Mango, bamboo take center stage in fest

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan — For this city of 86 barangays, mango and bamboo make for a good mix for an annual festival highlighting its fiesta celebration.

Why not? Its vast farmlands — and backyards of barrio folk too — are planted with mango trees, while bamboo abounds along rivers and creeks.

"Why not use the top products which the city is famous for?" Mayor Julian Resuello recalled asking when the festival was hatched four years ago.

Since 2000, the festival, held every April 24-25, has caught attention, as it includes street dancing, a parade of floats and other activities heralding the mango and bamboo in the design of costumes and floats.

Mango production is the city folk’s major source of income. There are buying stations here where mangoes for export and for the domestic market are sorted out. In Baguio City, some sidewalk vendors even put tags on San Carlos mangoes to distinguish them from the rest.

Though the city’s "carabao" mangoes may not be as sweet as those from Guimaras province, Resuello said they have earned a good reputation for their high quality.

The city also boasts of its bamboo products, from baskets, beds, furniture, lamp shades, dividers and cabinets to the movable bahay kubo (hut) which Resuello claimed was a local original. In fact, a huge bamboo basket is displayed in front of the city museum.

Local bamboo products are showcased and sold in the "Bamboo World" held here every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Buyers come from Central Luzon provinces, Metro Manila and Cavite.

At least 34 of the city’s 86 barangays are engaged in the bamboo industry. — Eva Visperas, Cesar Ramirez