filipino globe lakbayan
February 2007May 2008
25
Imus unfurls country’s newest festival ahead of Independence Day celebrations
The newest Philippine festival Imus mayor Emmanuel Maliksi
with a historical twist will unfold will head the country’s newest
in Cavite, the country’s seat of festival that will establish the
independence. town’s identity as a historical
In time for the coming place.
Independence Day, the town of “This festival will push Filipinos
Imus will commemorate on May to be more patriotic to our flag,”
24 the victory of the Battle of Maliksi said.
Alapan that paved way for the “Unlike other festivals, which are
first Philippine Republic when the religious in nature, this is a festival
Philippine flag was first unfurled with historical and nationalistic
on May 28, 1898. theme,” he said.
Imus, dubbed as the country’s “The festival will be celebrated
flag capital, will celebrate the first in a way that highlights the
Wagayway Festival on May 24-28 bravery and patriotism of the
in the run-up to Kalayaan 2008. revolutionaries who won the Battle
The festival’s name, Wagayway, of Alapan despite tremendous
is a Filipino term that means to odds,” Maliksi said.
wave, display or unfurl something
Imus as a new tourist destination after the victory of the Battle of the same flag in the nearby
The event will honor the
that is folded such as a flag or
with the same caliber as Cebu’s Alapan that then President Emilio town of Kawit on June 12 of
great struggle of the Filipino
banner.
Sinulog Festival, Bacolod’s Aguinaldo first waved the flag the same year, coinciding with
revolutionaries against a well-
Wagayway Festival hopes to
Masskara Festival and the like. made by Marcela Agoncilio. the declaration of Philippine
armed and well-organized
recognize National Flag Day and
Contrary to public belief, it was Aguinaldo again unfurled independence.
Spanish army.
Idyllic beauty
The blue-green crater lake is said to possess therapeutic qualities
because of its sulfur content. After following the trail of a dying river
(below), we begin our climb aided only by sticks.
created by
chaos rises
from the ashes
Tess Mauricio and a group of friends climb
Mt Pinatubo and all come down in awe
M
y friends and I recently never-ending as the deserted and
went on a trek up Mt desolate yet amazing terrain was
Pinatubo to experience the devoid of chirping birds and crawling
thrill of climbing and being on the animals. Only the rushing river we
proverbial “top of the world.” As passed, the splashing brooks and the
beginners, there were mixed feelings grasses struggling to survive on top
– fear of not being able to make it of the ash were signs that the place
and excitement in doing an activity was not dead yet.
for the first time. Approaching the ridge of the crater,
We left Montevista Villas in Clark, the cogon reeds were taller and there
Pampanga, at about 5am while the were occasional shrubs sprouting
sun was just rising over the hills along the stream. A few minutes
and mountains of Capas, Tarlac. later, we reached the peak and were
Upon reaching Sta Juliana in Capas, rewarded with the awesome view
we registered at the PullTravel of the crater where a lake of bright
Development Corp and paid the green and blue water now exists.
necessary amounts for the 4x4 jeep The trek took us an hour and a half,
ride, conservation fee, guide services, more than double the usual time, but
barangay and “skyway” toll fees. for us beginners, reaching the crater
The new skyway has significantly alone was a feat in itself. The sight
reduced the usual two-hour trek to of the lake is indescribable with the
turning the volcanic ash and mud
the Mt Pinatubo crater to only 40 water so flat and inviting. We saw
into lahar, a destructive force
minutes. some of the trekkers dive into the
rolling down the mountainsides
The fun ride aboard four-wheel lake said to be warm and therapeutic
and river valleys, engulfing towns,
drive vehicle took about an hour due to its sulfur content.
villages, farmlands, houses and
through compacted volcanic ash in It is difficult to believe that this
the heart of lahar country before we
It’s difficult to
idled peacefully for 450 years
other structures in its path with fatal
beautiful and tranquil spot was the
before its eruption on June 12,
results. Nowadays, large deposits
reached Cuadra, the jump-off point heart of the fire that brought so
believe that this
1991, considered one of the worst
of the catastrophic debris lie for far
for the trek. Together with our local much devastation and, loss of lives,
guide, we commenced the hike along beautiful and
and most violent of the century. It
distances around the volcano.
livelihood and homes. Yet echoes
literally blasted itself apart, blowing
The return trek should have been
the drying river filled with baby of its violence were all around us,
head-sized rocks and endless sand
tranquil spot
out seven cubic kilometers of ash
faster but it proved even more
enveloping us, and now we have this
and rock, plus a column of gaseous
difficult due to the steep rocks at
armed only with a bamboo stick to magnificent view.
was the heart
emissions rising 40 kilometers into
the end of the trail, coupled by the
aid the ascent. In local lore, Mt Pinatubo is the
the sky.
Our group trailed the river home of Apo Malyari, “The Great of the fire that
exhaustion factor and the midday
Over 20 million tons of sulfur
heat. A few even claimed it was not
upstream. The rocky trail became Provider,” and the spirits of the
narrower and the rocks got bigger ancestors of some 30,000 nomadic
brought so much
dioxide was scattered into the
the perfect time to visit due to the
atmosphere resulting in skies turning
scorching summer heat.
as we neared the crater. There were Aeta Negritos found in the higher
devastation and
red for a number of months visible
On the contrary, it was the best
also more streams crisscrossing the elevation settlements of Pampanga,
as far as Hawaii. Soon after the
zigzag route. The expedition seemed Tarlac and Zambales. The volcano loss of lives
time to scale the beauty created by
eruption, a typhoon struck Luzon
chaos.
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