Arggh. We almost missed blogging about this. Bad, bad us. We actually planned to blog about the Lang-ay Festival which ends tomorrow with a street dancing parade in Bontoc but we’ve been busy hehe. Anyways, its better late than never.
Mountain Province celebrates the Lang-Ay Festival
Manila Bulletin
Mountain Province is staging the fourth “Lang-Ay Festival” in celebration of Mountain Province Day on April 7. The weeklong festival starts on April 1 and culminates on April 7.
The “Lang-Ay Festival” was the biggest crowd-drawer event in the province when it was launched in 2004 to promote the wine production business in the province. With the success of the first “Lang-Ay Festival,” it was made part of the annual cultural activities of Mountain Province Day.
Continue Reading…
Do you need a vacation? Of course, who doesn’t need a vacation. Everybody does. The challenge is where to get that money for your dream vacation :-)
But if sourcing your travel funds is not an issue and you’re only concerned about about where to go, what to do, how to plan, etc. then weneedavacation.com could be helpful. The website “offers travel enthusiasts tools to create, plan, and save vacations”. If you’re looking for affordable Panama City vacation rentals for instance, weneedavacation.com can help you with that information.
By the way, another interesting feature you’ll find in the site would be its video section where you can watch video footages of the properties you intend to rent. Actually seeing these properties in video format is much better than reading about them in brochures, don’t you think?
It’s not often that Cordi legislators land in the news for their legislative initiatives so this news report is interesting. Not sure what to say about it yet but we hope to get a copy of the bill to understand it more clearly hehe.
Based on the report below however, it seems like the bill is out to do a lot of things: sanction impersonators (does this include anti-Gloria impersonators?); prohibit religious or racial discrimination; prevent unnecessary, unjustified, illegal and degrading search because of his or her clothing, religion, color, creed and ethnic identity; discrimination of job applicants because of his or her name, religion or ethnic background; etc.
Quite a tall order. By the way, I heard some stories about our Muslim brothers and sisters having to change their names to non-Muslim sounding ones just so they can have a chance to get employed. Apparently, some employers/recruiters will reject a candidate’s resume simply because of his/her Muslim name.
How bad is that? Very bad. And we have the gall to call ourselves “the only Christian nation in Asia”. What a shame, no?
Seems like a lot of interesting events will be coming up these coming weeks. First, we told you about the Strawberry Woodstock. Then, there’s Cordillera Day which will be celebrated by our friends from the left. Then, now we have a Benguet Country Fair intended to showcase Kabenguetan’s love for everything country.
First Benguet Country Fair slated
Sunstar Baguio
THE Benguet people’s passion for western themes will be highlighted as the province hosts the first Country Fair, an event spearheaded by the newly organized Benguet Visitor’s Bureau (BVB).
Organizers of the 10-day activity said the affair will showcase the things about country lifestyles, which have become hit to the province’s constituents.
“This event is inspired by the Benguet people’s love for horses, jeans, boots, line dancing, country music and anything that makes a country type of lifestyle,” lawyer Damaso Bangaoet said.
Bangaoet is one of the organizers of the first Benguet Country Fair.
The event is initiated by the BVB, in coordination with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
BVB executive director Gregory Loy said while the affair would focus more on getting the constituents appreciate their potentials, the event will serve as added tourism attraction for Benguet.
The activity will run from April 25 to May 4 at the Palmaville in Puguis, La Trinidad.
Aside from the booths and exhibit areas that will display western materials, country fair-related competitions will also be held.
Organic products will also be featured as the bureau gears towards the promotion of organic production in the province.
The BVB, an organization aimed at coordinating the tourism activities of the province and its 13 towns, is initially composed of seven members — all from the private sector. (JC)
If you’re looking for something to do these next three weeks, joining the Cordillera day celebration would be a good option. Apparently the celebration will be held in Baay-Licuan, Abra this year so it is a good excuse to visit Abra province. Visit the CPA website for a background on Cordi Day.
Cordi day celebration goes to Abra
By Rimaliza Opiña
MINING and the government’s approval of explorations in minerals rich areas in the country will be theme of this year’s celebration of 24th Cordillera Day Celebration.
To be held in Abra on April 23 and 24, the event will be hosted by the local chapter of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), the Kakailian Salakniban Tay Nagtaudan (Kastan)
This celebration of Cordillera Day is one of the three celebrations spearheaded by several groups here, two of which are led by the Cordillera Regional Assembly and local government units.
The event will also advance the call for the immediate implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) for it to be meaningful in the recognition of indigenous peoples’ collective right to self determination, the CPA said in a statement.
The CPA is a staunch oppositionist of mining activities in the region because of its impact on environment as well as it displaces indigenous peoples in areas where mine exploration are done.
Pending mining applications of local and global mining giants cover 1.2 million hectares or 66 percent of the Cordillera land area, the CPA said.
Celebration of Cordillera Day has also expanded abroad in Hong Kong, Belgium, Macau, Taiwan, and Japan. These are organized by migrant workers together with international solidarity partners and advocates of Cordillera struggles and indigenous peoples’ rights.
“More than just a gathering, Cordillera Day is a political statement on present realities by the militant Cordillera people’s movement. It carries with it the historical advances of the mass movement for self determination and national democracy,” the CPA stressed.
Ahh Quebec, the land of the Quebecois or that “other” Canada which every now and again dreams of becoming a separate nation. Because of its politics, we must say that Quebec is probably the most interesting part of Canada. No offense meant to the ROC (rest of Canada), you’re all fine and dandy but sometimes we want us some off-kilter political action and we’re more likely to see that in Quebec than, say, New Brunswick.
Of course, for tourism purposes, Quebec is also an interesting place so those of you planning your upcoming vacations may want to consider it as your next destination. Now, if you’re looking for luxury hotels Quebec, you might want to check out blueberrylake.com where you can have a “true country experience in a well-appointed Quebec-style log home, with first class client services”. Cool, eh?
By the way, here’s a tip we once got from an Anglophone (that means English speaking, dear reader) friend which we’re gonna share with you because you might need it if you ever find yourself in Quebec: If you talk to someone in English and s/he snottily responds to you in French, you should use a language other than English (say Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, etc) and that person you are talking to will use English faster than you can say, “Mont Tremblant”.
Here’s a video of an airsoft group based in La Trinidad, Benguet. The video gets repetitive when you reach the midpoint but the soundtrack still makes it interesting to watch. Nice editing too.
The group has a website here for those who are interested in joining STEALTH a.k.a. Special Tactics and Extreme Airsofters of La Trinidad Highlands.
VIDEO CREDIT: rastah87
