BAGUIO CITY—February is the month of flowers in this summer capital. And as in years before, on the first day of 2012’s second month, its streets exploded once again in a riot of happy floral colors and the vibrant sound of drum-and-lyre bands that reverberated all the way to the Athletic Bowl. It was the grand opening of what has become known as “the mother of all festivals” in the country—the famous “Panagbenga,” which, in the dialect of the Kankana-ey who started it, means season of blossoming. The Kankana-ey is one of the two original tribes in Benguet; the other is the Ibaloi.

The Panagbenga has long been marked by the indigenous peoples of Benguet-Baguio, perhaps by some minor rituals like dancing. But it was only as recently as 17 years ago that it started to be celebrated by the whole country, awakened partly by its beauty and largely by its tourism potential. Since then, authorities dedicated the whole month of February to the celebration of the blossoms.

Ushering in this year’s festivities were children from the city’s 14 elementary schools in their colorful floral costumes. Formed into drum-and-lyre bands (as opposed to the usual drum and bugle), they paraded down the city streets, ending up at the Athletic Bowl where they performed various dances, to the delight of a large audience awed by their terpsichorean skills and props.

The organizers heaved a sigh of relief after the children’s stunning performance. And why shouldn’t they?

The continued participation of children in the festival had been in question over the years. But last year’s criticisms were particularly nasty and this year, as the preparations began, the organizers were wary of the role the children would play in the Panagbenga. The criticisms came from many sectors and there were even those, in fact, who decried the participation of children as “exploitation” and demanded that it be stopped. Fortunately, however, those who continued to be “charmed” by the participation of children prevailed. And to address other concerns involving these young ones, such as the danger to their health as a result of exposure to too much sun and/or to showers or downright rain, the organizers made adjustments to make sure that this year, everything is done just right. Where in previous years the parade did not start on time, took too long and the activities too taxing—like having the parading children stop at certain points to perform before judges—it was shortened and made continuous, stopping only at the Athletic Bowl for the final “choreographic showdown.” Also, the organizers made sure the festivities started on time.  They likewise returned to the “drum and lyre” bands after complaints that the “canned” music from public-address systems, aside from their being eardrum-splitting, was not lively and entertaining.

Some festivals, with scores or even hundreds of years behind them, are constantly being modified to beautify and enrich their presentation and make them relate even more to peoples whose lives they touched traditionally and culturally.

Like them, Panagbenga, which was also born out of tradition and local legends and beliefs, has been and continues to be reinvented and redefined, but in particular, to boost the fading glory of tourism in this part of the country.

The festival, to be sure, is still trying to perfect its act, learning lessons from every staging, and reinventing itself—guided by past criticisms even after almost two decades of full-blown celebrations. Because the festival is not, in essence, a just ritual celebration but rather one that builds on the unique culture of the Cordilleras as an attraction, the authenticity of tribal representations is also consistently questioned.

Putting to rest the issue of authenticity has triggered a major change in the presentation of the festival. The Baguio Flower Festival (BFF) put in the hands of the Baguio Cultural Society the task of creating innovations that would bring order, aesthetics and reconcile authenticity with artistic license in this year’s festival.

This is what made the children’s event a happy situation for everyone.

Last year, the children’s parade was scheduled in the morning, minus their schools’ drum-and-lyre bands that were replaced by Panagbenga music whose tempo was made faster, blaring from public-address systems or loudspeakers. What happened was a short parade with ethnic dances incongruous with the musical rhythm.

Fortunately, all these negatives were corrected by the Baguio Cultural Society, headed by Laurel Contreras Bangaoet, who changed the street-parade guidelines and required the participating groups to march in continuous motion without stopping for spot dancing, which was now to be done only at the Athletic Bowl where the judges awaited them. Only changes in formation and sideward movements would be allowed on the street dancing.

This solved the problem of exhausting long parades that had been an issue year after year. Also, only live music may be used to liven up the whole performance.

The famous street dance parade will be another surprise; while Panagbenga popularized this in many other towns and regions, the repertoire of movements had started to become stale and predictable.

Bangaoet, who is also a theater consultant, promises a whole new excitement for spectators come February 25, the day of the street parade.

Rather than street dances, it will be “storytelling on parade.” There will be authenticity, Bangaoet promised, as they will be portraying real stories, legends or traditions of the place they have chosen, presented in a dramatic way, as the groups have been given “creative license” on the flow of their narration through movements.

The float parade, which follows the day after the street dancing, and for which Panagbenga has become famous here and abroad, has never ceased to be a visual delight. Year after year, the themes and the settings said in flowers have always enchanted a cheering audience. Fairies and forests, butterflies and wild animals, giant flowers, castles and carousels are recurring images, but every creation is a masterpiece immortalized in digital images shown in every media outfit around the world  to make the city proud.

The recent years saw a new thing. More and more companies have bedecked their floats with movie celebrities like Sam Milby and Piolo Pascual.

This year, with the participation of the three giant networks, ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and TV5, their floats will surely be graced by their stars, and parade marshals will have to brace for those crowd-control moments.

Not to be forgotten is the fact that the flowers come from the neighboring town of La Trinidad, and this year, the festival will spill over to the grounds of the Benguet State University (BSU) from March 2 onward, in an event called BSU Country Fair. Baguio and Benguet have a stamp of the West, as can be seen in the leather boots and checkered shirts constantly worn here and the music they play and sing. The “Wild West” will be the atmosphere in the country fair, which will also be selling the local products of Benguet.

The mainstays will have their own attractions, such as the Landscaping Competition and the Market Encounter, the fluvial parade where the boats for hire at the manmade lake in Burnham Park will be bedecked  with flowers.

Somehow, the organizers get the sense the festival is finally gaining a balance. The festival leadership has changed hands over time. Known as the “father of Panagbenga,” lawyer Damaso Bangaoet brought it to fame during its first years. He also established the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. (BFFFI). The government took over the handling but admittedly, there were times when the background scenes were a shambles. The artists took over but did not have the business acumen and stamina to handle the complexities of the money side of the festival. The business group took over, but the aesthetics suffered.

Now it’s a partnership between the government and the BFFFI, but still the learning process has been critical in some areas. But now, with the Baguio Cultural Society as a helping hand, it feels all the aspects of the event have been covered.

For Bangaoet, the smiling faces of the children on opening day was a good sign about what the entire period of the festival would be. So, too, are the tiny pieces of metallic paper that until now cover the ground since they were thrown in the air as confetti in the February 1 parade to enliven the performances. When the fields are empty and the noonday sun shines upon them now, they sparkle like tiny colored gems on the ground where the children danced. “This is how the festival will be remembered, the gem of our city for years to come,” a visibly touched spectator said.

(Photo by Mau Victa)