Sagada Etag Festival: A Call for Cultural Transcendence

It was a cold, chilly day, quite typical for January and early February in Sagada. A cool breeze stirred the air with only a lingering hint of warmth. Sagada isn’t something like the terrains to the south. It is ruggedly beautiful and everything seems oversized – huge clumps of trees all densely clustered together in the midst of rolling mountains, grand masses of rocks in the oddest places as if strewn there by God’s whimsical hand, cavernous hollows in the earth linked together to bring colossal burrows into existence, world-renowned hanging coffins dangling from a sheer mountainside portraying the opulent culture of the I-Sagada. And of course, there is the Sagada Etag Festival, the biggest annual celebration the town could offer beginning from the last week of January lasting to the early days of February. I love Sagada, always will.

The recently concluded Sagada Etag Festival has given me hope of ridding my rusty mind of a lot of clutter through writing. Hmmm… I wish I could say the same for cleaning the house. Even at my age, I still get chided for lack of housekeeping skills. Up until this day, I still could hear my mom every morning running up the stairs to wake us up so we could scrub the floor and start sweeping. And my college roommates say I’m cranky when day breaks. Now you know why. :D But, enough already about these trips down memory lane. One could get overly fatigued traipsing down mine.

I really don’t know why but I think ever since I’ve come into existence, my body clock was set to go off at past 8AM. I’m not a morning person, that much you know about me. So for me, 8AM is just like your average 5AM. But for the festivities the Sagada Etag Festival brings, I woke up at half past seven and took an icy early morning bath (at that time, I thought it may be my last bath in Sagada), and got ready to watch the parade for my mom and brother have already left to join the march. I left home with the sun barely peering out of the clouds. That was all I needed for me to start the day with a triumphant hop and an enthusiastic smile plastered on my zit-pervaded face.

Graced by the presence of the province’s own Congressman Maximo Dalog, the Sagada Etag Festival took off with a grand procession of ornate fashion parading down the streets. There’s that dash of emotion that emboldens you to get lost in the color and life of this happy occasion. Led by the PRO-COR Band of Camp Dangwa, the Sagada PNP colour guards channelled their way to the grassy softball ground below the church evident of grazing animals preceding this celebration, commencing the civic parade. The Local Government Unit of Sagada led by Mayor Eduardo Latawan Jr. as well as visitors from the sister municipalities of Sagada and neighboring towns trailed Sagada’s Finest and the PNP Cordillera Regional Office Band.

I loved the sound of the trumpets and the bugles of the Army’s marching band but the Sagada Central School Drum and Lyre Corps was my own pride and honor. I missed the rhythm of the drums and the wonderful sound of the lyres, also the graceful swing of flags of the majorettes. I missed playing the triangle, the tambourine, the flute, and the lyre. Of course, the SCS pupils were amusing to watch for I remembered how small we were then, innocently proud, waving and smiling at spectators lured to this rustic getaway by its etag and tourist destinations. The Sagada National High School students gave me a sense of pride as I for one have traversed those streets with my head held high just as they have done. Much to my delight, who was I to espy but the living souls who have made us who we are today, our teachers. Thanks to them, I’ve learned my ABC’s, do-re-mi’s, 1-2-3’s, and the missing x-y-z’s well enough to put them to good use.

Oblivious of the typical cold temperature of Sagada, street dancers from the different zones of Sagada adorned in different ethnic garbs swayed their hips and raised their arms to the beat of the gongs as they strutted along the streets with heads held high. The painful sting of the wind and the intense cold was nothing to the many viewers from the different barangays of Sagada and all around the Philippines and the world who've come to witness such genuine talents. The parade was really grand and fascinating as people in traditional Igorot costumes danced and played the gongs along the street as they pirouetted their way to their destination.

And so the parade ends, the program starts and Congressman Dalog takes to the stage to give his inspirational message. The wholehearted gist of his message was music to my ears. A cultural presentation from the different zones of Sagada followed afterward. And then after that, the ground demonstration of the students from the different high schools in the locality. The morning culminated as Sagada Mayor Eduardo Latawan, Jr. shared wise words to every listening ear. That afternoon and the next few days promised a lot of sports, academic and non-academic quests, indigenous games, singing and dance contests, and the much-anticipated Sagada Got Talent portion which is a new venture this year. Also new this year is the presence of the Besao-Sagada Wind Farm Project, a project proposed by PhilCarbon which is a ‘Philippine renewable energy company focused in the development of clean sources of power from natural resources such as wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal’. The Windfarm project booth situated in front of the proud Sagada Etag booth aims to build awareness among the people of Sagada and Besao in relation to their goal of putting up a renewable energy source to cater to the Besao and Sagada communities. During the first three days of the festival, a video presentation of the said proposal had been airing on the widescreen monitor the booth had the liberty of setting up.

An offshoot of the town’s fiesta, the Sagada Etag Festival is celebrated alongside the Feast of the Virgin Mary (Sagada’s Patron Saint) and starts from the last week of January to the first week of February. This year makes it the third year Sagada celebrates its Etag Festival. This festival entails a lot of things. Cultural transcendence being one of the most important. The culture the I-Sagada represents is one of character and a sense of oneness and of their aspirations. It provides an idea of who they are and what they stand for. It is a culture which transcends even to their ballads and dances – a way of life. Despite the immense adjustments and trends modernization reverberates to the town’s ethnic sensibility, devoting oneself to the traditional way of life has never been a drawback to the people residing in this beautiful and magnificent tourist town. Beliefs, practices, and traditions of manufacturing etag or smoked mountain ham is as important as preserving every dap-ay, every sacred place of worship, and respecting every belief, practice and tradition of Sagada. It is our legacy. One to be passed down from generation to generation to celebrate our identity as a people – our identity as humanity. This is one of the reasons the Etag Festival was conceptualized. Aside from its known aim to promote tourism, the Etag Festival is also a celebration and a call to preserve and sustain whatever culture our forefathers have handed down to us. Aside from these, this festival goes beyond boundaries. It’s a festival for everyone -- the rich and poor, the old and young, the traditional and contemporary, the foreign and local visitors, the excited and bored, the happy and sad, the smitten and broken-hearted. It’s a festival that encompasses everything – indigenous and modern games or sports, ethnic and modern dances and songs, simple and challenging activities, day and night affairs.

As these events fall into place, the delightful laughter heard and content smiles plastered on hundreds of eager faces despite the sprawling heat of the midday sun is a measure of success. Playing host to hundreds of visitors may somewhat be common in Sagada as a tourist destination but preparation and planning and making this festival a victory is no easy feat. It is the persistence and ambitions of the Local Government Unit, National Commission for Culture and Arts, Smart/Talk ‘n Text, and other sponsors at this monumental task that has given this event its success.

At the end of the day, the music in my own heart emanates a desire to dance and sing as well. But to me, dancing or singing, be it for an audience or be it in front of a mirror, is like being naked at a wedding reception. However, expressing my thoughts through writing is a welcome treat -- roving my hungry mind for words to tell you that writing is just like eating at the cooking booths and food stalls the Etag Festival has instigated. And, what a find! Eating in Sagada is an experience of its own. You could taste the essence of every slice and dice the delicacy has gone through before being rustled up and balanced with a toss of indigenous flavor. And so I, for one, got stymied to eat and eat… and eat some more. It’s really a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.

Sagada may be a salad bowl of cultures traditional and contemporary but the food, excellent service, the view, and the hospitality of the people twirls this into a melting pot of mystifying grandeur. From the food, the language, and the people’s way of life, one could learn the luster of the place, the lilting music and the elegant and graceful dance of the I-Sagada’s. So, is Sagada really the pearl and pride of the Cordillera? Well, you’ve just have to come here and find out for yourself. It could be worth the trip.

“We are the champions, my friends”... The Antadao National High School students give justice to the lyrics of the song by Queen as they flounce their way to victory during the ground demonstration competition. Portrayed here are examples of ethnic artifacts the I-Sagadas use in their everyday living.