Our local fiestas are a spectacular sight. Each celebration varies from place to place, even if the saint being patronized is one and the same. However, fiestas are not only meant to celebrate a saint's day. The end of the harvest season, a town's founding, or even the lowly carabao becomes a reason for fiestas. Nothing can simply stop us from celebrating.
Many fiestas are celebrated during the summer. This is a very convenient time for townspeople, because it is also an opportunity to share their culture to visitors. The month of May is especially eventful. There's the Flores de Mayo, for one thing. But that's not all.
Here's a list of some fiestas and places you can go to for the rest of the summer. Some you may have already seen, some you will hear for the first time - but each with a unique twist that celebrates the astounding diversity of Pinoy culture.
MAY 11
Bara-ngay Festival
Appari, Cagayan
The townsfolk of Appari, Cagayan celebrate thanksgiving through a different kind of water sport. They decorate their native bancas and gear up for a boat race. The harvest must be a bounty for this action-packed celebration!
Getting There Aparri is 11 hours from Manila. If you'd like to witness this event, just hop on a bus to Aparri. A number of bus lines offer trips to Cagayan every day - Victory, Florida, EMC, Aladdin, and Autobus, all in Sampaloc, Manila.
MAY 11-15
San Isidro Festival
Quezon Province
Pahiyas sa Lucban
Another harvest festival, the Pahiyas sa Lucban is an excuse for the townspeople of Lucban, Quezon to decorate their homes with spectacularly colorful kiping - dried, translucent rice wafers. Sometimes you can also see fruits, vegetables, and native sweets hanging on windows and doors. The Pahiyas is a thanksgiving celebration to San Isidro Labrador.
Mayohan sa Tayabas
Also a San Isidro festival, the people of Tayabas offer all-you-can-eat suman!
Balwarte sa Gumaca
Visit Gumaca on May 11-15, and experience the town's hospitality as people open their doors - literally, for anyone wanting to partake of food and sweets. Another interesting sight: people promenading around town dressed up in palm fronds, bamboos, and other kinds of produce.
Getting There The BLTB buses at EDSA-Pasay, as well as the JAC buses at EDSA-Cubao, leave for Quezon every day.
MAY 14
Pulilan Carabao Festival
Plaridel, Bulacan
This is another harvest festival in honor of San Isidro Labrador. Farmers ride their scrubbed, oiled, perfumed, and adorned carabaos to the church. The carabaos then kneel, or genuflect, in front of the saint's statue.
Getting There Pulilan, Bulacan is just a bus ride away from Manila, and a jeep away from Plaridel, Bulacan.
MAY 17-19
Obando Fertility Rites
Obando, Bulacan
Obando's popular fertility rites are always a sight to see. The town's patron saints - San Pascual Baylon, Sta. Clara, and the Virgin of Salambao - are paraded through the streets, while a lively brass band plays music and colorfully dressed devotees dance the pandanggo. Childless couples come to Obando every year to dance in hopes of getting blessed with children.
Getting There Obando is just two hours away from Manila. Take the bus from EDSA-Cubao or Quezon Avenue.
MAY 21-27
Kaogma Festival
Camarines Sur
Party on in Camarines Sur by attending the Kaogma Festival! Kaogma, meaning, "a good time," is celebrated with street dances, parades, sports events, beauty pageants, and cultural expos - all with typical Bicolano vigor.
Getting There You can either take the 10-hour bus trip from Cubao or Pasay, passing through picturesque towns, or take the 45-minute Philippine Airlines flight to Naga City.
THIRD SUNDAY OF MAY
Caracol Festival
Baclaran, Manila
Visit Baclaran on the third Sunday of May and see a quirky horde - men dress in drag and women in men's clothes! The crowd goes through the streets, carrying the image of St. Rita.
Getting There Board the Baclaran bus anywhere in EDSA and see the sight in no time at all.
LAST WEEKEND OF MAY
Bangkero Festival
Pagsanjan, Laguna
It's the Pagsanjan boatmen's weekend! The last Saturday and Sunday of May celebrates the Bangkero Festival with gaily-decorated boats along the river. It's a day of fun and games for bangkeros - those hardy men who bravely navigate the rapids of Pagsanjan Falls - as well as the town's many tourists and visitors.
Getting There BLTB and Tritran have daily trips to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. From Sta. Cruz, take the jeepney to Pagsanjan.
JUNE 23-24
Mudpack Festival
Murcia, Negros Occidental
Watch the folks of Murcia, Negros Occidental, streetdance with mudpacks. Be prepared to get dirty too, all for fun. This unique spectacle happens on June 23 to 24.
Getting There Murcia is just 20 minutes away from Bacolod. You can fly to Bacolod via Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, or Cebu Pacific - or take the sea trip via Negros Navigation or WG & A. From Bacolod, take the bus (Ceres Liners), or the jeep, to Murcia.
JUNE 24
Taong-Putik Festival
Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
On this day, the people of Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija will walk the streets at dawn wearing nothing but mud on their bodies! This event is a portrayal of a biblical myth about St. John the Baptist, who was said to have done this in his time. The rest of the day is endless revelry and feasting.
Getting There Take the bus to Cabanatuan City at the Baliwag Transit terminal in EDSA-Cubao. Get off at the city terminal, then hop on the bus to Aliaga. Travel time from Manila to Aliaga takes four to five hours.
JULY 29
Abnoy and Balut Festival
Pateros, Manila
Yes, there is such a festival! The folks at Pateros, Manila celebrate their much-vaunted balut-making on this day. Prepare to see thousands of eggs and fowl on display.
Getting There You can get to Pateros by taking a jeep in Pasig (near the Catholic church, or the Municipal Hall). There are also jeepney and FX trips from The Landmark terminal in Makati.
