Isabela’s dancing scarecrows…and more
By Bernard L. Supetran (Business Mirror) - February 18, 2018
Coupled with cartoon animation, techno-pop music, and capped by a pyrotechnics display makes the show a cut above the rest, enough to make it a perennial winner in the Aliwan Fiesta competitions.
Inatata, Bala-bala and Other Food Finds at Bambanti
MANILA, Philippines — Bambanti. It is the Ilocano word for “scarecrow.” In Isabela, where close to 69 percent of the population are Ilocanos, the province’s premier festival is named after the bambanti. The annual festivity not only pays tribute to the figurative guardian of the rice fields but also displays a literal outpouring of joy and thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest.
Located on the northeastern seaboard of Luzon, Isabela is the country’s second largest province in terms of land area, occupying almost 40 percent of the Cagayan Valley region. With its rolling terrain and fertile plain, between the foothills of the Central Cordillera mountain range to the west, the Sierra Madre to the east, and the grand Cagayan River that runs through it, Isabela thrives primarily on agriculture. It is the country’s No. 1 corn and monggo producer, as well as the country’s biggest rice surplus producer.
The Mindanao Grains Corn Processing facility in the municipality of Reina Mercedes is the biggest post-harvest plant in Asia. The Magat Dam in Ramon is the biggest dam in Southeast Asia, supplying the energy needs of Central Luzon and Metro Manila while servicing the irrigation needs of 95,000 hectares of farmland all year round.
With the theme “Isabela kong mahal” (Isabela, my beloved), this year’s Bambanti Festival, which was held from Jan. 22 to 27, featured a weeklong Agri-Ecotourism Exhibit and Sale at the pop-up Bambanti Village within the grounds of the provincial capitol in Ilagan City.
The 34 municipalities and three cities of the province set up their individual booths, each showcasing the different products they are best known for, such as mung beans (monggo) from San Mateo; aromatic red rice called Pinilisa from Jones; rice wine made from brown rice from Luna; moriecos, a sticky rice cake (suman) stuffed with latik (coconut syrup) from Cabatuan; Inatata (an Ibanag name), tiny suman also known as bala-bala, so called since they resemble a magazine of bullets when strung together; and pancit miki from Cabagan, to mention just a few of the many local products
BAMBANTI FESTIVAL; Celebrating Isabela’s bounty
It comes as no surprise then that its biggest festival would draw inspiration from its agricultural roots.
The Bambanti Festival is the province’s annual feast where all the towns and cities of Isabela come together to celebrate the province’s history and culture.
The bambanti is the scarecrow in local town – an ubiquitous sight in the province as it stands among the fields, a silent sentry of the crops that the province is known for.
The Bambanti, first conceived to ignite the premier Isabela Festival torch in 1997 by Former Governor Benjamin Dy and his wife Cecil, is a stately symbol for the Isabela farmer’s diligence and resoluteness to earn his keep, feed his family and produce for his community. It is a reminder of his enduring spirit – the kind that is relentless amid the harshness of storms that often visit his province - and his creativity in his untiring vigilance to safeguard his treasure and the promises it holds.
For Isabela, the bambanti’s towering presence is a reminder of the key that propelled Isabeleños to self-sufficiency and national economic prominence. It serves likewise as a directional sign pointing towards further greatness – Isabela’s dream future as a premier agro-industrial hub in the Pacific.
From corn coffee, to rice wine, to hand-carved accessories, each booth had something that would catch the eye of any visitor.
Guarding the booths were towering effigies of different scarecrows of different types.
From anthropomorphic livestock, to animatronic structures that move in tandem to the music being played from the booth, each giant bambanti was unique in both style and material.
The biggest event of the festival is the grand street parade.
During the show, contingents representing each town, city, and municipality of the province wowed the crowd with their performances.
The costumed performers danced to the beat of the Bambanti Festival anthem, drawing appreciative claps whenever a particularly flashy stunt or dance move was done.
Culture is the highlight of the festival and this is most apparent during the choral competition and the dance showdown.
During the dance showdown, groups told of Isabela, from its history, to recent events, to the daily lives of its citizens.
Meanwhile, the assembly hall was filled with harmonious voices as each choir dazzled the crowd with their vocal prowess.
A Festival of Scarecrows
Isabela makes tourism a priority through a very unique festival
By Art Sta. Ana
You’d think it was something right out of a production for a Jay-Z or a Justin Timberlake concert. The stage was massive, and the lights were 10 times as bright and colorful as those of the best clubs in Manila. The sounds were booming, and the beats were infectious. Only, instead of some foreign act gracing the stage that was set up in the middle of the Ilagan Sports Complex in Ilagan City, it was the delegates of the 22 participating Isabela cities and municipalities that were giving their all on and around the platform. For most of the participants, it was the performance of a lifetime, and they left everything on the stage during the Festival Dance Competition. There was no shortage of energy, and it made for some of the most amazing display of dances and cheers one would ever have the privilege of witnessing. It was one of the many activities held during the Bambanti Festival in the province of Isabela, a six-day long festival of festivals, grandiose enough to rival the best ones in the country. It was the ultimate showcase of the diligent, creative, spiritual, and resilient Isabelan spirit, a spirit so determined that not even the constant downpour of rain can stop. Nothing to be Scared of Scarecrows
“Isabela kong Mahal” tampok sa Bambanti Festival 2018
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan , Philippines — Sa temang “Isabela kong Mahal” nakatutok ang taunang pagdaraos ng pamosong Bambanti Festival na pagpupugay sa tagumpay ng mga mamamayang Isabelino sa larangan ng sining, pangkabuhayan, agrikultura, turismo at kaunlaran na gaganapin sa lalawigan simula Enero 22 hanggang 27, 2018.
Sinabi sa Pilipino Star NGAYON ni Isabela Governor Faustino “Bodjie” Dy III na nalampasan ng mamamayang Isabelino ang iba’t-ibang sigalot sa lipunan maging ito man ay gawang tao o likas na kalamidad ng nagdaang 2017 kaya patuloy ang martsa ng lalawigan sa tugatog ng kaunlaran.
Ayon kay Gov. Dy, hindi na kailangang lumipat sa partido ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang mga lider sa kanyang teritoryo upang mapalapit sa administrasyon at lalong mapaunlad ang Isabela.
Sinabi ni Dy na batid nilang hindi tinitingnan ng Pangulo ang kanilang kulay politikal kundi sapat na ang ipabatid nilang sinusuportahan ng liderato ng Isabela ang mga kampanyang pinaiiral ng Duterte Administration.
Sinuportahan naman ni Vice Governor Tony “Pet” Albano ang tinuran ng gobernador.
Ang pagdaraos ng Bambanti Festival ay kapapalooban ng mga socio-cultural, aktibidad sa turismo at sining gaya ng pagtatayo ng mga agro-industrial exhibits sa Kapitolyo ng Ilagan City at patimpalak kultura gaya ng street dance competition.
Pinagpipitagan ang tanging Isabela Festival sa nakaraang Aliw Awards nitong nagdaang tatlong taon at kinikilala bilang tanyag na pagdaraos ng pasasalamat sa tagumpay ng mga Isabelino.
Bambanti Festival 2018 highlights ‘Isabela Kong Mahal
GEARING up this 2018 is the annual Bambanti Festival, back with this year’s theme: “Isabela Kong Mahal” (Isabela, My Beloved Land), depicting Isabeleños’ ardent love for the land of their birth through various creative concepts and images.
Spearheaded by the Provincial Government of Isabela, the week-long festival will be celebrated from January 22 – 27, 2018, heralding the province’s rich cultural heritage, the resiliency of her people, as well as its indigenous world-class products, lifestyle, and cuisine as pride of place.
Through the theme “Isabela Kong Mahal”, Isabeleños will showcase their strong commitment to their beloved land and outstanding virtue of hard work, proudly sharing to visitors how their family-inherited traits contributed to the fast growing socio-cultural and economic development of the province.
