Pangasinan has its Christmas Village capital
SAN MANUEL—From being known as host to the largest dam in the Philippines and the 16th largest in the world, this town is out to earn another moniker as the Christmas Village Capital of Pangasinan that draws thousands of curious visitors every Christmas.
Vi Corpuz, tourism officer designate here, said thousands of their townmates and neighboring municipalities and provinces, have been visiting their Christmas village every year, now on its fourth year.
Every year, the local government under Mayor Alain Jerico Perez and his father, Vice Mayor Salvador Perez, adopts a theme for the Christmas Village. This year it’s “San Manuel goes to Hollywood”.
Some of this year’s features are Avatar, The Lion King, Lord of the Rings, The Cars, Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda, Transformer, The Avengers, Inside Out, Sponge Bob, Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer, Jurassic Park, What Happened in Vegas, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gods of Egypt, Maleficent and Moana.
As soon as dusk sets in, the Christmas Village and the colorful lanterns lit transforming the village into one community of fantasy and bright colors that never fails to awe the visitors. Lights are turned off at 2:00 a.m.
“People come and go and admission is free,” Corpuz said.
All the departments in the local government, including the town water district and the Department of Interior and Local Government, compete and try to outdo each’s creativity using recycled and indigenous materials.
Each site measures 144 square feet area and no height limit. The local government gave them P50,000 each to be used for their concepts.
Awarding of prizes to the best entries will be on Dec. 26, the Unity Night.
Corpuz said as early as the onset of ‘ber’ months, the villagers start collecting the recycled materials like old plastic bottles, rice sacks, old wood, egg trays, newspapers, coco lumber, styrofoam, among others.
The Christmas Village opened on Nov. 29 and will remain open beyond the Three Kings celebration to accommodate more visitors.
“We used to be known as the host of the biggest dam in the country or the place for the San Manuel Hot Spring. Now we are becoming famous and more tourists come to our town because of our Christmas Village,” she added.
She said food and service business of locals peak during Christmas. (Eva Visperas)
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