RUPRUPA:
FACES OF PANAGBENGA
The circumstances prior to the creation of a
flower festival in Baguio
City were appalling. No
one could ever forget the wake-up call nature unleashed on the day of July 16,
1990. The killer temblor left behind massive devastation and countless deaths.
As the face of Baguio
City was scarred by the
wreckage of life and property, a more perceptible scar left an indelible
imprint in the hearts and souls of its citizens. Simultaneous with the
seemingly endless aftershocks was the shock to find oneself amidst the long
lines to procure food and water, with no means of power and communications, to
leave in a tent exposed to the cold evenings and the uncertain days, or even
just to bury one’s death. Everyone was in a state of metaphoric disfigurement.
Yet despite of it all and as things should
be, life moved on for Baguio
City. Amidst the rubbles,
even in the sanctuaries of the dead, under the still aching pangs of fear and
pain, amidst the extensive dislocation of local economy and personal
well-being, the call to rise up and to continue to live life may well be
unuttered but it’s the only way.
Still, there is another call to stand up and
take another stride. For much as the destruction and desolation may seem the
face of the Baguio
City landscape started to
reemerge. The flower buds appeared. It was a season to bloom. Again.
~ o ~
Panagbenga. A Kankanaey term for “a season
of blooming. It is also known as the Baguio Flower Festival, in deference to
the beautiful flowers the city is famous for as well as a celebration of Baguio's successful rise
from shambles.
The birth of the tradition began in 1995.
Atty. Damaso Bangaoet,Jr. who was then managing director of the John Hay Poro
Point Development Corp. (JPDC) expounded to the JPDC the idea of holding a
flower festival in Baguio
City. There was immediate
approval from the board which was led by Bases Conversion Development Authority
(BCDA) Chairman Victor Lim and JPDC President Rogelio Singson. The festival was
set to be held every February. The idea of the festival was presented to
various sectors of the community. The response was a fusion of zealousness and
urgency.
The intended festival must reflect the
history, traditions and values of Baguio
City and the Cordilleras.
Thus in October 1995, the Baguio Flower festival acquired a face. Trisha
Tabangin, a student from Baguio
City National
High School, created an
artwork that highlighted a spray of sunflowers and submitted it to the annual
Camp John Hay art contest. With Ben Cabrera (now National Artist for Visual
Arts) leading a panel of judges, Tabangin’s artwork was handpicked as the
official logo of the festival. Shortly thereafter, Prof. Macario Fronda, band
master of the St. Louis
University, composed the
festival hymn which was infused with the rhythm and movements of the Bendian
dance, an Ibaloi dance of celebration. The circular movements of the Bendian
dance verbalize the unity and harmony of the tribe; it was reflective of the
coming together of the various sectors of the community to bring the BFF to
life. It was in 1996 that the Baguio Flower Festival acquired a local name. Ike
Picpican, an archivist and curator of the Saint Louis University
Museum, came up with the
Kankanaey term which denotes "a season of blossoming, a time for
flowering."
Panagbenga. Let a thousand flowers bloom.
~ o ~
The annual staging of the Panagbenga has
become a very much anticipated event. Thru the years, it has grown and has
evolved. It has blossomed from a spectacle to be being spectacular.
The Baguio Flower Festival has become the Northern Philippines’ most sought after performance and
installation art show staged more than 4,500 feet above sea level. Its massive
theatrical expanse covers most of the city proper main arteries and byways with
Session Road as the central arena. It exhibits a colossal pageantry of
Cordillera art, customs and traditions.
Not only is the whole local community a
participant in the spectacle but people from other localities outside of Baguio City
as well. Drones of denizens conduct an annual voyage to be in this place at
this particular time of the year. They take part in what could be is seen as a
massive performance art of street dancing along the main thoroughfares. Clad in
costumes inspired by the blossoms yet reflective of the ethnicity and way of
life in the Cordilleras. The main streets of Baguio City
then transcend to become the center stage for what is probably the most unique
exhibit of installation art. Floats parade, decked with flora, seemingly
sculpted, painstakingly installed. And all throughout this vast
performance/installation arts presentation, the sound of the native Cordillera
musical instruments resonate. The traditional Cordillera beat that mirrors the
essence of unity and accord echoes to the farthest crevice of the Baguio City
landscape. It sinks deep, in the hearts and souls of every Cordilleran and the
citizens of Baguio
City, with its persistent
call to rise up and move on, to bloom and prosper.
~ o ~
Ruprupa. In the midst of the faces of
Panagbenga are the blossoms for which the festivities stand for. They are the
divas in this unique gathering of talents. Each blossom is a participant in the
staging of this exceptional pageantry.
Where in the face of every man, woman and
child replicates a blossom; where in the hearts and souls of every Baguio citizen the sprouts
the gaiety of simple life; where in every Cordilleran, the culture and
tradition flourishes.
Panagbenga. Let a thousand flowers bloom a
million fold.
Images:
Russel Arriola
Texts:
JCrisanto Martinez, 2007
Read more...
