Boastful elements in all economic classes demonstrate our innate "kayabangan" not only in competing in a particular endeavor, but also in surpassing real or imagined rivals in bigness and scope.
This manifests during fiesta time when even our poor folks get into indebtedness to celebrate with lavish feast. Absent such would frighten them to humiliation or loss of self-esteem.
Municipal officials, through the fiesta committee, would go out of their way soliciting contributions. Sourcing from their own funds they want their fiesta "bongga." Events are usually spread out in a three-day observance of fanfare and activities that cost a fortune. Substance takes the backseat.
Meantime, a resident who gets bitten by a dog cannot be attended in the local health center for lack of vaccine. The local drainage system remains clogged, breeding dengue/malaria mosquitoes.
For lack of support, the police station cannot make follow-up work to solve a crime. Even the public toilets inside municipal halls are in a sorry dysfunction. But they spend huge amounts in fiestas.
Most public events in Pampanga, aside from being dispensers of colorful and loud amusement, do not foster a culture of community development and people's empowerment.
After the last drum beats, when the music ceases, and the tired legs of street dancers are put to rest, what do the participants and watchers imbibe in the exercise? After the expensive costumes, with time consuming and costly preparation involved as in the Sinukwan Festival, what do all these all amount to?
What values, or meaning, for instance, are evolved from the street spectacle mounted at great cost? Has it improved life in the Arayat countryside from whence the mythical figures of the big event supposedly originated? Has the Sinukwan Festival contributed to help promote tourism at the Mt. Arayat National Park, or contributed to its beautification?
These are our similar questions to organizers of various street spectacles in the province, like the "Kuraldal" in Sasmuan, an annual quasi-religious cult-like mass dancing that help increase the population growth.
The "Aguman Sandok" in Minalin, a parade of cross-dressing, grotesquely painted creatures, mocks womanhood and the gay gender in this "regional egg basket." The town should instead hold a Poultry Festival capped by hard egg-throwing contest. What a spectacle, with the hungry crowd as the beneficiary.
The "Libad Banca" in Apalit, a fluvial rite to honor St. Peter and St. Paul has not advanced the welfare of local fisherman. They should award equipment to motorize their crafts, or provide winning participants fishing gear and nets to improve their livelihood.
In Sta. Rita, the Duman Festival organizers have an agenda extraneous to promoting the specialty product, "duman" and trademark Pampango dishes.
Consigned as a sideshow to the main event of a Musicale, "duman" is sold beyond the price reach of the ordinary visitors, according to friends who attended the event. Only the moneyed guests could buy a "salop" of the glutinous rice at P2,000.
If at all, the festival is an elitist front for a performing group, catering only to bejeweled visitors and wealthy natives. Annual guests belong to Pampanga's elite who are entertained live in song and dance numbers.
People do not have any prejudice against staging traditions like San Fernando's Tugak festival. When people visit and watch the event being promoted, they expect to take home, in this case, edible frogs to be cooked at home. Organizers should bring a supply of tugak, the exotic item which the public can buy with an affordable price. Dagupan's Bangus Festival, for instance, offers bangus at give-away prices.
Governor Ed's longest tilapia grill event in Magalang, epitomized the one-town one-product program of the Trade department. When people travel to Magalang for the event, they expect to buy tilapia at a bargain price. What is the festivity for except to benefit local producers and patrons who celebrate the fish abundance and success of aquaculture there? At least the Angeles City "Sisig Festival" provides all visitors with the sisig dish they could order.
The San Fernando lanterns are the biggest, brightest, best designed in the country. Fernandinos have a reason to boast of this feat. The city officials have finally broken the hard line tradition exemplified by the saying "Pagkaabaaba man ang prusisyon, sa SM Mall din ang dating." Most event organizers mount their shows at SM where the audience becomes captive customers in the mall.
I was told that the SM people, on suspicion of hidden political agenda, would not want the City Mayor to achieve national popularity by staging the famous Parol Festival inside SM compound. Robinsons Starmills, the new display site, was the happy gainer in welcoming the lantern launch.
Porac's Binulo Festival adds to the global warming through smoke pollution aside from heavily decimating binulo plants in the mountainside. No objection is interposed provided the organizers replant the areas where they cut down the bamboo species to preserve the forest resources. And provide socio-cultural meaning to all concerned.
