It took us half a day to get to Cervantes, Ilocos Sur. We were welcomed to the North by strong rains, but the trip was pleasant enough. Cervantes is hidden away, surrounded by the Mountain Province and Benguet.
As a child growing up in his home province of Ilocos Sur, Gov. Deogracias Victor Savellano early on became aware of the beauty of Ilocano tradition and craftsmanship.
Today the fate of Vigan, capital of Ilocos Sur, will be decided. The list of 28 cities contending for New 7 Wonders Cities will be reduced to 21; then to 14 on Oct. 2; and the top seven cities will be announced Dec. 7.
I will always be grateful to Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan for inviting Barge Ramos and myself in 1993 to visit Piat. The church was small and Our Lady of the Visitation of Piat was easy to reach on her altar.
Here’s one list the country would be proud to be on for a change. The Department of Foreign Affairs is calling on Filipinos worldwide to vote for the heritage city of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, in the New7Wonders Cities campaign, a global competition initiated by Swiss nonprofit New7Wonders Foundation.
Vigan, the only World Heritage City in the country (as declared by Unesco in 1999), has a new high-end address right in its heritage district: Hotel Luna at Gen. Antonio Luna St. cor Ventura de los Reyes St. It had a grand opening on Feb. 8.
At the World Street Food Congress held on the first week of June, a friend griped that there wasn’t any Filipino street food mentioned, nor were there any on exhibit.
The World Costume Festival 2013, to be held April 26-May 2 in the heritage city of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, is expected to be not only a pleasure trip but also an educational tour both for tourists and participants.
It’s difficult to imagine living without electricity, especially given today’s amazing technological developments. But there are actually still some rural areas in the country where the only sources of nighttime light are the moon, kerosene lamps and wood fires. Until recently, Sitio Badang in Ilocos Sur was one such area.
The International Conference on Cultural Tourism of the International Council for Monuments and Sites (Icomos) will be held in the City of Vigan, Philippines, Nov. 7-8.
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