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The Panagbenga Experience in Perspective

“Panagbenga” the “dreaded” event, especially for locals, is almost here. It is the time of the year when tension is high. Pollution and traffic to name a few causing people to be hot-headed and will turn to social media to throw their fit. Locals the most complain about the tourists that come up to witness the prestigious event. Tourists whom locals depict as undisciplined and can’t seem to follow simple rules on the maintenance of parking and cleanliness here in the city depict locals as snobs, thus hating the city as a whole, resolute not to visit the summer capital ever again.

The Panagbenga Festival

“Panagbenga” is an annual event celebrated to commemorate the city’s rise after the 1990 earthquake that devastated the whole city. It is the season of blooming as what the “Panagbenga” literal meaning says, hence as the flowers bloom, the city also blossom. The event brings forth vibrant colors back to Baguio. As the event slowly grows, it also overshadowed the effect of the devastation, slowly making a scene as not only the summer capital of the country but a “save the date” celebration not to be missed.

“Panagbenga” was created to gather wonderful people around the world and to enjoy the serenity of the city and to showcase what the city can truly offer. This is an annual event after all so perhaps we as locals should already know the impact it has on us. We must accept and embrace the changes it has to offer. We must be proud after all, not all cities in the world are being traversed by thousands of visitors. We should be proud as a resident of this city, how artistic and beautiful our city is. Leave all those laments behind, there will always be conflicts and problems along the line but that’s how it is. We’ll just have to acknowledge these difficulties and maybe do something about it. Do something that won’t of course, alienate our visitors but will give them enough reason to come back and visit our city again.


The Panagbenga Festival For Some and For me

“Panagbenga” is an occasion where locals usually stay at home while some would go out of the City for a vacation. For most residents, they usually stay at home and watch the live telecast instead. The parades are pretty much the same as what we have from the very previous parades but for some, that is not what they are really looking forward to seeing, but the number of people who went out of their way to watch the parade, mentally estimating if whether it surpasses the number from that of last year.

I truly enjoy seeing a lot of tourists in the city, I am proud that there are still people who believe in the beauty of the city of pines. To see the vibrancy of Baguio,  that those devastated by the killer earthquake so desperately worked to bring back is now a reality. Baguio has a lot to offer and not all locals are snobs. I hope that moving forward, the Panagbenga Festival will truly be celebrated by everyone, residents and tourists alike. For tourists and residents to have the most wonderful Panagbenga 2018 experience which can be achieved if we all just be extra mindful of each other. The Festival nay Baguio City is for everyone after all, lest we forget that we all live on the same planet, called Earth.

 



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