luzon.
Because of its elevation, it enjoys a cool climate attracting people who want
to escape the tropical heat. Visitors would go to the city’s different tourist
spots and shop for now iconic Baguio items such
as grass brooms (which is actually made outside Baguio), strawberries, jams and fresh
vegetables. Despite emerging destinations in the Philippines,
Baguio, with
its American colonial look, remains a romantic and sentimental place for many
people. Baguio
is also the educational and commercial hub of the Cordillera region. The
Panagbenga gives people another reason to visit the City of Pines.
Long-time Baguio City
mayor Mauricio Domogan said, “When it (Panagbenga) was founded, there were four
major reasons. (Until now) it is an occasion for us to thank the Lord,
especially for the trees, the flowers, the natural environment. It is an
opportunity for the people of Baguio, as well as
of the Cordilleras, to gather and work
together and have fun. It is also an opportunity to show our unique cultural
heritage. That’s why there is a Cordillera motif in many aspects of the
festival. We are also doing this to sustain our tourism industry.”
Country maidens romanticizing the harvest of
rice on the float of the Department of Agrarian Reform
Hall of famer M Lhuillier’s float carries pop
star Gary Valenciano, one of the several celebrities who grace the festival
The float of Northern Luzon Expressway Corp.
which won second prize
The Panagbenga: Baguio Flower Festival was created by lawyer
Damaso Bangaoet Jr., then managing director of Camp John Hay, formerly an
American military recreation facility, of the John Hay Poro Point Development
Corporation in 1996. During this time, many places in the country were
developing festivals for merry gathering, as well as promotion. The flower was chosen
as focal point because it is the most visible and attractive feature of Baguio. Indeed, the city
has many pocket gardens, and parks are usually abloom. With support from the
local government and communities, the festival blossomed. Its unique feature,
at least compared to other festivals in the country, is the parade of floats,
which are covered in flowers, inspired by the century-old American New Year’s
Day celebration Tournament of Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
Filipinos are fond of stretching festive
occasions. The Panagbenga is actually celebrated for a whole month with
activities such as expos, fairs, shows and competitions. Every year, they
introduce new features. This year, they had the carpet of flowers at the
Athletic Bowl.
While the Panagbenga is spectacular, some have
considered it an “artificial” festival, not rooted in tradition and commercial
in its conception. But in 2007, Oscar Palabyab, then Undersecretary for Tourism
Services and Regional Offices of the Department of Tourism (DoT), expressed
that Panagbenga’s being a “product of the imagination” (as opposed to
tradition) and “purely an invention” as a manifestation of creativity.
Sometimes we have to create something, Palabyab said, mentioning that Malaysia built the Petronas Towers,
which has become a tourist draw and a distinction of said country. He said we
should do something similar in some places in our country, where there isn’t
much tradition, heritage and natural resources from which to draw attractions.
The Panagbenga is man-made, but, he said, it is “related to what they have
right now” — the flowers.
Over the years, the Panagbenga has been trying to
incorporate the indigenous cultures of the Cordilleras,
home of many ethnic groups such as the Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Ifugao, Kalinga,
Apayao, Isneg and Bontoc.
Cordillera boys carrying huge butterflies on
poles
The floral float of Baguio Country Club, a
perennial winner
A fluttering butterfly made of flowers from
the float of Baguio Country Club
Flower strawberries from the float of La
Trinidad, Benguet
The name Panagbenga was adopted in late
1996, a Kankanaey term meaning “a time of flowering” or “blossoming season.”
The name was suggested by Ike Picpican, an archivist and curator of the Saint Louis University Museum.
Lately, Cordilleran cultures have been featured more and more. This was evident
during the street dancing parade organized by the Baguio Cultural Society. The
organization was created three years ago to inject more culture into the
festival, particularly in the street dancing event, fulfilling BFFFI's aim of
strengthening the cultural aspect of the festival, related Alquiros. Thus, one
can see culture in the street dancing and flowers on the floats, the two
biggest aspects of the festival, said Anthony de Leon, Baguio Country Club
general manager and BFFFI co-chairman.
"The
quality of the street dancing and the floats has surpassed those from previous
years," revealed De Leon.
The street
dancing, which happened on Feb. 23, was participated in by 13 groups from Baguio and nearby
communities. They paraded together with the elementary school drum and lyre
groups around the city's historical core. Each group depicted local folklore,
legend or tradition. Traditional clothes were worn. Many had bright costumes to
stand out, sometimes creating an incongruous mix of indigenous textiles and
modern materials and colors.
Last year's
winner, the Kabayan Youth Cultural Dance Troupe of Kamora National High School
in Kabayan, Benguet, is also this year's winner in the street dancing open
category. They brought their Adivay Festival, a celebration of good harvest,
and told the story of Gadate, who helped save the town and the harvest of kintoman,
a sweet variety of rice said to be from Bugan, goddess of grains.
"It is also
Bugan who sent the snake when the people forgot to do the cañao as
thanksgiving," they stated. "In Gadate's dream, the snake told him to
ask his people to perform the cañao and offer liver and tapuey, a
rice wine. When he followed as instructed, the snake left Kabayan but went to
Kapangan. The people of Kapangan sought the help a mambunong, a local
priest from Kabayan. The mambunong made the snake sleep and was able to
slay the snake. As reward, he was given carabaos and pigs. He brought the head
of the snake to Kabayan and celebrated the conquest, shouting 'Adivay!'
with the dancing of the cañao and bindiyan. The gods were
pleased, and so Kabunyan rewarded them with good harvest and flowering
sceneries as a sign of goodwill."
The Litangfan
Cultural Group from Bontoc, Mountain
Province, won the second
prize with their Te-er si Saray-at, the eight-day rest period observed
after the planting activity. The rituals and traditions of each of the eight
days were depicted.
The third place
winner, Apayao Ipasindayaw from the province
of Apayao, depicted the kabinnulig,
explained as "the strong relationship between a farmer and his
carabao."
Their narrative
read like a tender love story: "Early in the day of a planting season,
this kind of companionship starts with the farmer preparing the carabao for a
long day of work in planting caravasa seeds. After three months, the
field turns into a haven of caravasa flowers, signifying the hopes of
both farmer and carabao. As the flowers turn into young squash, the friendship
between farmer and carabao is sealed and promises a bright future for both of
them. The abundance of flowers and squash signifies the deities' blessings to
the people of Apayao. As a form of thanksgiving, the people perform the taddo
and talip in rich and colorful Apayao regalia. The feasting
and merrymaking are highlighted by the kabinnulig's haul of ripe squash
in the karison, or wooden cart, which marks the farmer's role of returning
the favor for a carabao's job well done by taking care of the animal-friend
until the next planting season."
Giant flowers enliven a street dance
Litangfan Cultural Group of Bontoc, Mountain Province
Sakusak Traditional Ensemble of Pinsao National
High School
The rest of the
participants also showcased their own traditions and stories. The Tanghalang
Teatro Pino of Pines
City National
High School depicted the hulin,
a ritual in Bokiawan, Hungduan, Ifugao. Baguio City
National High
School's Teatro Mi Pengantaay Pagey told the
story of Iowak, the hero of a Benguet folktale from Itogon. The Bampkabia
Cultural Dance Troupe of Baguio City Academy Colleges showed the traditional
wedding feast of Bontoc called chono. The Philexian from St. Louis High
School Philex depicted the Kankanaey thanksgiving ritual.
The Tabuk
Matagoan from Tabuk
City, Kalinga, showed
their abuyog, the practice of helping each other "on rotation
basis." Also from Tabuk, Saint Theresita's School
of Tabuk's Bumabanga Ti Kalinga
extolled the traditional pottery of the town of Pasil. Tsinakhon Cultural Ensemble of Saint
Louis University Laboratory High School depicted the practices of planting rice
during the tsakhon, the dry season. The Sakusak Traditional Ensemble of
Pines City National High School Annex displayed the insalay rain ritual from
Abra. Saint Louis
University's Cordillera
Cultural Performing Group told the story of the tikgi bird of the
Tingguian of Abra. The Tribu Ari-tau from Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, showed the
Benguet's ngayow, the victory ritual.
The following
day, the float parade drew more people. Because it is expensive to make a float
of flowers, the parade is participated in mostly by companies, which find it a
colorful way to advertise. With the election season a few months away,
politicians are known to take advantage of festivals to campaign. Festival
organizers decided to discourage them from campaigning. They said that
political candidates can join the event by riding on their floats, but
distributing campaign materials, as well as going to the crowd were
discouraged. Violators will be banned. Soap brand Placenta remains banned for
disrupting the parade when its celebrity endorser Melanie Marquez and her
companions threw product samples at the crowd.
Vergara boasted
that Panagbenga is the most organized, the most peaceful and cleanest this
year.
The floats
followed the guideline that 95 percent of their floats should be covered with
flowers. Although there is no restriction on where participants get their
flowers, all of them sourced their flowers from farms in the Cordillera region,
particularly in La Trinidad, Tublay, Tuba and Sablan in Benguet, boosting the
local cut flower industry.
Celebrities such
as Robin Padilla, Bong Revilla, Rhian Ramos, Daniel Matsunaga and Gary
Valenciano rode on some of the floats, exciting the crowd.
The Le Monet
Hotel float clinched the first prize this year followed by the floats of the
Department of Agrarian Reform and North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). There were a
total of 19 floats, including the ones from the city of Baguio,
the Baguio Country Club, SM City Baguio, Psalmstre, Creworks Asia, Smart
Communications, Jollibee Foods Corp., Taloy Norte Farmers Multi-purpose
Cooperative, GMA Network, ABS-CBN Network, International Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
San Miguel Brewery, the town of La
Trinidad in Benguet and M Lhuillier.
That day,
Session Road in Bloom, also a crowd drawer, opened transforming the historic
street into a colorful market of native products and of course flowers.
Vergara is
optimistic that next year's festival would be bigger especially with the
extension of the Nlex up to Rosario, La Union, dramatically shortening the
traveling time from Manila to Baguio, which usually takes about eight
hours.
Many Baguio-based companies are supportive of the
Pangabenga. Among the biggest are The Manor at Camp John Hay and The Forest
Lodge, promoting the festival, providing guests with lovely accommodations and
delectable dishes from its restaurant whose chef is the renowned Billy King at
the helm, and ensuring that they experience the festival as a downpour of
merriment, a collision of colors and an explosion of excitement.
St.
Louis University’s Cordillera Cultural Performing
Group tells the Tingguian story of birds called “Say-ang” in its street dance
The ethnic and the tawdry mix during the
street dance parade
Tanghalang Teatro Pino of Pine City National High School
