Bangui | Town Fiesta 2011

Happy Fiesta Bangui, Ilocos Norte!!!

  

Time never stopped its race with the powerful wind breezing in Norte, never surrendered its clash with the harsh waves splashing in Bangui Bay. The pebbles of Bantoc were exploited, the Windmills were constructed. Then and now, we are beholding the shining inheritance, the flourishing culture and the strengthening spirit, of Bangui, of every Banguinian!

The remaining days of April were counted but the Banguinians, people of Bangui, are still counting all the blessings they received. And so, we need to wrap this up in a major major event, the Bangui Town Fiesta 2011!

For them, fiesta is a mass fashion of celebrating goodness as well as honoring their patron saint, St. Lawrence. Indeed, it’s a Christian happening; it’s a festivity of oneness, splendor, abundance and the like. Many embrace this occasion next to Christmas as generosity unfurls everywhere you turn. It’s a long Easter week, hence the perfect time to rejoice after the Lenten season. It’s the last sunny days of the month before the rain arrives for May Flower, therefore it's a gift to keep and to treasure in the whole year round.

The celebration started with a show called Talentadong Banguinian in an Easter Tuesday. As the title implies, the affair showcased the talents of every proud fellow Banguinian. The next day marked Tinuno Festival. It’s a boodle fight with a twist as participants competed for the best tasting grilled food in town. Then the stars came to witness the fifteen candidates for Ms. Kannawidan Festival (Ms. SK Bangui) in the night of Easter Wednesday. The grand parade and street dance graced an Easter Thursday while the Night of the Senior Citizens was held in the evening. Easter Friday welcomed Banguinians all around the globe with the program, Balikbayan Night. And the long week was ended with the Barangay Night which highlighted the crowning of the majesty queen in the last Easter day, Saturday.

As if it was only yesterday when I was also joining the parade as part of the drum and lyre corporation. The days were gone and now I am only documenting this gathering - taking photos and having some commentaries, which I admit I got to enjoy it too.

Fiestas during my childhood look more of a festival than what it has nowadays. Before, there are cottage-forming booths of every barangay made up of bamboos and decorated with indigenous materials (sort of a nipa house). These are filled with the products of the barangay such as banig (mat), tambo or ting-ting (cleaning materials), longganisa, bawang (garlic), lasona (onion),  mais (corn) and a lot more which are sold to the public to help town farmers and entrepreneurs. Floats are also more attractive then. They almost look like those of Panagbenga Festival floats in Baguio. There are a lot of fresh flowers on it. Others prefer orchids, palm trees or shrubs and more of ranib and anahaw to display. I call them, mobile gardens - house landscapes transferred to a vehicle. Some also uses indigenous materials to flaunt creativity and style. For instance, crampled papers, piled and painted to form like a bird, duck, etc.; cloths, shaped and colored to exhibit a butterfly in 3D; and hays, cut and braced to create miniature building designs such as a bahay kubo. Sad to say, I'd been longing all of these since high school.

But what I appreciate during these occasions was the support of the people - boundless and timeless. Everyone participates - from the longest part of the parade, the delegates of the senior citizens to the youth who involved themselves in the different activities such as basketball game, pageant and talent show. The spectators, the crowd, cheering for the contestants and their friends are just exciting and the coordinators, participants, audiences, sacrificing effort and time are just heart-warming.

What can I say? Bangui Town Fiesta 2011 really refreshed my exhausted world! 'Til next time!