Peste, Val

“Peste talaga Val!”

Y FRIEND expressed in our inebriated rituals. I thought it was about a Valen tines day frustration, but surprisingly it was about our most recent events. The exasperation though, did not boil from the “festival” itself but the very close transition from one festival to another – “it is like playing the championship game immediately after another game in a single elimination playoff ”.

In the “office” (unofficially), legend has it that the committees are still on the planning stage of the next festival (although the actual meetings started last year). “Peste, Val…parparigatem met dakami (You are making our lives difficult)”. The complications are difficult to explain; as an implementer, our actions are based on policies which are authored by authorities who have the mandate of the people. Hence, our actions are really mandates of the people – if they want a weekly festival, then so be it…daily festival? So be it. Plus, although as much as my colleagues refused to admit, they actually enjoyed every bit of it. I did too. The jokes are obviously only to pester you for drinks – “Peste, Val”.

The recently held La Trinidad Coffee Festival drove most of us to sick leaves which we could not afford – after all, who would be there for the upcoming Strawberry Festival? “Peste, Val”, my friend is actually laughing at the word play that could not be avoided. But, after the Coffee Festival and Strawberry Festival, we have a highland vegetable week (vegetable festival), tourism week celebrations, and many more. In the background, almost all towns are celebrating their own beautiful festivals. Hence, if festivals are essentially celebrations of blessings and bounties, then perhaps we could not afford to be irritated by them – festivals are positive manifestations of socio-economic development which all local governments strive for. These are, I believe,

M