ScarecrowS come Spectacular and dancing in iSabela
In the early and last parts of the year, the weather in the northeastern portion of Luzon Island is bracing, with the wind making it nippy, much welcome in a tropical country that gets unbearably warm during the large part of the year. The province of Isabela takes advantage of this weather to hold what has arguably become the largest event in the Cagayan Valley Region.
The Bambanti Festival is an annual celebration of everything Isabeleño, showcasing the culture, food, tourist attractions and agricultural products, among others, of the sprawling province. It is one of the numerous modern-day festivals in the Philippines, created by local governments, social and promotional in intent, marked by parades and dancing inspired by the Brazilian Carnival, aimed at boosting business and tourism, themed according to local traditions or cultural symbols often made spectacular and made up of several events such as fairs, street dancing, beauty pageants and different contests.
According to festival director Nilo Agustin, veteran tourism worker and events conceptualizer and organizer, the Bambanti Festival started when the national tourism campaign, Wow Philippines, was launched in early 2000s, and then it was revived in 2011 to revitalize tourism in Isabela. It took the scarecrow, called bambanti in Ilocano, the dominant language and lingua franca in northern Philippines, as its inspiration, noting that it is a common object in the agricultural province. For the festival, the farm icon, made to scare birds that feed on crops, is construed as a protector and a guardian. While scarecrows are rarely used nowadays, they come alive in different forms and interpretations during this time — giant ones in different materials at the fair, a towering digital cartoon version during the showdown, dancers with scarecrow-inspired costumes and movements.
Another factor that influences the events and other creative endeavors is the year’s thematic message or slogan. For 2024, it was ostensibly tourism-oriented — “Ettam ngana ta Isabela,” which means “let’s go to Isabela” or “come to Isabela” in Ibanag, one of the languages of the region — meant to be an invitation to explore the province.
Exploring the province, one can start with this festival. The week, from 22 to 27 January, was packed to brim with shows, parties, parades, sports tournaments, a fair, a cooking contest, street dancing competition and a beauty pageant, among others, organized by the provincial government led by governor Rodolfo Taguinod Albano III and vice governor Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, who served as the festival’s director general, and their partners. Most of these events were held at the Isabela Provincial Capitol Compound in the barangay of Alibagu of the capital, Ilagan City, where vendors also converged and a makeshift tiangge emerged at the fringes.
Solemn and rouSing Start
The festival officially began with a thanksgiving Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel in Gamu, attended by the province’s officials and celebrated by Reverend Father Ric-Zeus Angobung, who said that the festival symbolized resilience, creativity and unity of the people of Isabela.
The Mass was followed by an opening ceremony, the start of the Agri-Ecotourism Exhibit and Sale at the Bambanti Village and the i-Run for Youth Center: A 5K Fun Run and Rave Party for a Cause, where 13,245 people registered to participate to raise funds for a center for youth development. The run was preceded by a Zumba session and ended with a party.
muSic and ShowS
Almost nightly, the festival held shows at the Queen Isabela Park for its music festival component that included “Harana Isabela,” featuring Arthur Miguel and local band MaryaKlara; “Isabela Jamfest,” featuring Comic Superstition, DJ Inna Gita and the cast of FPJ’S Batang Quiapo; “Banda Roon, Banda Dito,” featuring SunKissed Lola with local bands Pulse Melody and Lawis; and “Retro-Z Party,” featuring DJ Dom and Pulse Melody.
Two major musical events were held at the Isabela Sports Complex in the last days of the festival —“Ettam Ngana: KamanghaMangha, Kahanga-Hangang Isabela,” featuring Julie Anne San Jose, Thea Astley, Jessica Villarubin, Nic Galano, Rex Baculfo, Jeremiah Tiangco and Jake Gacang, together with the Whiplash Dance Company; and the Isabela Grand ConcertParty,featuringMorisetteand The Juans.
BamBanti Village and agri-ecotouriSm exhiBit and Sale
The Bambanti Village and the Agri-Ecotourism Exhibit and Sale ran for the duration of the festival, attracting crowds to the booths of the province’s different municipalities and cities.
Highlighting the towns’ icons, the booths were constructed mostly of a variety of locally sourced materials, mostly natural, making manifest the inventiveness of the designers and makers. Booths also came up with their own versions of the bambanti and lit up at night, making them more attractive. They also showcased the products, attractions and heritage of the different towns, very informative especially for visitors from other places.
There was a competition for the best booths and bambantis. Echague emerged as the winner in the Category A (for cities and firstclass municipalities) of the Agriecotourism Booth with Ilagan City placing second and Cauayan City third. Meanwhile in Category B (for second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-class municipalities), Cordon won the first place while San Pablo made it to second place and
Quirino third.
In the Giant Bambanti portion of the contest, the winners were Ilagan City (first), Echague (second) and San Mariano (third) in Category A, and Cordon (first), Burgos (second) and Delfin Albano (third) in Category B.
FeStiVal King and Queen coStumeS competition
Another vehicle to show local creativity was the Festival King and Queen Costumes Competition. The festival king and queen serve as leads in the street dancing competition and their costumes are more spectacular. Usually made of local and natural materials, the costumes are tributes to the towns’ heritage, cultures and festivals.
A separate competition, focusing on design, was held for these costumes. Entries were put on exhibit at the Isabela Provincial Capitol Amphitheater, before being worn, paraded and judged on 25 January.
The town of Ramon clinched first places in both the Festival King Costume and Festival Queen Costume portions in Category B, followed by San Agustin in second and Luna in third, also in both portions.
Designed by Michael Angelo Guiang, the dramatic Ramon entries consisted of traditional attires of the Gaddang, an indigenous group in Isabela, and large representations of a cobra and a crocodile, worn at the back.
Meanwhile in Category A, the town of Jones won first place both the Festival King Costume and Festival Queen Costume portions, followed by Alicia in second place, also for both portions, and Echague in third for Festival King and Santiago City in third for Festival Queen.
Designed by Danny Ross Trinidad, the Jones costumes were inspired by the town’s Pinilisa Festival, which highlights the red rice cultivated in Jones. Leaning towards traditional attire, and made up mostly of woven bamboo and nito vines and dried rice stalks, the costumes depicted the farming and harvesting of rice.
Queen iSaBela
Queen Isabela was also a popular event, as beauty pageants are very much part of Philippine festivities. This year, 28 contestants vied for the crown during coronation night on 24
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