Antipolo unveils May fest for pilgrims and tourists

ANTIPOLO City - Mayor Angelito C. Gatlabayan has unveiled SUMAKAH Festival 2002 – an acronym for Suman, Mangga, Kasuy at Hamaka – to make Antipolo City the must-see destination for the fiesta month.

Adopting “Tayo na Sa Antipolo’’ as its official slogan, Gatlabayan’s SUMAKAH festival seeks to familiarize tourists with all the fine facets of the city. Trekking to Antipolo has become a summer tradition for many generations of Filipinos. Best immortalized in Jose Rizal’s book Noli Me Tangere, where a pivotal plot point hinges upon a trip by the main characters to the city’s famed Hinulugang Taktak, Antipolo’s irresistible charm has kept people coming back year after year even in these modern times, but for many different reasons.

Pilgrims travel to the city to pray for the intercession of the miraculous Lady of Buenviaje. Families sick of sticky, hot, and polluted Manila escape to Antipolo’s pristine falls and resorts and fair weather. Motorists take advantage of Antipolo’s green and picturesque streets to take their vehicles out for long, relaxing drives. The best variety and best prices for local kakanin, mangoes, cashews and other delicacies are also available in Antipolo’s many food shops. And eco-lovers have discovered that Antipolo’s many woods are perfect for hiking trips.

Now, fresh from its first-runner up award for “Most Beautiful Booth’’ at the recently-concluded Tourism and Travel Show at the SM Megamall, Antipolo steps out with a whole new program to attract tourist attention.

The SUMAKAH festival begins with an “Alay Lakad’’ pledge walkathon. More accurately billed as a “Penitential Walk for Peace,’’ the walkathon, led by Mayor Gatlabayan and Antipolo City First Lady Josefina Gatlabayan, will begin at Antipolo in the early morning of May 1. Participants will fetch the Virgin of Antipolo from the Quiapo Cathedral, which the Virgin traditionally visits until April 30 every year.

Street dancing parties will be hosted by the city government on Wednesday (May 1), and its three succeeding Saturdays, May 11, 18 and 25. The Sundays of May 5, 12, 19 and 26 are reserved for showcasing the city’s most beautiful in Antipolo’s four Flores de Mayo parades.

Food enthusiasts can satisfy their various cravings with Antipolo’s month-long Agro-Food Fair held at the Sumulong Park from May 22 to 30, as farmers from in and around the city gather and roll out their best produce, including Antipolo’s famed mangoes, and raw and fried kasuy while the region’s best cooks distribute and demonstrate their best-known recipes.

The city’s products will be showcased at Sumulong Park, when Antipolo residents will compete in a series of culinary competitions for the Longest Suman (rice cake) and Biggest Mango Pie as well as other categories like On the Spot Painting and Most Beautiful Hamaka (hammock). An Industrial Trade Fair will also be hosted by the city on May 1-31, also at the Sumulong Park.

[ Hinulugang Taktak Falls Wiki ]