Of Culture, Crops, and Scarecrows

(Published in the Manila Bulletin)

Of Culture, Crops, And Scarecrows

Or why Isabela is the next best destination in the North

By NICKKY DE GUZMAN

December 8, 2012, 1:59pm

If a scarecrow is meant to connote horrifying images and meanings, for the Isabeliños, the humble strawman or bambanti in their language, is a stately symbol of  diligence and firmness; reflecting their enduring spirit despite relentless storms that wreak havoc on the province every year.

For this reason, the provincial government of Isabela sketched out an entire festival from the bambanti’s tattered beginnings. Aptly called Bambanti Festival, the annual tourism event aims to celebrate and promote Isabela’s heritage, ingenuity and virtually unexplored natural wonders.  

For its second year, the festival will revolve around the theme: ‘The Magic of Isabela’ and will be held at the Isabela Sports Complex and the Provincial Capitol grounds on January 27-30, 2013. It will also highlight the official unveiling of the Queen Isabella Monument (the province was named after Queen Isabella through a Royal Decree issued by the King of Spain on May 1, 1856) in front of the Provincial Capitol in Iligan City.

“Visitors and tourists can witness a four-day celebration starting with “Mahiwagang Isabela,” a musical production, which will cast participants from the 37 towns and cities of the second largest province in the Philippines,” Isabela’s Tourism consultant Nilo Agustin said.

Another program of the festival is the ingenious display of agro-ecotourism booth by each town and city using only natural, organic and biodegradable materials indigenous to the province.

However, “more than just a grand showcase of the ‘pride of place,’ the rich cultural heritage and industry of the people of Isabela, the Bambanti Festival is celebrated primarily as a communal gesture of thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest and resiliency of the citizenry despite the occurrences of natural calamities and disasters that befall the province almost every year,” Isabela Governor Faustino Dy III said.

The locals have also arranged activities such as the Most Creative Magical Mask, the Best Street-Dance Contingent, the Festival King and Queen, and the Giant Magical Bambanti.

The calming suburban environment of Isabela lures tourists and travelers to tour or consider Isabela as their second home.

“With this festival, we hope to be able to unfold and reveal the hidden beauty and splendor of our province as admittedly, Isabela is not yet known to many,” Isabela First Lady Mary Ann Dy said.

The province is the country’s number one corn producer that contributes 21% of the annual national yellow corn production.