Panagbenga: Baguio in Bloom

Baguio proves that despite urbanization, a city can survive not only the test of time, but can also be reborn into the most beautiful bloom in the garden.

(Photo taken at The Manor, Camp John Hay)

When the Americans first arrived in the 1900s, Baguio was untouched and beautiful in its natural state – 1,500 meters above sea level, a marshland during the rainy season and a pasture for cattle the rest of the year. Perhaps because of its climate, Baguio (from the Ibaloi word bagiw, which means moss) was declared by the Americans as the summer capital of the Philippines on June 1, 1903.

According to Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan, World War II in the Pacific started and ended in Baguio City. It started with the bombing of Camp John Hay by the Japanese Air Force and ended with Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita signing the surrender of the Japanese Army in the US Ambassador’s residence at Camp John Hay. 

While many of today’s generation may not know of Baguio’s rich history and its role in World War II, they are certainly familiar with the city’s festivals, especially its internationally-acclaimed flower festival, the Panagbenga.

Now on its 14^th year, the Panagbenga – a Kankana-ey term for “season of blooming” – continues to fascinate tourists, both local and foreign, with the color and grandiosity that accompanies every festival. 

Panagbenga boasts of blooms from the whole color spectrum and a rich cultural heritage, formed by the local government as a tribute to the devastation of 1990 Luzon earthquake and to celebrate the unique cultural and historical identity of the “summer capital of the Philippines.” 

From a two-day floral and float parade in 1995, the festival has since grown into a more complex, five-week celebration composed of star-studded mall shows, traditional dances and concerts on Burnham Lake, open markets along Session Road, art exhibits, rice wine contests, jam sessions, firework displays, and many more. According to Domogan, over 1.5 million visitors trekked to Baguio during the last festival. The number of tourists was so overwhelming that even Victory Liner requested assistance from the local government to help coordinate parking for the150 buses that arrived every 10 minutes. 

And I believe those numbers. During the Grand Float Parade and Grand Street Parade, you literally could not see the buildings because of the walls of people who lined Session Road, inching themselves closer to get a better view of the bright theatrical floats and dancers in their majestic costumes mesmerizing the crowd with their acrobatics and choreography. It was a stunning sight – the waves of children in green abaca costumes and headdresses running downhill mimicking the sway of pandan fields, the smell of strawberry taho and colored roses that were as big as your hand, the applause of the approving crowd who showered the participants with pink and yellow confetti. It was truly a treat for the senses. More than 40 schools from the region participated in the Grand Street Parade and 23 floats appeared for the Grand Float Parade.

According to the “veterans,” there were significantly fewer floats than last year which may have left some spectators disappointed. Domogan and Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. explained that they had anticipated fewer floats because of the current economic conditions. But though sponsors may have tightened their pockets with their floats, they had contributed to other Panagbenga events. 

The event strategy for the Panagbenga was not to focus solely on the parades but to break down the celebration into smaller events to create different audiences for longevity. By creating more events and dividing the audience, more people were able to partake in the overall festivities, thus helping lessen the coordination problem experienced in previous Panagbengas when accommodations were scarce and traffic was hell during the entirety of the festival. But regardless of the added events, the Grand Street Parade and Grand Float Parade remain to be the favorite, the highlight of the Panagbenga. 

From the luxurious accommodation at The Manor at Camp John Hay, to the breathtaking burst of color and culture along Session Road, my Panagbenga experience was nothing short of spectacular. The Panagbenga organizers pushed the festival to the extremes and had succeeded; a hard feat to top for the coming year. So for 2010, as a new traveling convert, I will make sure to take a pilgrimage back to the “City of Pines” to see if it will continue to rise up to the challenge. 

First published in PeopleAsia Magazine