Bayambang marks 405th fiesta
Bayambang, Pangasinan is celebrating its 405th year with grand events happening from April 1 to 8. Bayambang, located at the southern tip of Pangasinan, was the fifth capital of the Philippines during
Mayor Cezar Quiambao the first Philippine
and wife Niña Jose Republic under the revolutionary government of General Emilio Aguinaldo. The town’s vast territory used to include Bautista town, where the Philippine National Anthem was written by Jose Palma, and Camiling town (now a part of Tarlac), the home of Jose Rizal’s inspiration for Maria Clara, Leonor Rivera, and the birthplace of former UN General Assembly president Carlos Romulo.
The town fiesta coincides with the marking of the 400th year foundation of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish (the physical church was built in 1869), and worldwide, the commemoration of the 600th year of the saint’s death. The centuryold place of worship enshrines St. Vincent Ferrer, the patron saint of Bayambang, whose feast day is on April 5.
In line with this year’s fiesta theme “Bayang Pinagtibay ng Pagkakaisa at Pananampalataya Laban sa Kahirapan: 400 ng Pagpapala ng Parokya ng San Vicente Ferrer,” the municipal government of Bayambang, led by Mayor Cezar Quiambao, in cooperation with sponsors, organizers and Hermano and Hermana Mayor Dr. Henry Fernandez and wife Julie, prepared different activities meant to entertain local and foreign tourists and at the same time highlight Bayambangueños’ significant contribution to the town’s progress.
The occasion is a fitting opportunity for Bayambang to invite people in witnessing the ceremony in its latest attempt to make a new record in the Guinness Book of World Records with the bid as having the tallest statue of St. Vincent Ferrer. In 2014, it won the Guinness World Records for the longest barbecue grill.
The soon-to-be iconic monument will stand imposingly in Saint Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park, the first part of the sprawling 67 hectare new town center of Bayambang.
It was the idea of Mayor Cezar’s wife, Niña Jose, to create a statue of their patron saint to whom she is a devotee like her husband.