A New Approach to Tourism?

Last month, some cousins and I were on our way to Itogon via Tuding Road when we thought of taking a short visit at Mines View Park. Although one cousin lives in Baguio, she hasn't brought her kids to Mines View so we decided to be "tourists" for 30 minutes.

There's really not much to see there, only views of the mountains (kaya nga Mines View) of Itogon where small-scale mining continues to thrive. But there are plenty of things to buy: you'll find endless stalls of flowers, food, and pasalubong items.

We were about to leave the "park," which is actually more of a market, when we noticed a group of young people walking up a stage near the entrance to the view deck. Speaking in Tagalog, they sounded excited to have their photo taken while they wore Igorot head gears.



"Mukha na ba tayong mga Igorot?" asked a female tourist to her companions as they took their seats. I didn't hear the reply of one of her friends but the group broke into laughter and seemed to relish the whole experience.

They looked students to me and I felt more dismayed than angry that these young people from the lowlands have little knowledge about Igorots. I can't blame them for having a stereotype image of Igorots as a people who continue to wear head gears. That's what we often see on TV, that's why.

Now I ask: Shouldn't tourism initiatives involve educating tourists as well, and not just concern itself with "selling" a place?

Baguio City thrives on tourism. Decades before Panagbenga, it was and remains to be known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines. Now we have Panagbenga, a month-long event in February, Baguio Tossed Salad Festival in November, the UP Summer Arts Festival usually in April, and other interesting activities to attract tourists to the city. But except for the UP Arts Festival, do these touristy events help other Filipinos get to know more about the people of Baguio and Benguet? Or do they just unfortunately deepen lowlanders'prejudice against Igorots?

I've visited Internet tourist sites for New Zealand and Australia and I'm truly impressed with how they inform readers about the Maoris and Aborigines, "selling" destinations and yes, even their culture, while educating tourists as well.

Isn't the distinct culture and traditions of the Cordillera the unique selling point of Baguio? The city, after all, is part of Benguet, a land of indigenous people. But why do our tourism initiatives dismally fail to inform tourists who the Igorots are? Panagbenga organizers do make an effort to lend some sense of history and context to their events but almost always, the activities are so unrelated to the concept of panagbenga.

Just to show you what I mean, here are some of the activities last February: (at SM) Aloha Hula, Jazz Up Your Jeans, and the Panagbenga Closing Party with Kamikaze; (at Baguio Center Mall) taekwando and arnis competitions. We also had the search for Mr. and Ms. Fashionista, and Mr. Panagbenga and Flower Princess. The rest of the events were about gardening, flowers and trade fairs.

Hey, I'm not saying we do away with pop culture-type money-making events. But can't we make our "festival" more meaningful by showcasing films, concerts, plays or other cultural events that tell more about the Ibalois, or the early builders of Baguio for instance? Or maybe an activity that highlights Baguio's historical sites? Baguio may now be a bustling city peopled by migrants but it will cease to be Baguio if it loses its soul.

How Baguio's Barangays Got Their Names Part II

As promised, here's part 2 of our list. You could add up to this list if you know how or why a certain place in Cordi was so named. Trublue, Holy Ghost was named after a convent:-) Hmmm...I wonder how Barangay Palpaltogan in Lepanto, Mankayan got its name;-)

Dagsian (Upper Dagsian and Lower Dagsian)- Originally called DAGSI for its springs of pure water. It was later changed to DAGSIAN, meaning plenty of pure water.

Fairview - So named because of its panoramic view of Guisad Valley, Aurora Hill, and Camp Allen.

Gibraltar - Major Jonathan Spith, a German national who married a Filipino and lived and died in this barangay, is said to have named Gibraltar after the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe.

Green Water - Named after greenish water spewed out of its numerous moss-covered springs.

Central Guisad - From the Ibaloi word no i-shoclshad, which literally describes how the mountain top was carried by the strong current into the deepest part of Guisad Valley after a strong typhoon.

Holy Ghost - Named after the Holy Ghost convent atop a plateau to the northeast which overlooks the entire barangay.

Loakan Apugan - Named after the main product of the barangay – apugy. Years back, the place was a quarry for lime and silicon.

Military Cut-off - So named by General William Wagner, as the cut-off point to the former Camp John Hay, one of the military installations of the American forces in Luzon during World War II.

Mines View - So called because of Mines View Park, from which tourists could glimpse Baguio Gold and other mines from the view deck.

How Baguio’s Barangays Got Their Names Part I

How did our different barangays here in Baguio get their names? The Saint Louis University (SLU) Library and Museum staff thought this was worth researching. Last January, during SLU’s foundation day celebration at Melvin Jones, I had a fun time visiting the SLU Library and Museum’s booth which presented several panels listing down the names of Baguio’s barangays and a brief history of their names.

As I was reading over these panels, I recalled three places I know and a few details about their names. For instance, Otucan in Bauko, where I was born, used to be known as "Kiodan." Mainit in Bontoc was called "Chonglian" before some lowlander gave it its current name. Sabangan? Until now this village has plenty of saba (bananas);-)

Well, here’s the first installment of what I got from the SLU Library and Museum (reproduced here in toto).

ABCR – Acronyms for Andres Bonifacio, Caguioa and Rimando

Ambiong – Named after a bee species that is said to have once produced the sweetest honey among all the local bee species, which abounded in the place during the olden times.

Atok Trail – So called since it was the road that led to Atok Gold Mines.

Balsigan – From the Ilocano word pagbalsigan (a place for chopping wood). So called since most of the residents then were engaged in chopping wood, which they sold to the rich people for their fireplaces.

Brookside – So called because it is alongside a winding brook that snakes through the roofing hills from Pacdal and empties at Lucban.

Bakakeng – From the local word baka (cow) or bakaan (pastureland for cows) and mambebkeng (to build dikes for the farm and animals).

Cabinet Hill – Teachers’ Camp Barangay so called because it is the location of the cottages of Cabinet Secretaries and of Teachers’ Camp, originally planned as the “summer camp of public school teachers.”

Camp 8 – The builders of Kennon Road had to set up eight camps on their way up starting from the bottom of Rosario, La Union, to finish the city’s first gravel road artery. The last camp was Camp 8.

City Camp (City Camp Central, City Camp Proper) – This was a camp for City government personnel and workers of the Rock Quarry during the pre-war days. A camp for equipment, dubbed Motorpool, was also constructed as a depot for heavy equipment used in quarrying.