Sorsogon at the southernmost tip of the Bicol Peninsula usually draws local and foreign tourists to its coastal fringes. Among the top seaside destinations are Donsol and its whale sharks, Paguriran Island in Sorsogon City, Subic beaches in Matnog, and the surfing hubs in Gubat. But there’s an alternative experience that visitors shouldn’t miss: a...
Tag: Bicol
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Young Bicolanos now a growing force in the festival honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia
NAGA CITY—For most Filipinos, September signals the start of the Christmas countdown. But for the people of Bicol, it means the beginning of a season of deep devotion and the celebration of the Peñafrancia festival here. The festival, one of the country’s most revered and renowned religious celebrations, is marked by the feast of the...
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Ibalong Festival celebrates epic origin of Bicolano ‘oragon’
LEGAZPI CITY — Bicolanos are known to be “oragon” (slang for brave, feisty, resilient, and steadfast in beliefs). It’s a description gleaned from the epic of Ibalong and its warrior-heroes. Legazpi is celebrating the Ibalong Festival not only to highlight the traits enshrined in Bicol folklore but also to provide a fun challenge for those...
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In Bicol, political clans aiding victims backed projects blamed for flooding
Bicol, home to the majestic Mount Mayon, is among the country’s most disaster-prone regions. It is regularly battered by storms and other calamities that test the resilience of its people year after year. Rogelio Barajas, a resident of Legazpi City in Albay for over five decades, will never forget how Typhoon “Reming” (international name: Durian)...
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‘Pista nin Teatrong Bikolnon’ brings theater (and alternative election perspectives) to rural folk
“Pista nin Teatrong Bikolnon” again brought together communities and campus-based theater companies from across the Bicol region, celebrating its sixth year of taking plays in their rawest form to the ordinary people. This time, the festival carried the theme “Gimata: Reclaiming People’s Narratives,” which organizers aimed at highlighting the importance of community narratives and promoting...
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In praise of Edcel Lagman, ‘Bicol’s great son’
Tributes continue to be aired for Albay (first district) Rep. Edcel Lagman, who died on Jan. 30 after a long and illustrious career in lawmaking and defending human rights beginning in the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. In a Facebook post “mourning” the loss of Lagman, Leni Robredo said that when she was vice president, she constantly...