Roots
Kwentong turista
By Marifi Jara
QUELIMANE, Mozambique–Our recent three-week holiday in the Philippines whirled by and before we knew it, we are back here again, settling into the quiet Quelimane life.
While there, we had a chance to visit Lingayen on May 2, the culminating day for the Pista’y Dayat celebration. Our main intent was to tour around a couple-friend based in Tarlac, a Filipina development worker and her husband, an American who spent many of his growing-up years in the Philippines, later became a Peace Corp volunteer and now continues to serve in the NGO sector. We arrived just in time for some sunset photos and it was great to see a big crowd enjoying the beach. Sadly, there were quite a lot of rubbish around and while I think that the undisciplined visitors are largely to blame for that, perhaps the provincial government could prompt better restraint by placing more garbage cans in the area. Sayang because the Pista’y Dayat has been well programmed as a venue for promoting concern for the environment — teaching the people to keep the beach clean would be a small task with a remarkably visible result.
We then went around the commemorative exhibit for the Lingayen Gulf landings but we were unable to fully view it because the spotlights were off. I would not think it was an energy-saving scheme but more of an oversight, considering that the rest of the capitol grounds was well-lit. It was unfortunate really because there were quite a lot of people, including children, who were there and what a waste that they were not able to fully appreciate what could have been a good history briefing. Sayang.
Unexpectedly, the much bragged about capitol building and the Sison Auditorium were open for public viewing that evening, including the governor’s office. It was a pleasant surprise and it gave the impression that the provincial administration is one that is sincere and recognizes the meaning of public ownership. We were all wondering, however, why the furnishings, as proudly explained by the lady guide there, were commissioned and bought from Pampanga when we saw well-crafted wood furniture being sold in shops along the road going to the capitol from Dagupan. Why not a proudly Pangasinan-made interior décor?
And I must say that I found both buildings a bit too ostentatious for my taste and some parts of it, especially the chandeliers, gave me a shuddering imeldific feeling. Nonetheless, we would give the overall capitol grounds a thumbs-up mark because it gave an impression of order and careful upkeep, which could very well represent a well-meaning, well-organized and forward-looking provincial government.
Those couple of hours of touring left us parched and so we sat around for some drinks, and we got excited to watch the grand finals of the Konsyerto sa Gulpo, a battle of local bands composed of young members, aimed at promoting environmental awareness. Irritatingly, the show’s hosts went blabbering on and on — repeatedly promoting the event’s main sponsor as if the banners and tarpaulins all around were not screaming enough and as if there were competing alcoholic beverages available at the venue! And the machismo talk was really unnecessary, please. Weren’t they told that the concert was mainly dedicated to Mother Nature? Two hours into the advertised starting time of the show, with the hosts continuing to talk nonsense on stage, we felt we had stretched our patience enough and decided not to hang around for the music. Sayang, but we were really at our tolerance’s end.
Disappointments aside, I would say that our guests left Pangasinan with enough sweet words to speak about the province. And hopefully, it will be sweeter the next time around.
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