Panagb/Ə/nga Festival

Stars afloat and abloom: (from left) Robin Padilla, Bong Revilla and Vaness del Moral

No, the title is neither misspelled nor altered for aesthetic purposes. This is how the widely-known festival in Baguio City is supposed to be pronounced—in schwa sound.

Apparently, the Kankanaey term that means “season of blooming” has long been mispronounced by tourists, Filipinos from other regions, and to some extent, even the locals. Nonetheless, it conveys the same message of thanksgiving that reflects the history, traditions, and values of Baguio and the Cordilleras. The festival was introduced to celebrate how Baguio’s flowers continue to bloom five years after an earthquake hit the city in 1990.  

The incorrect enunciation is somehow, forgivable. 

Baguio’s Blooming Odyssey

The latest Panagbenga Festival, themed “Blooming Odyssey”, reflects the journey of one of the most prominent and widely celebrated festivals in the country. 

“This is our theme because we wanted to celebrate the journey or odyssey of our festival. We had a humble beginning. The much anticipated street dance competition and float parade were not yet part of the festival before,” Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Incorporated (BIFF) Chairman Freddie Alquiroz said. 

Evidently, the month-long celebration draws the most massive audience during the cultural street dance competition and most often than not, the star-studded float parade festival.  According to the BIFF, the latest Panagbenga installation gathered more than two million tourists—amidst Baguio’s fickle weather condition. 

It was raining on the day before the cultural dance competition but the eager audience did not seem to mind. Fortunately, the competition that starred 13 participants from different schools danced the morning away in a partly sunny Session Road. Students in colorful costumes swerved in unison while chanting some indigenous tribal songs. The dance themes ranged from harvest rituals, thanksgiving for fruitful harvest, Bontoc gods, and folktales. 

As a seamless transition before each participant swayed his or her hips, drum and lyre organizations from elementary schools and the military played indigenous and modern songs like “Call Me Maybe” and “Gangnam Style”. These songs were so last year but everyone didn’t seem to mind as it was refreshing to see policemen dancing to the beat. 

“The dance competition is solely for cultural exchange. If people want to see flowers, they have to attend the second day of the celebration, which is the float parade,” Alquiroz said.  

The much-anticipated Float Parade then lit the stretch of Session Road with its colorful flowers customized to form butterflies, wheels, patios, bicycles, and even breakfast meals. 

The intermittent and slight drizzle did not scare the locals and foreigners away; instead, it allowed them to witness how the light rain sprinkled the blossoms and made them even fresher. The stretch of the overly-crowded Session Road smelled of flowers in bloom. 

Local showbiz artists from television networks often drew large and enthusiastic crowds. The people donned cameras, iPads, and megawatt smiles. Screams of adoration welcomed the floats of GMA-7’s “Indio” led by Bong Revilla, Ehra Madrigal, Rhian Ramos, Vaness del Moral, and Sheena Halili as well as ABS-CBN’s Robin Padilla, Melai Cantiveros, Jason Francisco, Smokey Manaloto, and Gary Valenciano and TV5’s Daniel Matsunaga. 

The float parade ranged from simple to futuristic designs of butterflies, cartoon characters, ships, robots, cars, and Sto. Niños.  

Baguio’s sister cities, from Vaughn (Canada), Hanyu (Japan), Guangzhou (China), and Vallejo (California) joined the celebration in their respective costumes. Cosplayers and dragon dancers showcased their talents after the flower float parade. 

To cap off the celebration, Baguio’s Session Road will be covered and adorned with flowers dubbed as “Session Road in Bloom,” which will last until today, March 3. The 200 by 100 feet street of the oval field, Athletic Bowl will temporarily be grazed with blossoms in rainbow shades. 

Sustaining tourism 

Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan said that the country’s Summer Capital sustains its tourism industry through the collection of business taxes. 

“Before the Panagbenga Festival, the city collects 14 to 15 million pesos. Now, we receive more. Last year we had as much as 170 million pesos from the business taxes,” Domogan said.

Booming food, entertainment, hotel and restaurant, and leisure businesses thrive within the city. They lure the tourists as much as the Panagbenga Festival. The City of Pines is widely known for its ube jams, wood carvings, peanut brittles, fresh fruits and vegetables, and walis tambo. 

Hence, the importance of keeping this popular yet normally mispronounced festival alive. The city of Baguio has to constantly entice the public that Panagbenga Festival has a lot more to offer than its colorful flowers and star-studded parades. This celebration is an annual reminder of Baguio and the Cordillera’s rich culture and tradition.   

As for the thousands of flowers used in the celebration, don’t worry, they are being recycled as compost.