Taytay residents give thanks at Hamaka Festival

The truth is the fiesta of Taytay is on 24 June, the feast day of St. John the Baptist. But it has been the custom of Taytay residents to have a thanksgiving day apart from the fiesta

The country’s garment capital is getting ready to celebrate this year’s Hamaka Festival, which is expected to draw thousands of tourists.

Now on its 45th year, Taytay, Rizal’s weeklong celebration will start on Thursday, 6 February for the “Araw ng Pasasalamat,” and will end on Sunday, 16 February for a car show and the mayor’s night and variety show.

“The truth is the fiesta of Taytay is on 24 June, the feast day of St. John the Baptist. But it has been the custom of Taytay residents to have a thanksgiving day apart from the fiesta,” Mayor Joric Gacula said.

He explained the thanksgiving was started by their farmer ancestors for the bountiful harvest from rice fields.

Because the harvest season happened on February, and if the produce was good, the local farmers celebrate “Araw ng Pasasalamat,” which they eventually called Hamaka Festival.

The mayor said the festival was named after the hamaka, the native hammock, which was believed to have been used to carry the young Jose Rizal to Antipolo when his mother, Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda Rizal, prayed to the Virgin of Antipolo.

However, Gacula said locals gave the word new meaning: HAmba, referring to the local wood and sash work trade; MAkina, referring to the sewing machines used by the garment industry; and KAbuhayan, referring to these as their means of livelihood.

“We invite everyone to visit our town for the Hamaka Festival, our town’s thanksgiving fiesta,” Gacula added.

TAYTAY, Rizal celebrates the 45th Hamaka Festival, an annual event that highlights the municipality’s wood and sash work and garment industries. Originally designed to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, it now attracts tourists with its colorful parades.