Masskara fans pack up to join Western Visayas Tourism Assembly

Masskara Festival fans from outside Bacolod started packing up yesterday to join the bigger and more impressive Western Visayas Tourism Assembly in Iloilo City which opens Monday and runs until Oct. 29.

That expectation of a bigger bash did not dim the Bacolodnons enjoying to their hearts’ delight their Charter Day anniversary partying at the Bacolod Plaza, Araneta street and the Fountain of Justice Wednesday night.

The countdown to Charter Day was held for the third time. Present were Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Rep. Monico Puentevella, and Councilors Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, Homer Bais, Al Victor Espino and Jude Thaddeus Sayson as well as officials of the TeleTech call center.

It was literally a ball. And the impressive thing is that there were hardly any troublemakers around. People simply enjoyed themselves, dancing the night away until the wee hours of the morning.

Despite the free flowing beer, what was surprising was that, as of press time, there were hardly any major problems that reached us.

But Bacolodnons have reason to celebrate. Everybody has enjoyed the economic gains of the city. And there are more job opportunities for them with at least four call centers having started operations in the city.

Iloilo’s feverish preparations

Iloilo plunged into last-minute feverish preparations for the Western Visayas Tourism Assembly which formally opens Monday, Oct. 23, at the SM City Activity Center.

Tomorrow, Sunday, will be the ingress of participants from all over the region and the final fine-tuning of the travel exhibit booths at the SM City Mall.

On Monday, the opening of the travel exhibit will usher in the opening program. The Edwin Duero Dance Company will perform and the participants will be presented with gifts.

This will be followed by the Ang Bahandi sang Nakatunday Kabisayana (A walk through the region’s cultural heritage).

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano will be the guest speaker in the opening ceremonies.

The program starts with the Doxology and the singing of the Pambansang Awit.

Western Visayas Regional Development chairwoman, Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez, and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, who chairs the host committee, will welcome the delegates to the assembly.

Most of the local officials in the region are expected to be present since their respective provinces will showcase their tourism festivals.

They will be formally introduced to the participants in the assembly.

The festival showdown will also be choreographed by Edwin Duero.

This will also be lightened up by the presentation of the candidates to Miss WV Tourism. Each province or major city will have its own bet for the title.

Cocktails will then be served by the DOT VI. There will be several presentations by various groups from the different provinces.

Regional tourism director Edwin Trompeta will welcome the delegates.

The Tuesday program is the one that attracted by attention. For the first time, I learned that Ibahay will present the Ati-ati, the original version of the more famous Ati-atihan street dancing.

Aklan, I learned, will showcase not only the Ati-ati of Ibajay and the Kalibo Ati-atihan, but also the Nabas Bariw Festival.

Bariw, the Nabas festival, celebrates the town’s patron saint, St. Isidor the Worker.

Bariw is a plant whose fiber is woven by Nabas indigenous people into handbags, hats, mats and other products.

The plant is endemic in the Nabas countryside and is the backbone of a thriving cottage industry of the townsfolk.

The highlight of the festival is a street dancing participated in by the 20 Nabas barangays.

Nabas Mayor Romeo Dalisay is expected to attend the affair. And he will most probably brief the audience on the value of the Hurom-hurom tourist spot. As a matter of fact, one of its major features is a spring from the base of the mountain that serves as a boundary between Antique and Aklan and empties into the village where my family has a swimming pool that is forever fresh and cool.

There are many other bathing spots which visitors frequent, including the more ornate resort beside our small niche there.

But the one that has always won my admiration is the Ibajay Ati-ati. This has managed to retain its religious and cultural purity. It succeeded in preventing its commercialization despite the persistent attempts by big firms to join the Ati-ati.

Ibahay is the most populous town of Aklan province. It is near Boracay and also boasts of wide beaches, although not as white as those on the resort island.

What makes Ati-ati unique is that it has retained its aboriginal reputation as a truly religious and cultural practice over the years. The legend is that the image of the Sto. Niño (the Holy Child Jesus) at the parish convent was discovered by a fisherman in one of the town’s fishing villages. He brought it home but it disappeared later. Sometime afterwards, it was installed in the parish church but disappeared again. It was finally found again on the spot where it had originally been discovered.

Perhaps, no town in the country has as many professionals abroad as Ibajay. Yet every year, they come home just to fulfill their vow to pay tribute to Sto. Niño. It is usually to thank Sto. Niño for a favor granted or to ask Him to listen to their prayers.

The most touching is that every barangay has its own float. The decorations are the main products of the village. As I had previously mentioned, once I thought that one float was decorated with pink-colored flowers, but upon close examination, I discovered that they were shrimps and lobsters with barbecued fish on sticks.

And, yes, a bystander may ask the festival participants for food which are carried in packets in their canes or walking rods.

Well, I hope to be able to see you at the Western Visayas Tourism Assembly in Iloilo.