TRAVELOGUE: Arana’t Baluarte Festival

May 15, 2009 , Gumaca, Quezon Province.

As early as February, my fellow faculty in the university and I have plans of road-tripping to Bicol, passing by my hometown Gumaca, Quezon first to experience the Arana’t Baluarte Festival on May 15 before proceeding to Bicolandia. But weather did not permit us to pursue our plan. Rainy season came ahead of time. The plan was aborted.

Realizing that I have plans of going home on the 15th, my close friend Marc, a clinical instructor from Calapan City, signified his intention to join me in my way back home. And on the early morning of May 15, together with my eldest nephew CJ, we drove 200 kilometers south of Manila to watch the Arana’t Baluarte Festival of Gumaca, Quezon.

We left Makati (where I picked up CJ) at around 4:45 am. The journey went on smoothly except when we reached Sariaya, Quezon, one of the 4 town of Quezon that celebrate the thanksgiving feast to San Isidro Labrador. We were grid-locked in traffic jam so we decided to find another way. The less-travelled road seems like going to the slopes of the majestic Banahaw until we found our way back to civilization. We passed the dreaded bitukang manok of Quezon until we reached Gumaca. We took a rest first and went back to town proper at 3:00 pm and joined the town officials and guests in visiting each Baluarte.

Arana’t Baluarte Festival of Gumaca, Quezon started since time immemorial but gained popularity during the eraly part of 2000 because of the strong drive of public officials to develop tourism industry in the locality. It is being done in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Baluartes (bamboo arch) are erected in every corner of streets in the town proper and decorated with Aranas (bamboo chandeliers) filled with vegetables, fruits, and other agricultural produce. When the image of San Isidro pass by in the afternoon procession, the produce are dropped to the expectors, creating a friendly chaos in the streets.

We stayed for one more day before going home to Manila.