Town of sighs marks 272nd anniversary

EVERY last quarter of the year, when the wind smells of lanzones and of orchids blooming by the slopes of Mt. Banahaw, the people of Majayjay come together to remember 1571, the year their town was founded by Don Gaspar Osorio, who later became the town's first gobernadorcillo.

This year's celebration began with a morning Mass at the St. Gregory Parish Church, an ancient edifice still in good condition.

Afterwards, the grand parade by delegations from the town's 40 barangays, followed.

The theme of the parade was "Halina sa Kabukiran," and the procession glittered with indigenous creations worn by the participants.

The entire officialdom of the town, from the municipal mayor down to the lowest barangay tanod, wore green t-shirts, symbolizing the theme.

The costumes, varied in design, reflected the main source of income of a particular barangay.

Adjudged as first prize winner was the "patadyong" made of coco-fabrics and designed into the Filipino flag. It was painstakingly hand-sewn.

Another standout was the vignette-bearing dress consisting of clusters of sili (green pepper), sitao (string beans) and talong (eggplant).

The women carried the bilao (stripped bamboo tray) filled with all sorts of vegetable needed to cook the locality's favorite viand called "laksa."

The costumes fascinated the visitors, particularly a dress entirely covered with rice stalks.

The lanzones was ubiquitous in the town plaza, costing P10 per kilo. At the office of Majayjay Mayor Tino Rodillas, bags containing the fruit were given free.

After the parade, folk-dancing followed at the social court. Visitors kept themselves busy filling their baskets with assorted fruits and vegetables sold almost free at the "tiendas," a row of improvised stores built for the day's celebration.

Among the guests were Sen. Robert Jaworski, movie actor and Laguna Vice Gov. Dan Fernandez and municipal mayors from the neighboring towns.

The town of Majayjay is bounded by Mt. Banahaw in the north and Quezon province in the south.

Legend says the town was thickly forested, located at the lower slopes of Mt. Banahaw. Wild animals thrived in the area until aborigines discovered it by chance while tracing the footprints of wild boars.

This handful of settlers started the town's social evolution.

The name Majayjay was originally spelled "Mahayhay," which refers to the Tagalog rootword "hay," a sigh uttered by one who loses his wind as he scales an ascent.

During the early Spanish times, the unnamed settlement had no roads, only trails snaking up high cliffs and down deep cuts between heights.

Encountering these difficulties, Spanish travelers, mostly missionaries who spoke prattled Tagalog, described the journey as prone to many "hays.