(Second of a two part series…for items # 1-4 click on this link)
5) Alay Lakad and the Sumakah Festival.
As a child, my siblings and I would join our parents in the Lions Club’s (Our Lady of Buenviaje Chapter) libreng painom where we hand out free drinking water to the many devotees who walk all the way up to the Antipolo Cathedral. May 1 signals the month-long festivities for the City of Antipolo. Pilgrims of all ages, some coming from as far as Quiapo Church start walking on the eve of May 1, to pay homage to the Blessed Virgin. From past midnight to around 3 in the morning, the Lions’ Club would set up their water station outside the gates of Fairmount Hills. We would happily give out drinking water to the thirsty devotees, grateful for a few minutes of rest and cheerful exchange of conversation.
The Sumakah Festival started in 2002, during the time of Mayor Angelito Gatlabayan. Sumakah stands for Antipolo’s major products, Suman, Mangga, Kasuy and the Hamaka. I never tire of Antipolo’s suman, dipped in white (I prefer it over the brown) coco jam. The Hamaka is the native duyan, a hammock that used to be the mode of transport when carriages and cars were still unheard of.
6) The Higantes Festival.
This used to freak me out when I was little. Imagine colorful giant dolls walking and prancing around the street. The Higantes is Angono’s colorful and grand fiesta in honor of San Clemente, the patron saint of Fishermen. Every 23rd of November, the image of San Clemente parades in the streets of Angono, accompanied by pahadores and higantes, all the way up to Laguna de Bay.
7) Churches from the 1600s.
Aside from the month of May, pilgrims go around Rizal during Holy Week for visita iglesia. Starting from Antipolo Cathedral, catholics go from town-to-town, reciting the stations of the cross in centuries old churches around the province. Morong has a beautiful baroque church that has 400 year old wooden carvings depicting the agony of Jesus Christ. Tanay church has evolved from being the 1st nipa and bamboo church built in 1608, to the antique concrete beauty that it is now. Remnants of the old Boso-Boso church makes up part of the edifice today – part reconstructed, part ruins. Rizal is truly a spiritual experience not only during Lent but everytime you step in to God’s place of worship.
8) Mountain-filled Extreme Adventures.
At first there was Gotcha’s paintball, then airsoft games became popular in the cliffs and thick foliage of Rizal for close quarter combat. Today, there are many choices of campsites that allow adventurers to commune with nature while zip lining through trees, kayaking through lakes and rolling down the hills inside zorb balls. Mystical caves with stalagmites and stalactites that take the form of religious figures are sites to behold after a short trek. All these, with the sound of birds and night crickets soothe the soul and make you feel closer to the One who made all these.
9) Ancient Cave Art.
Angono, Rizal’s art capital, is home to national artists and their museums with a wide array of art made by famous national and local artists. It’s truly fitting that an Angono local, Carlos Botong Francisco, now a national artist, accidentally discovered a pre-historic art “exhibit” in the country, carved by ancient cavemen. We’re talking about 127-man like engravings on a hilltop rock shelter in Binangonan. These figures are considered to be the oldest known works of art dating back circa 3,000 b.c.
10) Jala-Jala.
“A paradise tucked away in the province of Rizal”, Jala-jala is a knife-shaped peninsula along Laguna de Bay. This idyllic town is home to scenic lakes and shore-lined halaan shells. Being at the tip of the province, Jala-jala is considered to be a virgin tourist spot that will be enjoyed by road trippers, nature lovers and photography enthusiasts.
Ang Trip ni Rizal invites you to discover with us the beauty and splendor of this Province called Rizal.
Ang Trip ni Rizal 