The city’s Bangus FISHtival

By Gerry Garcia

THE celebration of the Bangus Festival, which reeled off last Wednesday, the 16th of this month, was a rousing start headed by the city’s Mayor Al Fernandez at the city plaza in the morning.

Street dancers who were in the parade following the opening ceremony at the city square were an initial phase of the opening day. The second phase of this street dancing is open to everyone on April 26 as, after all, it will signify the city’s festivals of the North Street Dancing Competition.

On April 30, the soul of the Bangus Street Party, the kalutan or grilling of the bangus will emerge. It’ll be a special day featuring the participation of famous Manila bands like the Parokya ni Edgar, Blakdyak with Mocha. Bossing, GMA’s Kapuso, ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya and Sponge-Cola will provide entertainment simultaneously in seven stages (Thanks to E. Visperas for the info).

This year’s festival will also have competitions and opportunities reaching out to neighboring cities and towns in the province “to make everyone feel that the Bangus Festival is everybody’s fiesta,” said the city’s Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez who, by the way, being an entrepreneur of the first order, is the owner of the chain of CSI Malls in Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos.

While Belen and the city Mayor Al Fernandez are not related by blood, both are superb in coordinated leadership.

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This year’s festival for Dagupan’s famous bangus, being a singular event, the proposed inauguration of the opening of the new Dawel-Pantal-Lucao diversion road in April would have been equally auspicious had the authorities stopped counting the months instead of just days to it’s opening day.

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While the city has its bangus FISHtival, the province, including its chartered Dagupan City, has its SEA or dayat festival aptly called Pista’y Dayat—NOT Pista’y Daya!

The sea festival in Dagupan will hit the river-Pantal on its first day with a Fluvial Parade on May 1.

While in Lingayen, where the Pista’y Dayat was once an exclusive event, the sea festival will kick off on April 24 where a grand orchestra showdown featuring home-grown Street Orchestras will be staged.

On the following day, the first Tourism and Trade Expo highlighting the best products of every town and cities of Pangasinan will open at 10:30 in the morning. In the evening of the same day, a vocal solo competition featuring participants from each of the congressional districts will be staged.  Zarzuela and other musical shows (operas) in Pangasinan dialects, swimming, biking and foot-race will dominate the succeeding days.

On the night of April 27, the expanded Limgas ng Dayat now called Limgas na Pangasinan will show the talents of the beauty pageant participants from various towns and cities of Pangasinan.

The Philippines’s Madrigal Singers, arguably the most acclaimed mixed singing group in the country will perform at the Lingayen Beach on April 29.

The holding of the Limgas Na Pangasinan Pageant and Coronation night will be on May 1, culmination of Pangasinan Pista’y Dayat.

A complete and more reliable listing of Pista’y Dayat events and personalities can be had from the Provincial Information Office (PIO) at the provincial capitol in Lingayen.

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From Florida comes this letter to this writer:

Good morning to you, Sir Gerry!

How are you doing? Just want to say ‘Hi!’ to you after reading the above subject column. I am sure more Miamians or Floridians for that matter read your outstanding column every week. I think, its but “logical” (Remember me from your Philosophy 1 class way back in 1973? Btw, you exempted me from taking the final exams)) for us away from home to monitor  what is going on to our beloved homeland before settling for good (perhaps?).

More power to you, Sir Gerry! 

Thanks,

Jon Mario G. Cornel

Accountant 2

Department of Environmental Resources Management

Miami, Florida 33136

(Readers may reach columnist at sundaypunch2@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/here-and-there/  For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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