With HELEN J. CATALBAS | helencatalbas@gmail.com
This column is about conversations, suggestions, updates and what-have-you on the subject of tourism and other matters in the Western Visayas region, Philippines and world. It is intended to be a market place of ideas leading to positive actions and reactions that will, hopefully, build communities.
ALL ROADS lead to the island province of Guimaras, in the municipality of Buenavista in its observance of the lenten season through Semana Santa sa Buenavista (Worship Festival 2023).
Now on its 10th year, Buenavista’s Worship Festival was initiated in 2014 by the local government unit together with the Department of Tourism Region VI fully supported by 13 out of 15 religious denominations happily co-existing with and despite each other in the oldest town of Guimaras province that is Buenavista, known in the olden times as “Tilad”. Today, Worship Festival is part of a province-wide celebration Semana Santa sa Guimaras which includes two other celebrations, namely, Pamalandong sa Tamburong and Pagtaltal sa Jordan.
The various church ministers, priests and lay leaders who supported the fist year of Worship Festival conceptualized a celebration commemorating the life of Jesus Christ before and after crucifixion. They agreed to have the common theme “Unity in Diversity” for the various activities undertaken by the different churches. During the recent years, the name of the event evolved and became Semana Santa sa Buenavista (Holy Week in Buenavista) with Worship Festival consistently carried as subtitle of the celebration.
Semana Santa sa Buenavista (Worship Festival 2023) runs a total of 8 days, from Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday, April 2) to Resurrection (Sunday, April 9). In between these dates are activities sponsored by different church organizations in their designated areas. Then, as now, the event’s bottom line is advocating moral and spiritual values as it deepens understanding of the word of God as a major ingredient in the holistic development of the municipality and its people. As originally intended, the Buenavista’s Worship Festival has grown both as a religious event first and foremost and as a tourist attraction that promotes pride of place among its residents.
Religious sites in the municipality of Buenavista, Guimaras include but not limited to St. Isidore the Worker Parish Church (Brgy. Navalas), Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish ( Brgy. Mclain), Parish of the Holy Child (Brgy. Old Poblacion), Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation (Brgy. Salvacion), Javellana Church (Brgy. East Valencia), Holy Rosary Chapel (Brgy. Sto. Rosario), Our Lady of Miraculous Medal (ongoing constructon at Brgy. Banban), Calvary Hill (Brgy. Tacay), Marian Shrine (Brgy. Montpiller) and Bukid Kasarig (Brgy. Navalas). Special points of interest during the Holy Week are Daliran Cave (Brgy. Old Poblacion), Bat Cave (Brgy. San Isidro), Bul-ogan Tapi (Brgy. Tacay), Buho ni Garas (Brgy Isidro), Labi-Labi (Brgy. Old Poblacion) and Buho sa Taminla (Brgy. Taminla).
HOW TO GET TO BUENAVISTA, GUIMARAS: Take a fiber glass boat or Yohan Express boat from Parola wharf in Iloilo City for a pleasant 15-minute sea travel to Sto. Rosario wharf in Buenavista, Guimaras. From there, you can take a motorcycle for hire, regular passenger tricycle, jeepney or van which are also for hire.
***
We wish other destinations in the Western Visayas region will join us in these conversations in the near future after which we will do the same for others in the Philippines and the world. Welcome aboard!!!
***
The author is retired employee of Phil Dept of Tourism in Western Visayas Region (PDOT-WV) where she was designated in various capacities in more than four decades of government service. She retired as Regional Director of PDOT-WV in 2021. During her tour of duty, she was instrumental in product and market development for the region. Among the milestones of her term of office were connecting the region’s airports and seaports with domestic and international tourism source markets, vital ground level role in the rehabilitation of Boracay Island, evacuation of thousands of stranded domestic and foreign tourists and cooperating with other government agencies in providing aid to displaced tourism workers in Western Visayas in the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic./PN
