CLARK FREEPORT -- A shopping mall in Tarlac City has received a Hall of Fame title after winning the Belenismo sa Tarlac Awards for three consecutive years.
SM City Tarlac reigned at the 12th Belenismo sa Tarlac Awards Night bringing home the Grand Champion award under the Grand Monumental - Non-Municipal Category for the third consecutive victory on November 29, 2019.
The shopping mall has won under the same category in 2017 and 2018.
For its 2019 entry, SM City Tarlac created a 9-foot fountain in the middle of its Belen which signifies God as the source of life, purity, and wisdom.
The mall's Belen has an intricate design brought to life by one of Tarlac's main agricultural products - sugarcane. Complementing the colorful water-and-light-producing fountain were indigenous jute sacks and bagasse fibers wrapped around it. Bagasse is a pulp-like residue after extracting the sugarcane stalks.
The creative use of real hay for the manger not only relives the biblical scene, but also highlights another major product of Tarlac.
For a sophisticated flowing water effect of the fountain, SM City Tarlac opted to use treated wastewater from the Mall's Sewage Treatment Plant, so as to further promote environmental sustainability. The base platform was made of cracked, damaged tiles from the warehouse of the mall. These were repainted and placed in a fastidious manner to achieve a bright, gradient effect.
As tourists appreciates the Belen, they are also given the opportunity to submit themselves into prayer as the Belen displays four renditions of the "Prayer Before The Belen" - in English, Filipino, Kapampangan, and Ilocano.
The Belenismo awards night was graced by Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, Guest of Honor and Speaker General Noel Clemen, Chairman of Tarlac Heritage Foundation Dr. Issa Cojuangco Suntay, Lieutenant General Ramiro Rei, Major General Bob Daus, and Major General Lenard Agustin.
A total of 42 entries competed for this year's Belenismo.
Belenismo sa Tarlac is organized by Tarlac Heritage Foundation, Inc.
The Tarlac Heritage Foundation, Inc. was registered by a group of incorporators who aim and focus on the preservation of the cultural heritage of the province of Tarlac for the future generations by providing and introducing projects and programs that would assist the TarlaqueƱos in the preservation, protection, promotion and enrichment of the province of Tarlac's rich historical and cultural values and resources.