ILOILO City – The winning tribe in the Guimaras Manggahan Festival cultural presentation will perform for the first time on Madison Avenue, New York City in the United States during the 120th Philippine Independence Day celebration there on June 3.
Provincial Tourism Officer Liberty Ferrer said Tuesday they will bring to the US 29 student-performers of Hubon Manguguma and 10 local officials from the island province.
The group will have a series of performances in Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
While in the US, it will have street dancing and cultural performances showcasing Western Visayas dances.
Hubon Manguguma was the champion in the 2018 Kasadyahan Festival of the Dinagyang Festival and first runner-up in this year’s Aliwan Fiesta.
“That will be a bigger promotion for tourists who will come to Guimaras and the whole of Western Visayas,” she said.
At present, she said, foreigners account for about 2 to 5 percent of tourist arrivals in Guimaras while a big chunk are domestic tourists from Western Visayas.
The Guimaras delegation was invited by the Philippine Independence Day Council. They will leave on May 31 and are expected to return on June 10.
Meanwhile they are working on their letter of intent for the province to also hold a trade mission alongside their cultural performance.
The letter was already endorsed by the regional office of the Department of Tourism to their central office, which in turn will refer it to the New York Department of Tourism. (PNA)
