Marking Pampanga
A STRIDE in the right direction is the Pampanga tourism MTV launched recently.
No, I did not get to see the six-minute capsule of the best the province has to offer in festivals and food, in sights and sighs, in recreation and rest. Those who were there at the Lakeshore launch were bewitched and bedazzled by the “world-class” quality of the MTV. I can only agree. Knowing – even without seeing – that indeed, Pampanga has what it takes to be a principal tourist destination.
I have scaled Mt. Arayat twice in my youth – as a Media and Suprema seminarian at the Mater Boni Consilii Seminary; planted hundreds of seedlings at its slope as a government employee; refreshed at its cool waters as an excursionist.
Last year, I huffed and puffed climbing Brobdingnagian rocks to reach Miyamit Falls in Porac, then roller-coastered aboard Fidelis Arcenas’ souped-up Land Cruiser through the galudgud asu trail to the Porac summit, for a spectacular photo-op with Gov. Mark Lapid, Mayor Quiel Gamboa, CDC President–CEO Tony Ng, communications magnate Dennis Uy, along with the media boys backdropped by the crags, the streams and the lahar deposits of the seven mountains. I look forward to a return visit this month, taking the Pasig-Potrero trail this time, with a side trip to the hot springs.
The Mt. Pinatubo crater I reached also last year, but through the Calangitan trail in Capas, Tarlac. This trek was faithfully documented by artist-photographer Borj Meneses of CDC and duly recognized with a Certificate of Conquest signed by the DOT’s Ronnie Tiotuico and Mayor Rey Catacutan.
Mt. Pinatubo’s backside though – reminiscent of the mountains in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – I already beheld earlier in Porac.
I am no stranger to the Candaba Swamp, be it migrant bird season or during its annual inundation. Nature’s paradox of the beauty of life and the poetry of death induces a contemplative pause at Mayor Jerry Pelayo’s retreat.
Pampanga is one big festival. Hot Air Balloon at Clark in February, the spectacle of actual crucifixions and bloody penitents by the hundreds during the Holy Week in San Fernando – and now Angeles too, the Easter Sunday salubong and procession in Sto. Tomas, Santacruzan and the town fiestas in May, Piyestang Tugak in San Fernando, Tigtigan, Terakan king Dalan in Angeles in October, Binulo Festival in Porac in November, Sisig Festival in Angeles, Caracol in Sasmuan, the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, and Aguman Sanduk in Minalin in December. A mouthful – and those are only the ones I have experienced.
Pampanga is rich in antiquities too – the churches of Lubao, Bacolor, Betis, Minalin, San Luis, are as much a testament to the Age of Faith as to the innate craftsmanship of the Capampangan. A celebration of which is manifest in the baroque Grand Palazzo Royale of master craftsman Perto Cruz.
The Archdiocesan Museum, the Capampangan Museum in Clark and the Center for Capampangan Studies at Holy Angel University are an attraction all their own – not only to those into anthropological studies but to plain folks like you and me, wanting to know a little more about our own history as a distinct people.
Clark makes one whole package – the airport, the recreation estates, hotels and golf courses, the casinos and restaurants, even the mothballed Expo Filipino. For the historical buffs, there are the cemeteries – for veterans and their pets too, the historical landmarks and buildings.
There is more to Pampanga than all these I mouthed so far. The Capitol’s MTV has said as much. And it can only do so much. Marking Pampanga as a tourist destination, for one.
Now, the next thing to do is to take it from there. All tourism stakeholders unite! The hoteliers and restaurateurs, local government units and travel agents, the entertainment circle – from Fields Avenue down Balibago to the acoustic joints of San Fernando have to band – and bond – together to package the province. Not only as a seasonal stop but a year-round destination.
Pampanga, to iterate, has everything that satiates the realm of the senses. Pampanga is at the crossroads of traffic – in trade, in commerce, in tourism, in – literally – transportation.
The coming of the budget flights at Clark is a boon to making Pampanga a major tourism destination.
All that remains is for all of us to get our act together. Mark that up as priority one.
No, I did not get to see the six-minute capsule of the best the province has to offer in festivals and food, in sights and sighs, in recreation and rest. Those who were there at the Lakeshore launch were bewitched and bedazzled by the “world-class” quality of the MTV. I can only agree. Knowing – even without seeing – that indeed, Pampanga has what it takes to be a principal tourist destination.
I have scaled Mt. Arayat twice in my youth – as a Media and Suprema seminarian at the Mater Boni Consilii Seminary; planted hundreds of seedlings at its slope as a government employee; refreshed at its cool waters as an excursionist.
Last year, I huffed and puffed climbing Brobdingnagian rocks to reach Miyamit Falls in Porac, then roller-coastered aboard Fidelis Arcenas’ souped-up Land Cruiser through the galudgud asu trail to the Porac summit, for a spectacular photo-op with Gov. Mark Lapid, Mayor Quiel Gamboa, CDC President–CEO Tony Ng, communications magnate Dennis Uy, along with the media boys backdropped by the crags, the streams and the lahar deposits of the seven mountains. I look forward to a return visit this month, taking the Pasig-Potrero trail this time, with a side trip to the hot springs.
The Mt. Pinatubo crater I reached also last year, but through the Calangitan trail in Capas, Tarlac. This trek was faithfully documented by artist-photographer Borj Meneses of CDC and duly recognized with a Certificate of Conquest signed by the DOT’s Ronnie Tiotuico and Mayor Rey Catacutan.
Mt. Pinatubo’s backside though – reminiscent of the mountains in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – I already beheld earlier in Porac.
I am no stranger to the Candaba Swamp, be it migrant bird season or during its annual inundation. Nature’s paradox of the beauty of life and the poetry of death induces a contemplative pause at Mayor Jerry Pelayo’s retreat.
Pampanga is one big festival. Hot Air Balloon at Clark in February, the spectacle of actual crucifixions and bloody penitents by the hundreds during the Holy Week in San Fernando – and now Angeles too, the Easter Sunday salubong and procession in Sto. Tomas, Santacruzan and the town fiestas in May, Piyestang Tugak in San Fernando, Tigtigan, Terakan king Dalan in Angeles in October, Binulo Festival in Porac in November, Sisig Festival in Angeles, Caracol in Sasmuan, the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, and Aguman Sanduk in Minalin in December. A mouthful – and those are only the ones I have experienced.
Pampanga is rich in antiquities too – the churches of Lubao, Bacolor, Betis, Minalin, San Luis, are as much a testament to the Age of Faith as to the innate craftsmanship of the Capampangan. A celebration of which is manifest in the baroque Grand Palazzo Royale of master craftsman Perto Cruz.
The Archdiocesan Museum, the Capampangan Museum in Clark and the Center for Capampangan Studies at Holy Angel University are an attraction all their own – not only to those into anthropological studies but to plain folks like you and me, wanting to know a little more about our own history as a distinct people.
Clark makes one whole package – the airport, the recreation estates, hotels and golf courses, the casinos and restaurants, even the mothballed Expo Filipino. For the historical buffs, there are the cemeteries – for veterans and their pets too, the historical landmarks and buildings.
There is more to Pampanga than all these I mouthed so far. The Capitol’s MTV has said as much. And it can only do so much. Marking Pampanga as a tourist destination, for one.
Now, the next thing to do is to take it from there. All tourism stakeholders unite! The hoteliers and restaurateurs, local government units and travel agents, the entertainment circle – from Fields Avenue down Balibago to the acoustic joints of San Fernando have to band – and bond – together to package the province. Not only as a seasonal stop but a year-round destination.
Pampanga, to iterate, has everything that satiates the realm of the senses. Pampanga is at the crossroads of traffic – in trade, in commerce, in tourism, in – literally – transportation.
The coming of the budget flights at Clark is a boon to making Pampanga a major tourism destination.
All that remains is for all of us to get our act together. Mark that up as priority one.
posted by A.Caesar Z. Lacson at 9:05 AM
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