Creative costumes articulate tourist festivals and local cultures
Bambanti Festival 2025 featured spectacular festival king and queen costumes from 13 cities and municipalities of Isabela.
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Bambanti Festival 2025 featured spectacular festival king and queen costumes from 13 cities and municipalities of Isabela.
Costumes from Ilagan City were a nod to its main produce, the corn.
Photographs by Roel Hoang Manipon for the Daily Tribune
San Manuel’s festival king and queen depicting carabaos, which are important to agriculture.
San Pablo’s festival king as a ‘cow warrior.’
The elaborate costume of the festival king of San Isidro, depicting agriculture and other products.
The festival king and queen from Santa Maria in costumes highlighting pottery.
The festival king and queen of Luna wearing costumes promoting their Bato Art Festival.
The festival king and queen costumes of Santo Tomas.
Elaborate and spectacular costumes have increasingly become anticipated attractions in many touristic and cultural festivals in the Philippines. Usually worn by contestants in beauty pageants and street dancing competitions, these costumes make manifest the creativity of local designers, interpreting local cultures and cultural icons through textiles and other materials.
Costumes have earned themselves a separate event at the Bambanti Festival of the province of Isabela in northern Luzon. Inspired by the local scarecrow and said to pay homage to agriculture workers, the festival was created in 1997 and has grown to be the biggest touristic and cultural event in the Cagayan Valley Region with a slate of different events. One of these events is the Bambanti Festival King and Queen Presentation.
The festival king and queen are the lead performers or symbolic leaders of a contingent in the street dancing parade and competition. Most likely, this practice of having a festival king and queen started with the Sinulog Festival of Cebu, and was adopted in several festivals.
In the Bambanti Festival, a separate competition was created for the festival kings and queens and another for their costumes, the Bambanti Festival King and Queen Costume Competition. This year’s festival, which was held from 19 to 25 January, featured entries from 13 municipalities and cities.
The Bambanti Festival King and Queen Costume exhibit, together with the Queen Isabela Creative Attire exhibit, was mounted and was on view at the Northstar Mall in Alibagu, Ilagan City, from 20 to 22 January for the public to see the costumes up close. The Bambanti 2025 Festival King and Queen Presentation was held at the Queen Isabela Park on 23 January.
The participating municipalities and cities were Roxas, Jones, Cauayan City, Palanan, Echague, Alicia, Ilagan City, Santo Tomas, San Manuel, Santa Maria, San Pablo, Luna and San Isidro. Most of the costumes represented their recently created touristic festivals.
Ilagan City’s costumes were designed by Mark Anthony B. Baliao and paid tribute to the mammangi, the corn farmers, while San Isidro’s costumes, called Luntian, were designed by Ryan Malagayo Español from San Jose, Nueva Ecija, who is frequently commissioned to create costumes. Made of different materials such as rattan and palay (unhusked rice and rice stalks), San Isidro’s costumes were meant to symbolize rich harvest and pay homage to agriculture and other sources of livelihood.
Español also designed the costumes of Roxas. Called Siklab ng Roxas, they depicted the native hut and vegetable ingredients of the Ilocano dish pinakbet as the municipal government annually holds the Pinakbet Festival.
Designed by Mark Anthony S. Pimentel, Luna’s costumes, called Piedra Artistica, showed the town’s Bato Art Festival. “Here in Luna, where stones are symbols of strength and art brings life to dreams, resilience and creativity shine brighter than ever,” their statement enthused.
San Pablo’s entry, called The Majestic and Magical Baka Warriors and designed by Juan Clarra from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, depicted the municipality’s Baka (cow) Festival, which started in 2004 and promotes the cow’s milk industry. The festival king and queen costumes were described as “futuristic and magical baka warrior[s]”
“The three-dimensional and life-size cow warrior costume is a celebration of the wonderful magic that cow gives to the people of San Pablo. The ensemble was made out of environmental-friendly materials, diamond mats, mirror carpets and fabric. Giving emphasis to the costume are crystal and wooden beads, which are individually laid together that aims to portray hope and illuminate faith in every Isabelinos heart,” their statement said.
The costumes were also meant to symbolize “the interrelatedness of the cow and human being,” with the headdress symbolizing “the importance of the circle of life, which means that everything humans have needed to survive and thrive was provided by the natural world.”
The costumes of San Manuel were also designed by Clarra. The Kalabajuan: A Salute to the Carabao and Farmers of San Manuel costumes promoted the Cariada Festival, “a celebration of bountiful harvest because of rice farming” that “showcases the tradition of carrying cavans of rice from fields going to the kamalig, which was made possible with a carabao-pulled sled or kariton,” after which a “feast was usually prepared and tendered by the landowners to the kargadores and tenants, their humblest way of celebrating and thanking the Lord for a bountiful harvest,” their statement narrated.
The costumes were “a tribute to the golden harvest of our farmers and it pays homage to the carabao, which is of great help and company of our dearest farmers in the fields.” The design aimed to show “how our diligent, resilient and vigilant farmers meticulously transport their harvest.” They were “embellished with green and gold shimmer fabric and details representing the green fields of San Manuel and the golden grains and recognitions that the municipality had through the years,” and “also detailed with scarecrows which symbolizes protection and embodying the farmer’s effort to safeguard their livelihood.”
“Lastly, the bold, solid and structural masterpiece implies the strength, patience and hard work of the carabao being the backbone of our farmers who are among the pillars of the town’s dynamic economy,” the statement emphasized.
The costumes of Santa Maria highlighted the Mabbanga Festival, with the headdress and headpiece, “showcasing elements of Santa Maria’s pottery craftsmanship,” featuring “vibrant colors, mimicking the hues of local pottery and agricultural produce, with embellishments resembling clay pots, traditional patterns, and recyclable materials.” The worn backdrop “captures the essence of Santa Maria’s agricultural landscape, celebrating its bountiful harvests and fertile lands,” incorporating “flowing fabrics that represent the movement of crops swaying in the wind, with appliqué details mimicking corn husks and bundles of harvested produce.”
Designer Alvin Floralde Pasion described the costumes for Santo Tomas: “When worn, this attire transforms the wearer into a living emblem of the Inatata Festival’s spirit. The flowing fabrics, tactile elements, and interactive features invite others to celebrate, connect, and share in the joy. It’s not just clothing — it’s a moving story, a wearable tribute to heritage and innovation.”
Designed by Danny Ross Trinidad, Jones’ costumes, called Alay, highlighted the local rice variety, the pinilisa.
“The boy’s attire features a deer, symbolizing a significant offering made in thanksgiving for the abundant yield, while the girl holds a chicken, a traditional token of gratitude for prosperity and sustenance,” he described.
Other features of the design were the “kariton traditionally used by farmers to transport rice, emphasizing the agricultural roots of the Pinilisa Festival and paying tribute to the hard work and dedication of the farmers of Jones, Isabela,” and the rice mill, “symbolizing progress and the crucial role of rice processing in the community’s livelihood.”
“The ensemble is adorned with representations of the heads of four elders (Gaddang, Ibanag, Yogad, and Itawes) highlighting the deep ties to the cultural heritage and ancestral wisdom of Jones, Isabela,” he further said.
Cauayan City’s costumes were inspired by indigenous culture and guided by sustainability. Their statement said, “At the core of the design is the recurring circle motif, symbolizing the interconnectedness of all living things and the cyclical nature of existence. This motif reflects indigenous values of sustainability while aligning with global aspirations, as outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Geometric patterns rooted in indigenous heritage are interwoven with accents that showcase Cauayan City’s initiatives in responsible consumption, climate action, and sustainable development.”
The name of the pair of costumes of the coastal town of Palanan, Ibay, is a Paranan term for the Agta people, who are indigenous to the area. Made mostly of sabutan or pandan, the attire “is a testament to the Agta people’s deep connection with nature, as then have thrived for generations amidst Palanan’s majestic mountains, lush forests and pristine shorelines.” Other Agta accessories were also added.
The culture of the indigenous Yogad people, particularly their hunting and weaving practices, thus the name, Manganup annu Manannun (The Hunter and the Weaver), was the inspiration behind Echague’s costume entries, designed by Harold S. Dela Cruz for the festival queen and Kennedy Jhon T. Gasper for the festival king.
Designed by Michael Barassi, Alicia’s costumed symbolized “the town’s success in achieving a bountiful harvest particularly as the top rice producer in the province. It also emphasizes the pride and unity of the local community in their shared achievements, showcasing Alicia as a beacon of progress and prosperity within Isabela giving birth to Pagay Festival.”
The winners for the Best Festival King, Best Festival Queen, Best Festival King Costume, Best Festival Queen Costume, in Category A (for cities and first-class municipalities) and Category B (for second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-class municipalities), were revealed at the finale of the Bambanti Festival street dancing competition on 24 January.
Ilagan City bagged the first place in Category A of both the Best Festival King and Best Festival Queen contests. It was followed by Cauayan City (second), Jones (third), Alicia (fourth) and Echague (fifth). On the other hand, Luna emerged as the first-place winner in Category B in both the Best Festival King and Best Festival Queen contests. It was followed by Santa Maria (second), San Manuel (third), San Pablo (fourth) and Santo Tomas (fifth) in the Best Festival King contest, and Santa Maria (second), San Pablo (third), San Manuel (fourth) and Santo Tomas (fifth) in the Best Festival Queen contest.
In the Best Festival King Costume contest, Category A, the winners are Palanan (first), Echague (second), Ilagan (third), Alicia (fourth) and Jones (fifth). In the Best Festival Queen Costume contest, Category A, the winners are Palanan (first), Ilagan (second), Echague (third), Alicia (fourth), and Jones (fifth).
In Category B, winners of the Best Festival King Costume contest are San Manuel (first), San Pablo (second), Luna (third), San Isidro (fourth) and Santo Tomas (fifth), while the winners of Best Festival Queen Costume contests are San Manuel (first), Luna (second), San Pablo (third), San Isidro (fourth) and Santo Tomas (fifth).
