Maasin celebrates 9th Tultugan Festival
All roads lead to the town of Maasin on December 26 as the booming third district municipality known all over the country for its finest bamboo products celebrate once again its renowned Tultugan Festival, which is on its ninth year this year.
Maasin Mayor Mariano D. Malones, Jr., who is on his second year as town chief executive, promises a much better, bigger and brighter Tultugan Festival for 2008.
"We did everything to make this year's Tultugan Festival better than its previous stagings to provide our visitors and guests coming from all over the country, especially our balikbayans the world over, an entertainment that they would remember long after they have gone back to their respective homes," the youthful Malones said.
The six competing groups are Group A-Manuglayon of the Quiling National High School, Group B-Manugrara of the Tigbauan National High School, Group C-Manugsukdap of the Siwalo National High School, Group D-Binalantak of the Burak National High School, Group E-Manugbagat of the Layog National High School, and Group F-Manuggama of the Maasin National Comprehensive High School, the defending champion.
To note, Tultugan Festival is an annual spectacle in Maasin featuring choreographed performances of several participating groups that represent the different public secondary schools in the municipality. What sets Tultugan tribes apart from those competing in other festivals is that they make use of materials indigenous to the town, most specifically bamboo, which made Maasin the recognized "Bamboo Capital of the Philippines."
No less than Iloilo Board Member Mariano M. Malones, Sr., the acknowledged father of Tultugan Festival having conceptualized it near the end of the first of his three terms as Maasin mayor, is excited with how the yearly festival would turn out this year.
"We conceptualized Tultugan Festival to be a colorful showcase of the Maasinanons' rich cultural heritage and a tribute to our town's premier product, the bamboo. Over the years, it has metamorphosed into one of the province's biggest festivals, and we are confident that this year's edition would be a huge improvement from the last," said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan member.
To provide additional entertainment to the throngs of visitors that are expected to flood Maasin on the grand day, town officials invited popular singer Mark Bautista to render a few songs during the occasion.
Mayor Malones also invited everyone to visit the town on December 30 as Maasin celebrates its annual religious fiesta in honor of patron saint St. James the Great.
TEXT FROM THE NEWS TODAY; PHOTOS FROM PINOYTRAVEL BLOG, DOST, THE NEWS TODAY
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