It was a day of pomp and ceremony.
Finally, after one hundred fifty-eight years, the people of Isabela enthroned Queen Isabella II of Spain in her place of honor in the front and center of the sprawling eight hectare compound of the Isabela Provincial Capitol, the province’s seat of power.
Basking in the glory of the province’s rich cultural heritage and taking great pride in her immense agricultural prowess, the people of Isabela led by Governor Faustino Dy III and Vice Governor Tonypet Albano celebrated the province’s 158th Founding Anniversary, focusing on the theme “Isabela: ang pagsibol ng bagong sentro ng AGRIkultura”.
Lumutang ng husto ang galing at pagkamalikhain ng Isabeleño matapos tanghaling kampeon ang Isabela Bambanti Festival float sa Aliwan Fiesta 2014 na ginanap kamakailan sa lungsod ng Pasay. Tinalo ng likha ng lalawigan ng Isabela ang labing-anim na kalahok mula sa iba’t ibang panig ng kapuluan kabilang ang Utanon Festivalfloat ng Cebu at ang Indayog ti Sabsabongng Baguio City.
Ang bayan ng Luna ang kumatawan sa lalawigan ng Isabela matapos tanghaling Kampeon sa Bambanti Festival noong Enero. Ayon kay Mayor Jimmy Atayde ng naturang bayan, sa labimpitong pabolosong float
na kumatawan sa iba’t-ibang festivals sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao, lutang na lutang ang ganda ng Isabela float na pinatingkad ng maliliit na butil ng bigas, mais at munggo. Hila ng dalawang matitikas na kalabaw, inilarawan ng float ang iba’t-ibang aspeto at proseso ng pagsasaka katuwang ang bambanti na siyang simbolo ng galing, sipag, tatag, at pagkamapagmatyag ng lahing Isabeleño. Tampok din dito ang St. Mathias Church ng Tumauini na itinayo noong 1707, isa sa mga pinakalumang simbahan sa Pilipinas at kilala dahil sa kanyang kakaibang cylindrical bell tower at ang Magat Dam na tinaguriang pinakamalaki sa buong Southeast Asia.
Euphoric over the unprecedented success of the 2014 Bambanti Festival, Governor Faustino Dy III and Festival Execom Chair Vice Governor Tonypet Albano are proposing the holding of a regional scarecrow festival next year, and they already have a name for it – Bambanti FestiValley.
Coined by Luna Mayor Jimmy Atayde, FestiValley is a play of words which wittingly captures the essence of a single festival for the five provinces of the Cagayan Valley region – Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, a move fast gaining ground among tourism and local officials.
Looks like the year of the wood horse is actually the banner year of the municipality of Luna!
What started as a let’s-just-have-some-fun participation in the 2014 Bambanti Festival competitions ended up in Luna’s romping away with the over-all championship in the municipal category besting bigger and more affluent LGUs, certainly no small feat for what is considered as one of the smaller towns in the country’s second largest province.
While Mayor Jimmy Atayde attributes the victory to the remarkable work ethic and excellent teamwork among the creative team, the latter insists they certainly could not have done it without the hands-on, multitasking local chief executive who juggled governance and involvement in the creative process,
