BAGUIO CITY – Six prominent festivals performed in the second Cordillera Festival of Festivals on Saturday, November 11, at the Rose Garden of the Burnham Park here.
A CONTINGENT performs in the second Cordillera Festival of Festivals in Baguio City on November 11 organized by the Department of Tourism-Cordillera to boost tourism in the region. (Zaldy Comanda)
The festival kicked off with a street-dancing parade started on Session Road towards the Rose Garden.
Jovita Ganongan, director of the Department of Tourism-Cordillera, said the Cordillera Festival of Festivals is an agency program to continue the rich tapestry of cultural festivals from different provinces and cities within the Cordillera region.
The province of Apayao featured the newest festival in the region – the Lapat Festival which was held for the first time on June 23, 2023 as part of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the municipality of Calanasan.
The Lapat system of the Isnags where the festival originated was recognized for increasing the population of the critically endangered Philippine Eagle.
The province of Benguet presented the Adivay Festival, a vibrant celebration of the province's indigenous culture, celebrated in the month of November and named after the Ibaloi term which means coming together.
It brings together all the tribes of Benguet in a grand celebration that allows the sharing of cultural beliefs and practices. Benguet is currently celebrating the Adivay Festival this November.
The province of Ifugao featured in their performance the Hagabi at the Gotad Ad Ifugao Festival, representing a position of influence, a symbol of wealth, power, and prestige.
The province of Kalinga featured two festivals, the Matagoan Festival of Tabuk City which featured the Banga Dance that earned a Guinness World Record for the largest banga dance participated in by 4,681 people on February 15, 2023, and the Laga Festival of the town of Lubuagan that showcased the weaving industry and traditions passed down from generation to generation to the people in the town.
The Lang-ay Festival of Mountain Province showcased the traditional lifestyle and rich culture to foster happiness, friendship, strengthen family ties, and brotherhood in the province.
The Panagbenga Festival, a well-known crowd drawer every February here, presented the history, traditions, and values of Baguio and the Cordillera.
Ganongan said the Cordillera Festival of Festivals stands as a testament to the region's commitment to celebrate its rich heritage. She said the event is not only a convergence of various cultural delights but also a display of pride and unity among the provinces and cities of the Cordillera Administrative Region.
The initiative of DOT-CAR to organize this festival comes from the vision to contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry while also establishing a platform to preserve the unique cultural heritage of the Cordillera region, Ganongan said.
The festival also serves as the annual commemoration of Buwan ng Katutubo (IP) marked in October through Proclamation No. 1906, Series of 2009, in honor of the signing of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in 1997.