I USED to go up to Baguio during December with my family and enjoy the fog and the cold.
Not that I enjoy the cold at all. I?m a sunshine person, but there?s something about seeing real pine trees and fresh strawberries that has always kept Baguio something of a cherished memory for me.
Coming back when I was older, I realized Baguio somehow got stuck in time. The taxi flag-down rate is still P25 and additional charges are at P1.50. It is hard to find a decent KTV place. The food is still good and still reasonably priced.
Different light
But when I got invited to witness the Panagbenga festival of Baguio by the Kapamilya Karavan, I got to see Baguio in a different light.
It was as if the whole of Northern Luzon was in Baguio. The streets were brimming with people from Manila to Ilocos Norte. There were no vacancies in any hotel room in the city, and, since Session Road was closed for the parade, the traffic was terrible.
But watching the masses of people gathered to watch the parade ? floats made of flowers, people dressed as various kinds of vegetation ? and experiencing the Panagbenga backstage from the Kapamilya Karavan, with fans aching to see their favorite stars like Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson, I realized that Baguio was a city unique in itself, and not only as a vacation destination.
In ?Tayong Dalawa,? the latest hit soap opera of Chiu and Anderson, Gerald?s character attends the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio. So the relationship of the city to the show is immediate. The crowd wanted every piece of the two young stars.
Also, I discovered that ABS-CBN produces shows aimed specifically at the Northern Luzon market, such as ?Mag TV Na,? ?Atin To!,? ?Naimbag Na Morning,? and ?TV Patrol Northern Luzon.? 103.1 MOR Baguio is also a staple favorite among taxi cabs and convenience stores.
Over a thousand people gathered in SM City Baguio to watch the Kapamilya Karavan concert, which featured ?Pinoy Dream Academy?s? latest top scholars Bugoy Drilon and Liezl Garcia. They belted out tunes to a crowd that cheered on like there was no tomorrow.
The boys of the show ?Parekoy? also did their thing, and the moment Kim and Gerald stepped out, the crowd could not be shushed. Pupil rocked it right after, while some local bands from the region showed they had the goods as well.
Busy streets
The city was alive. The streets were busy even at night. Every restaurant had customers and Burnham Park was full of crowds.
In my very Manila-centric life, it took something like the Panagbenga festival to see that there are other places all over the country where one could make a life.
My friends and I discussed the possibility of moving up to the mountains. And why not? The cold weather, the food and fresh vegetables, inexpensive food and transportation, lush scenery, a busy nightlife and the famous ukay-ukay: There are a lot of things that make Baguio a worthy competitor to the metro I call home.
On its centennial year as a city, Baguio sits atop the mountain and blooms, making itself known to this Manileo.
