It was colorful, earthly and rich.
I have never gotten a chance to attend a fiesta and my excitement woke me up 1:30 in the morning. It was the 15th of May and people of Lucban were going to celebrate their yearly Pahiyas Festival as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest and as prayer for a better year ahead.
The morning fog made the long walk from the fields where vehicles were allowed into the town proper quite pleasant. And having a full view of the majestic Mt. Banahaw didn't hurt.
When we arrived at the town proper, we looked for the restaurant where breakfast was and we had a simple meal of Lucban longanisa. After which, we went around the town to look at the colorful houses adorned in kiping, fruits, vegetables and rice stalks.
I must say, the whole town embodies everything that a Filipino is - simple, welcoming and lively.
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| Kiping displays in different colors |
Kiping, rice wafers that are used as decoration can be seen in almost (if not all) the houses.
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| Mga dalagang bukid |
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| San Isidro Labrador is the patron saint of farmers |
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| This is one of my favorite houses |
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| Bahay Kubo! |
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| A sunflower made of kiping! |
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| C Bar with it's colorful facade |
The highlight of the festival is of course, the beautiful houses. However, there was also a parade of higantes and of pancit habhab mini-stores/display being pulled by carabaos.
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| pancit habhab mini store display (i think?) |
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| carabaos are used to drag heavy equipments in farming, but for the Pahiyas, they also get to take (and pull) the mini stores/display around town. |
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| And the higantes that made some children laugh and some children cry. |
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| Dianne and I by the Suman display |
Lucban is famous for two of their local food; langgonisa and pancit habhab.
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| stores like this can be found in every street in town |
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| This is the only photo I can get of pancit habhab |
Pancit habhab, according to a friend is called so because 'habhab' is actually the term for how you should eat it; that is on the banana leaf with no utensils whatsoever. It is extremely tasty and delicious, and is eaten with a little vinegar but I wouldn't suggest eating this on a first date, it gets very messy ;)
Another thing in Lucban is that they have prohibited using plastic. So they have all of these native bags or bayong for sale at a cheap cost. I think that this is a great initiative of their LGU because not only does it lessen their carbon footprint, it also provides livelihood to their people who makes these bags/ bayong.
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| Bayong for sale! |
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| Colored palay |
And of course, Pahiyas was a thanksgiving to God, so we had to visit their Church which was beautiifuuuul! It looks old and plants are growing all over but I think that it's what's charming about it. Knowing that it has withstood time and has been the focal point of so many variations of the Pahiyas and has remained exactly the same makes it all the more interesting.
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| Church windows |
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| The bell tower. The sound of the kampana signals the start of a mass and is heard all through out the town. |
After the long and enjoyable day, we left Quezon around 6pm. We had dinner at this beautiful restaurant called Kamayan sa Palaisdaan where you can eat Filipino food in their floating nipa huts.
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| Kamayan sa Palaisdaan |
I was such a long long day. But I had learned and experienced so much in one day. I'm glad to have had the chance to immerse myself in the culture of the people of Lucban. It makes me all the more proud to be a Filipino.
PS
Many of the photos, I stole from charm. ;)
