Editorial
A welcome break
FIESTA fever is on in Pangasinan with the back-to-back celebrations of Dagupan City’s Bangus Festival, the province’s most branded festival which formally opened on April 16 and will last until April 30, and the Pista’y Dayat (Sea Festival) on May 1.
Both are highly commendable in that these two festivals have gone way beyond the old-fashioned Philippine fiestas, rooted in our Spanish colonial past, which are known mainly for mere culinary extravagance wherein families are sometimes compelled to go deep into debt just to fill up buffet tables for guests, invited or otherwise.
The Bangus Festival and the Pista’y Dayat are celebrations highlighting the province’s rich natural resources, the environment, as well as cultural treasures. They serve to prop up economic activities and remind people of the value of the wealth that can be had from Mother Nature, more so if we learn to take care of her.
The Bangus Festival has also expanded its coverage to feature the cultural pride of the rest of Northern Luzon while the Pista’s Dayat has stretched its reach outside the coastal towns along the Lingayen Gulf to fittingly include the rivers all over the province.
And given the nearing elections, celebrating the bangus and the sea serve as twin stress-relievers from the highly-strung campaign period.
Of course, in the thick of all the merriment, there will always be opportunists who will take advantage of the crowds. Revelers should remain cautious as incidence of petty crimes such as pickpocketing and cellphone-snatching can be expected to rise. But even these misdemeanors are more tolerable than seeing hotheaded political leaders and their wards seeking to eliminate each other — figuratively and physically — due partly to the hot weather that makes campaign sorties extra straining, the intense emotions and peer pressure.
We do need a bit of relief from all the politics and politicking. A taste of bangus and a dip into the sea are a welcome “Don’t worry, be happy” diversion.
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