Festivalization of the Panagbenga Festival
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
3 likes•4,835 views
The document discusses the Panagbenga Flower Festival in Baguio City, Philippines. It provides background that the festival was originally proposed in 1996 to boost tourism during slow seasons. Over time, the festival has grown significantly, attracting over 1.6 million people annually. However, some argue that the festival has become over-commercialized and has compromised indigenous cultures by performing sacred rituals without regard to their meanings. There are ongoing discussions around how to balance the interests of residents, cultural preservation, and tourism promotion to develop the festival in a sustainable way.
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Festivalization of the Panagbenga Festival
Similar to Festivalization of the Panagbenga Festival (20)
More from Froidelyn Fernandez- Docallas
More from Froidelyn Fernandez- Docallas (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Festivalization of the Panagbenga Festival
- 2. • In what year did Baguio become the Summer Capital of the Philippines? 1903 (June 1, 1903)
- 3. •When do we celebrate Baguio Charter Day? September 1
- 4. •A great calamity that struck the Philippines in the year 1990 that caused great devastation to many other parts of the country including Baguio City. EARTHQUAKE
- 5. •He proposed the idea of organizing a flower festival in Baguio. a. Dean Worcester b. James Wright c. Damaso Bangoet
- 6. •The year when the first Baguio Flower Festival was launched. 1996
- 7. •Originally, how many days was Panagbenga celebrated? a. 10 days b. Two weeks c. Whole month of February
- 8. •He composed the Panagbenga Theme Song a. Macario Fronda b. Basilisa Cachero Pimentel c. Judith Laoyan
- 9. •How do we call the foundation that was organized and tasked to manage the Panagbenga Festival? Panagbenga Flower Festival Foundation Incorporated
- 10. •Why was February chosen to be the month for the Panagbenga celebration? Because FEBRUARY is the coldest time of the year, it boosts tourism during the lull moments, between the peak seasons of Christmas (December-January) and summer (particularly, the Holy Week).
- 13. 19 Years of Panagbenga: From Cultural Festival to Festivalization? • Festival- “themed, public celebrations” of “community values, ideologies, identity, and continuity” and are occasions where “cultural elements are displayed which can educate an observer about the host culture and community”. (Getz, 2010) • In effect Getz considers all festivals as cultural festivals. The same is true for Presbury and Edwards (2010) who defined festivals as “generally cultural celebrations” for “community pride, cohesion, fun, and relaxation,” in the form of “carnivals, religious events, parades or heritage commemorations,” and are educational opportunities where people learn about arts and crafts, music, drama, sports, and culture
- 14. •Over- commodification of festivals exploited by tourism and place marketers” (Getz, 2010: 5)
- 15. BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL BEFORE NOW
- 16. BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL For the past fourteen years, the BFFFI in partnership with government and private sectors have strategized ways and means of attracting bigger crowds. As a result, Panagbenga has drawn 1.6 million people a year, on average (personal interview of Vangie Payno, Chief of Staff, BFFFI).
- 17. BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL Funding for Panagbenga, has been sourced from the City Government (latest is PhP4 million), and solicited from donor corporations which buy ‘space’ in specific festival activities. Most of these support (cash or in kind) are used for prizes given to winners of different competitions, food sponsorships for volunteers, and materials for activities. Panagbenga operates with the help of over 3000 volunteers from civic organizations and local schools
- 18. Sustainable Development = development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ablility of future generations to meet their own needs. ? Brundtland Report, in Adams, 2009/1990
- 19. SUSTAINABILITY of the BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVAL
- 22. SUSTAINABILITY BAGUIO FLOWER FESTIVALIgorot culture these days have been an object of tourism. In other words, it has been commercialized but also bastardized. In the traditional Igorot culture, for example, the sound of the gong and the tayao are sacred. Now, just for the entertainment of tourists, or more precisely, just for the money, gongs are indiscriminately played and the tayao danced irreverently. It’s like going through the rites of the Holy Mass for the entertainment of pagan tourists! - Andres Cosalan
- 23. • Another area that is of concern is the commercialization of indigenous culture through the conduct of festivals and the failure to respect culturally significant sites, primarily in the context of the promotion of tourism in indigenous communities. Rituals, many of which are sacred and solemn in the culture of Indigenous Peoples, are being performed in these festivals without regard to their sacredness. Some of the festivals where Indigenous Peoples have raised concerns over the abuse of their rituals and the commercialization of their traditional songs and dances include the Lang-ay Festival in Mountain Province, the Adivay Festival in Benguet and the Panagbenga festival in Baguio City (86-87). Issues and contestations on Panagbenga’s cultural sustainability
- 24. SUSTAINING CULTURE IN CULTURAL FESTIVALS ETHNOCENTRISM RESPECT FOR CULTURAL INTEGRITY OBSERVATION OF DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY
- 25. • Avoid starting with universal assumptions about a people’s culture • Be aware how we might tend to treat the people of a certain culture as the same as us, or like us • Respect for particularity is the route to transformation • Let us not rush to resolve the points of impossibility in cultures, as they may reveal particular realities in people’s situations • Cultures are not homogeneous SUSTAINING CULTURE IN CULTURAL FESTIVALS & Methodological Guidelines For Cultural Policy
- 26. • Recognition and tolerance of biocultural diversity. (Roosi and Poole, 2011 ) • Allowing individuals and communities ethico-political spaces to reflect, contest, negotiate , and re-figure culture and cultural markers as necessary (Parodi 2011; Slater 1999). • realization that cultural impossibilities are routes to transformation (Slater 1999) PROVISIONAL ELEMENTS OF CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY Cultural sustainability is thus not about the permanent maintenance of a collective, such that cultures growing unsustainably will be at risk of extinction (Parodi, 2011). Neither can culture, nor cultural markers be preserved, because they are at best to be reflected upon, shaped, and modified. This requires political deliberation by stakeholders on what would be viable, and workable.
- 27. BAGUIO RESIDENTS • Recall the essence of panagbenga as ‘a festival for baguio by baguio’. • Highlight what baguiois truly known for: a thriving culture and arts scene and a deeply environmentally conscious people PANAGBENGA MANAGEMENT •Better community participation in and ownership of festival activities, along with sustained incomes for businesses and sponsors HOW CAN INTEREST BE BALANCED?
- 28. RECOMMENDATIONS •Conduct of a multi-stakeholder forum where all sectors concerned can deliberate on the future of panagbenga following the ethics of ‘deliberative participation’, as david crocker (2008) elaborates. •Development and application of ‘green criteria’
- 29. • Overall, however, within management, a shift must occur against measuring the success ofPanagbenga based on quantitative indicators like the number of tourists, number of participants, and total revenue generated. Qualitative indicators must likewise be used to determine whether or not, and to what extent, Panagbenga contributed to the collective well-being of the Baguio community. This could be measured by the quality of participation of community members in all stages of the festival. Beyond the month-long festival, there is a pressing need to invest in the ongoing maintenance of public parks like Burnham Park, Botanical Garden, Mines View Park, Wright Park, and in the greening of the cityscape in general. CONCLUSION
Editor's Notes
- The City of Baguio celebrates its 106th Charter Day on September 1, 2015, pursuant to Republic Act 6710 of February 10, 1989. Because of its altitude and cool climate, the city was designated by the Second Philippine Commission, which arrived in Manila in June, 1900, as the Summer Capital and was made a chartered city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909, through Act No. 1963. It is now the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region, famous for the crowd-drawing Panagbenga Festival (Flower festival) and the Spring Festival of Chinese New Year. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/charter-day-baguio-city-fostering-the-culture-of-sharing-caring/#3lJ1w1HyZ1pFwBHs.99
- The City of Baguio celebrates its 106th Charter Day on September 1, 2015, pursuant to Republic Act 6710 of February 10, 1989. Because of its altitude and cool climate, the city was designated by the Second Philippine Commission, which arrived in Manila in June, 1900, as the Summer Capital and was made a chartered city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909, through Act No. 1963. It is now the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region, famous for the crowd-drawing Panagbenga Festival (Flower festival) and the Spring Festival of Chinese New Year. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/charter-day-baguio-city-fostering-the-culture-of-sharing-caring/#3lJ1w1HyZ1pFwBHs.99
- The City of Baguio celebrates its 106th Charter Day on September 1, 2015, pursuant to Republic Act 6710 of February 10, 1989. Because of its altitude and cool climate, the city was designated by the Second Philippine Commission, which arrived in Manila in June, 1900, as the Summer Capital and was made a chartered city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909, through Act No. 1963. It is now the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region, famous for the crowd-drawing Panagbenga Festival (Flower festival) and the Spring Festival of Chinese New Year. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/charter-day-baguio-city-fostering-the-culture-of-sharing-caring/#3lJ1w1HyZ1pFwBHs.99
- The City of Baguio celebrates its 106th Charter Day on September 1, 2015, pursuant to Republic Act 6710 of February 10, 1989. Because of its altitude and cool climate, the city was designated by the Second Philippine Commission, which arrived in Manila in June, 1900, as the Summer Capital and was made a chartered city by the Philippine Assembly on September 1, 1909, through Act No. 1963. It is now the seat of government of the Cordillera Administrative Region, famous for the crowd-drawing Panagbenga Festival (Flower festival) and the Spring Festival of Chinese New Year. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/charter-day-baguio-city-fostering-the-culture-of-sharing-caring/#3lJ1w1HyZ1pFwBHs.99
- Promote the city’s culture, unity among its people, tourism and economic industries and to showcase Baguio as a city of Flowers.
- Panagbenga has become a way of promoting tourism through economic means, inadvertently resulting in uneven distribution of benefits and costs. In a word, Panagbenga has succumbed to “festivalization”, a trend worldwide, which is the “over-commodification of festivals exploited by tourism and place marketers” (Getz, 2010: 5). Generally, tourism and other developmental changes, have often led to the widening, rather than closing in of gaps or disparities between elites and non-elites. The reality that benefits as well as costs of development have been distributed unevenly against poorer countries, women, and indigenous culture-bearers has spurred development ethics, an inter-disciplinary field integrating philosophy, the social sciences, and economics. Development ethics is the reflexive examination, weighing and prioritization of value choices behind development (Crocker, 2008; Gasper, 2004; Schumacher, 1989/1973).
- Panagbenga started off as a well-meaning cultural festival. The festival was initially attended only by Baguio residents, but as years passed it turned into a big spectacular attraction. People would flock from different places (Philippines and abroad) to join the celebration, making it the most visited festival in Northern Philippines. Panagbenga ranks seventh among the top ten festivals in the Philippines
- In general, corporate sponsorship has proven to be the most efficient and effective way to securePanagbenga’s economic sustainability. This, however, has given way to observations that the festival has become more commercialized over the years, evidenced by corporations who view sponsorship as a leverage to promote their products. Despite such observations, the festival management maintains its administrative independence from corporate sponsors (personal interview of Benedicto Alhambra, City Tourism Officer).
- the problem of waste management issuing from its commercialization, though addressed by management thru “Zero Waste Drive” or adoption of green policies (the 19th festival theme was “Inspiring the Community for a Greener Tomorrow”), has not been mitigated. The garbage collected throughout the 2014 festival still amounted to a 20-25 percent increase in Baguio’s “usual” daily collection of 175 tons of garbage (Agreda, 2014b).
- Second, on its socio-economic sustainability, interviewed business owners, residents, and tourists expressed ambivalent reactions, ranging from positive to negative, to simple nonchalance. For some (hotel owners, taxi operators, and those with businesses located in the central district, e.g., Burnham Park, City Market), the festival rakes in higher incomes. But for businesses and small stall-owners in the outskirts, it is “business as usual”. And then, there is the clamor for more transparency and accountability on earnings, and expenditures, by BFFFI. The City Tourism Officer shared that in terms of social capital, Panagbenga encourages teamwork, raises the standards for establishments as they all vie for the patronage of tourists, and encourages the public servants to be more courteous. But a number of tourists expressed dismay over thick crowds, heavy traffic, missing children, and petty crimes like pick pocketing, despite the increased police visibility.
- Quite alarming, a growing alienation is felt by residents, who have mastered the art of escaping the noise and the crowd, by simply staying at home or going out to nearby beaches. Local residents, who offered their assessments of the festival’s impact on their well-being over the last two decades, clearly distinguished between the ‘before’ (roughly, its first five years) and ‘now’ (the last decade) of Panagbenga. Overall, the Panagbenga before was deemed more attuned to their needs and desires as members of the ‘Baguio community.’ This included their need and desire to meet and bond with other local residents in a space conducive to socializing, to patronize products of local artisans and watch local musicians perform, all in a setting that respects the environment. Baguio residents expressed a nostalgia for the “Panagbenga before”, in as much as it promoted community, solidarity, and a sense of place. In short, it used to be “their festival”, in contrast to the “Panagbenganow” which has become insensitive to the local community and the people’s need to socialize and celebrate the local arts.
- what then are the cultural needs of the present and those of the future?
- In the 19th Panagbenga of 2014, a festival augured as a genuine Ibaloi festival was born, with its major events taking place in the weekends of February. The First Ibaloi Festival was organized by Onjon ni Ivadoy (Union of Ibaloys), a 3,000-strong association of Ibaloys, launched in 2010 (Fong, 2014). Having been the first settlers of Baguio the Ibaloi are the most vocal objectors to the way cultural Panagbenga has misrepresented , and marginalized indigenous culture. An official statement deploring the commercialization of indigenous cultures in festivals such as Panagbengawas part of the ICERD Shadow Report (to the UN Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination) in 2009, to wit:
- In addition, interviews and write-ups complain that Panagbenga now has somehow reneged on its promise as a cultural festival, leading to the issue of the festival’s cultural sustainability. What is an authentic cultural representation? What constitutes the “bastardization of culture” as one cultural expert from the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, has noted on one occasion? Inextricably tied to these questions, given that Baguio has become multi-cultural and multi-ethnic is: whose culture, whose tradition? For Gasper (2004), the big challenge posed by cultural differences to development, emanate from the importance of human diversity, the centrality of values aside from individual consumption, and, various views on the meaningful and cultured life. Gasper proposes ways of how to factor in culture in development without essentializing other cultures or without causing undue harm and humiliation to their bearers. Crocker (2008) also suggests principles on how to resolve local disputes about equitable cultural representation, through the vigilant practice and observation of deliberative democracy.
- First, it is recognition and tolerance of cultural diversity, and effectively integrating it with biological diversity, in the term, biocultural diversity (Roosi and Poole, 2011 ). Recognition and tolerance of linguistic and cultural diversity best exemplified in indigenous communities is one of the principal values of the UN Millennium Declaration (Kates, et al., 2005). Kopfmüller (2011) adds to a better understanding of the link between biology and culture, in calling attention to nature’s cultural functions, that are played out in “sensory, contemplative, or aesthetic experiences” of nature. Furthermore, nature is a place of recovery. Even its scarcity promotes the development of human care to protect it. Second, it is allowing individuals and communities ethico-political spaces to reflect, contest, negotiate , and re-figure culture and cultural markers as necessary (Parodi 2011; Slater 1999). Third, realization that cultural impossibilities are routes to transformation (Slater 1999).
- Negotiating cultural sustainability in festivals Presbury and Edwards (2010) assert that socio-cultural and heritage protection is one of the three motivations of festivals (the other two being, infrastructure/economic development, and ecological protection). They are more emphatic and articulate in identifying the motivations, principles, measures, and indicators of culturally sustainable festivals. Culturally sustainable festivals promote not only the continuity of resources, but also “the continuity of culture, and the balances within culture, social creativity and freedom” (5). Their version of biocultural sustainability is protection and maintenance of the natural, built, and heritage resources of the planet. They likewise extol the virtues of diversity, tolerance and commitment which are the ingredients of ethical festivals. Local distinctiveness is expressed through promotion of local products and services unique to the place. Festivals should promote everything local, such as local music, arts, crafts, including sense of place, which refers to attachment to temporal-spatial settings, habitats, architecture, parks, zoos, public squares, interior and exterior spaces (see also Derrett, 2003). Presbury and Edwards contextualize sustainable festivals under the more general concern for sustainable tourism, which entails meeting “the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future” , as stated in the declaration of the World Tourism Orgnization in 1995 (in Presbury and Edwards, 2010). Historically, indigenous feasts and celebration in the Cordillera played an important role in defining and reinforcing the identity of indigenous groups. A care for sustainability may be located in the way indigenous Igorot rituals and feasts were not only fine-tuned with natural cycles of the season, but with productive and reproductive work, and giving respect to deities. Some of these celebrations, such as the “feasts of merit complex” (Russell, 2007), were means of resource redistribution alongside political functions of gaining prestige, and political power (Russell, 2007; Bagamaspad and Hamada-Pawid 1985). However, when these feasts are presented for tourists’ consumption in the form of festivals, they can take on different, even contradictory, goals and values, as Russell (1989) found with the 1978 Grand Cañao in Baguio City. The Grand Cañao was organized by the local government and private sector to showcase indigenous cultures and promote tourism, but it was never repeated after problems related to the authenticity of the ritual performed and the divisiveness it caused between ethnic groups (Russell, 1989). Russell concluded: when rituals are presented in tourist contexts, organizers will face the difficulty of presenting “a traditional rendering of what is a very flexible religious and ritual complex in a contemporary setting that is far from traditional” (260). The Panagbenga of today is no different. From its roots as a community-ran platform for diverse indigenous Cordillera cultures, the festival has grown into a deliberately consumerist affair that banks on the festivalization of these cultures. The recommendations from festival management and stakeholders can be incorporated in the planning, and evaluation of the Panagbenga. They can be categorized in terms of increasing community participation and installing pro-environment and pro-people criteria for all festival activities. Firstly, based on the interviews, both management and local residents agree that there needs to be more meaningful participation of community members in the planning and staging ofPanagbenga. Residents wish to recall the sense they felt that Panagbenga was ‘a festival for Baguio by Baguio’, and highlight what Baguio, for them, is truly known for: a thriving culture and arts scene and a deeply environmentally conscious people. On the other hand, management wants better community participation in and ownership of festival activities, along with sustained incomes for businesses and sponsors.
- So, how can interests be balanced? One possibility is by conducting a multi-stakeholder forum where all sectors concerned can deliberate on the future of Panagbenga following the ethics of ‘deliberative participation’, as David Crocker (2008) elaborates. This process requires a skilled facilitator, collectively chosen by stakeholders, who can draw out the needs and desires of each sector and propose solutions to identified areas of disagreement or conflict – the assumption being that all sectors are willing to deliberate on an equal footing and come up with decisions that are amenable to the collective well-being. Secondly, a common recommendation from management and local stakeholders is for a ‘green criteria’ to be developed and applied to all Panagbenga activities. For example, during Session Road in Bloom, priority stalls could be pre-assigned to local artisans and cultural collectives to showcase their wares in prime spots of Session Road. In terms of traffic management – a major concern of local residents and visitors – steps must be taken to strongly encourage tourists to use public transportation or walk to places of interest. This could mean, as one resident suggested, leaving their vehicles at their hotels or in designated secure parking lots while ensuring availability of public shuttles, as well as the cleanliness of sidewalks. Concomitant to this, the entire festival could be diffused away from the city center to the other more scenic parts of the city by staging different activities in different venues. This would allow businesses in all areas of Baguio to benefit from the inflow of tourists.