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| Human Bambantis. Isabeleños show their
exuberance selves despite the heat of the sun during the Bambanti Street Dance
competition. |
ISABELA is raring to show its beauty,
transformation, and achievements over the years to the Filipinos and the rest
of the world. For Bambanti Festival 2024, the Queen Province of the North
proudly invites visitors to explore, experience, and embrace the charm of the
largest province on this side of the Cagayan Valley. This year, the festival
coined a tourism tagline, Ybanag’s Ettam ngana ta Isabela, which
translates to “Tara na sa Isabela!'' or “Let’s go to Isabela!''.
Our 10-hour drive from Manila to Cauayan
City where our group of 28 national media and content creators/social media
influencers from Manila would be stationed is all worth it. Refreshing views of
the province’s agricultural nature confirmed the area’s bounty – as the
country’s Corn Capital and 2nd largest rice producer.
BEAUTIFUL CAUAYAN CITY & REINA
MERCEDES
We were billeted at Mango Suites at Cauayan City for
the 5-day coverage of Bambanti Festival 2024 from January 23-27. Cauayan, is a
vibrant and beautiful city known for its stunning natural attractions, cultural
heritage, and modern amenities. Founded in 1740, Cauayan antedates the
establishment of Isabela by 116 years.
The city is known for its historical
grandeur being the location of one of the Philippines' major industries of
tobacco as far back as the Spanish period, the Compaña General de Tabacos de
Filipinas, commonly known as Tabacalera, with its flagship brand, La Flor de
la Isabela.
The surplus producer of rice and
corn became a component city of the Province of Isabela after it was
ratified in a plebiscite by a majority vote on March 30, 2001.
Prior to proper coverage, we found
ourselves surrounded by huge pots of bougainvilleas in full bloom from bonsai to huge trees
of centennial old. We were on our first stop, the famed Meraki Garden of Reina
Mercedes, the nearby town of Cauayan.
Reina Mercedes is a 4th class
municipality in Isabela named after Queen Mercedes of Spain. Previously a
territory of Cauayan, it was separated as an independent pueblo in 1886. As an
agricultural town, rice and corn are the major products in Reina Mercedes along
with peanut, vegetables, poultry, handicraft, and home-made food items. Asia’s
largest post-harvest corn processing facility, the Mindanao Grains, is located
in the town of Reina Mercedes.
MERAKI GARDEN
Putting Reyna Mercedes on the map once
again is the beautiful botanical all- bougainvillea garden called Meraki
(may-rah-kee), a Greek word used to describe doing something with soul,
creativity, and love.
Hobbyist turned entrepreneur Lyn
Marcaida from Cauayan personally attends to her over 3000 collections from all
over the country, cutting, pruning, grafting them, and giving all possible care
for her bougainvilleas. She said the garden came to be in 2020 as a
hobby during the pandemic. Eventually, the space has helped a lot of
visitors during the hard times by relaxing in the well-appointed garden free of
charge. Today, Meraki is an events place, catering to all visitors for an
entrance fee of P50 per head. The imposing venue, now with two hectares
dedicated to bougainvilleas, also accepts educational trips and other
functions. To share the love for collecting bougainvilleas, some items are for
sale that come with tips and information in propagating them. Our trip to
Meraki was made complete with the hospitality and genuine Ilocano cuisine
served us for dinner: pinakbet, igado, kalderetang kambing, papaitan,
dinuguang bibe, along with cassava roll, moriecos, and bibingka,
among others.
BONSAI NO SATO PARK
Our destination on our second day is
the nearby Bonsai village named Bonsai No Sato Park, a 10-hectare plantation
with three hectares dedicated as events place housing over 300 bonsai plants of
various perennial trees such as Sampaloc, balete, Chinese holly, tugas and
other fruit trees.
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| Relaxing at the Bonsai park |
Farm manager Librada Africano, 67,
former teacher, who originally hailed from Nueva Ecija, said bonsai-making
started out as a hobby. When her family can no longer house them, they decided
to transfer them to this plantation during the pandemic and later transformed
it into an events place which offers daily eat-all-you-can all-grilled lunch
and lots of vegetables and fruits for dinner for over P300 per head. Special
menu available on weekends and important dates of celebrations such as
Valentine, Mother’s Day, etc.
Africano’s children, Joselle and her
husband Roberto, later developed parts of the plantation for vegetables and
fruits farming to supply the needs of the bonsai village. They have Japanese
houses and staycations are available on advance notice.
HELLO, MAGAT DAM!
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| At Magat Dam: Mga turista sa sariling bayan, enjoying the cool breeze |
It was my third visit to Isabela and
our media group finally made it to Magat Dam!
The multi-purpose Magat Dam is located
on the Magat River at the boundary between the municipalities of Alfonso Lista
in the province of Ifugao and Ramon in Isabela, servicing 90,000 hectares
of rice fields in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan and some areas in the
province of Quirino. It also produces 360 megawatts of hydropower.
With the dam's structure having
already served the people of Cagayan and Isabela for over 40 years, the
National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System has
started the retrofitting works on the Magat Dam which is expected to be
completed by the first semester this year.
Since there are no special activities that can be done within the vicinity, there is the nearby Camp Vizcarra in Ramon for some adventures. The raging waters released by the power plant flow at Camp Vizcarra and crossing the camp’s hanging bridge made of steel, is enough to fill one’s adrenaline rush. A haven for campers, the usual visitors here are the girl scouts and the boy scouts for their camping activities.
SAN MARIANO CROCODILE FARM
The Philippine Crocodile Conservation
Center (PCCC), located within the Isabela State University (ISU) campus in San
Mariano. It’s a long walk by the way, from the ISU entrance, about a kilometer
away of rough pavement
The center plays an important role in
sustaining crocodile conservation activities in the town and in generating
income for communities conserving crocodiles.
The center consists of crocodile
holding pens and a visitors’ building is a joint project of ISU, the local
government of San Mariano and the Mabuwaya Foundation, and supported by the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Tourism.
The holding pens are used to house adult crocodiles for the first conservation breeding program with Luzon-origin Philippine crocodiles, the Crocodylus mindorensis, and for wild-born hatchling crocodiles.
They would be released in the wild to
augment the critically small wild population of one of the rarest animals on
the planet. Melijn van Weerd, Chief Operating Officer of the Mabuwaya
Foundation said that the species is nationally protected and because of its
relatively small size, it does not pose a threat to people.
PCCC’s visitors building is also being
used for environmental education and as the gateway for visitors who want to
explore the wilderness areas of San Mariano and the Northern Sierra Madre
Natural Park to see Philippine crocodiles and many other rare endemic species
in the wild.
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| PCCC's caretaker shows off a young reptile |
HERITAGE CHURCHES
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| The national media group posed in front of Our Lady of Atocha Church |
The Our Lady of Atocha Church in
Alicia, 30 minutes away from Cauayan, is a red-brick church that is worth
visiting for the faithful and heritage travelers. The church facade and
interiors are very well preserved despite the centuries it has been existing --
built in the 18th century, completed and inaugurated in 1849.
A remarkable historical landmark in
Isabela, the Department of Tourism has declared it a National Religious Tourist
Destination in the Philippines. It is considered one of the best churches to
visit for a pilgrimage in Isabela during the Holy Week. The church, known for
its antique Castilian architectural design, can be found along the Maharlika
Highway and is accessible by land transport.
Meanwhile, almost an hour from Cauayan
is the National Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of the Visitation of
Guibang, also known as Our Lady of Guibang Shrine. The parish church and
pilgrimage site, situated at Brgy. Guibang, Gamu, is frequented by
travelers passing by the Maharlika Highway. It comes alive every year in the
month of July when religious pilgrims visit to offer prayers during its feast
day.
The Guibang Church was declared as the
Philippines’ eighth national shrine on February 13, 1986.
The church was rebuilt to accommodate
the growing number of pilgrims visiting the shrine in December 2018. Built on
the same location, the church was expanded from its original 750-square-meter
floor area to 1,100 square meters. It can now hold around 750 seats and a
full-standing area capacity of around 1,200 people.
HACIENDA DE SAN LUIS
Do you want to experience a flashback
of what Cauayan City was in 1740? Then put Hacienda de San Luis in your
must-visit place when you come to Isabela. It is the first eco-tourism park in
the city, the home to Museo de San Luis which features how tobaccos are made
for the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade. It also showcases the original sculpture
of St. Louis from Spain and several masterpieces.
For a time, the hacienda has also
become a Monterey Farm raising cattle for the milk and meat supply of San
Miguel Corporation before it was turned over to the local government.
Also, an adventure park, the majestic
view of Cagayan River can be seen from the 250m long and 30ft high zipline. But the zipline stopped operation during the pandemic
and the LGU, who’s running the park, plans to rehabilitate and restore it.
The hacienda is about six kilometers
away from Cauayan-Centro driving away on well-constructed roads where visitors
can see the Cagayan River and vast corn farmlands. It is also a perfect place
for friends and family for camping where they can stay there for a night or a
day to complete the adventures.
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| Entrance to the Bambanti Village |
THE BAMBANTI VILLAGE
A must-see during the annual festival
is the specially-constructed Bambanti Village at the Provincial Capitol
grounds. This is where the agri-ecotourism booths,
giant scarecrows, local agriculture products, and arts were displayed for the
public to buy or appreciate.
Bambanti is the Ilocano term for
scarecrow, the farmers’ ally for a good harvest. While celebrating the
diligence, resilience and vigilance of the Isabela farmers, the festival also
pays homage to the guardians of their fields and farms. Thus, the village
showcases unique, enormous Bambanti figures which are expertly built from
indigenous, organic, and biodegradable materials.
Respective booths and scarecrows highlight
each town's cultural heritage and icons ranging from agricultural,
environmental, industrial and historical sites. The booths selling farm
products and locally created artifacts provide excellent prices for foodies and
treasure seekers, serve as a platform for tourists to immerse themselves in
Isabela’s historical and cultural legacy, and treat them to an authentic
experience into the sustainable and organic practices of the province.
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| Bambanti Festival 2024 kicked off with the opening of the Bambanti Village led by Festival Director General and Vice Governor Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and Department of Tourism Regional Director Troy Alexander Miano cutting the ceremonial ribbon. With them are the officials and representatives from the Provincial Government of Isabela. |
Vice Governor Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy
III, Director General for Bambanti Festival 2024, said, “This year’s
celebration is our way of giving gratitude for all the blessings and welcoming
the challenges ahead.”
Provincial Tourism Officer Joanne
Dy-Maranan said that this year’s festival theme “will
feature kung ano yung kamangha-mangha sa Isabela, encouraging mayors to
incorporate these marvels into their booths, dances and showdowns, emphasizing
the potential to attract tourists to the province.”
Include Isabela in your travel list
for 2024! Ettam ngana ta Isabela!
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| Human bambantis in a dance sequence during the street dance competition |
#BambantiFestival2024 #bambanti
#EttamNganaTaIsabela #isabela #queenprovinceofthenorth #corncapitalofthephilippines #EttamnganataIsabela
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