I didn’t really sign up for an adventure. I just wanted to
go out with my friends and buy langgonisang lucban. Then I realized I wanted to
see why people are talking about the Pahiyas Festival. I was raised to embrace
my Tagalog heritage (Quezon and Laguna) but never in my life have I witnessed
Lucban’s Pahiyas Festival.
The original plan was to climb up the steps of
Kamay niHesus. After that?
Bahala na.
My friend Nix and I did a little research – people offering
tours and packages during the
Pahiyas Festival goes from Php1,000 to a little
over Php2,000. It seemed a pretty good idea but the meeting point was somewhere
in Pasay or Cubao, places far from where we are. You see, living in Alabang and
a stone’s throw away from Laguna and SLEX has its advantages. This should be
one of them.
We asked around the rate of renting our own van. Assuming
this plan will be cheaper since we’re already in the south. Van rentals ranged
from Php3,000 to Php6,500. We figured we’d just get more people to join us to
split the costs. (Thank you JR and Darwin for joining the adventure!)
Having our own transportation also gave us the liberty to
plan an itinerary that we want. We included going to the underground cemetery
in Nagcarlan, take a dip in Taytay Falls in Majayjay and even stop at Liliw to
buy footwear. It seemed like it was all well planned.
We agreed to leave Alabang at 5AM, but we really left past
6. We wanted to leave early to catch the morning mass at Lucban. Running late,
we proceeded with the plan to go straight to Kamay ni Hesus. We took the Calamba-Los
Banos-Victoria-Bay-Nagcarlan-Majayjay-Lucban route. We should have taken the
detour to Luisiana after Majayjay to get straight to Kamay ni Hesus but the
route is too far to go back so we decided to explore on our own. (Traveler tip:
Going to Kamay ni Hesus is easy but during the Pahiyas Festival, do not take
the Sto. Tomas route as traffic will be heavy in most of Quezon’s towns going
to Lucban.)
A few kilometers into the town of Lucban, traffic enforcers
and marshals blocked the road to the town proper. This made us decide to park
the van somewhere and take a tricycle to town (Php10/person). We would have
walked but it started to rain. The tricycle driver was kind enough to tell us
how to go to the Grotto (Locals’ term for Kamay ni Hesus) after dropping us off
at the
San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Parish Church. We just lit a few candles,
offered prayers and went our way.
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| Langgonisang Lucban Pizza (Php150) photo by @jesmille |
Following the tricycle driver’s instructions, we started
walking to the other side of town (landmark: Southern Luzon State University or
SLSU to locals), where we could get another tricycle which will take us to the
Grotto. It was 11am, it was humid and the smell of
langgonisang Lucban is not
helping. While walking, we spotted a vendor of langgonisa rice meals but we
didn’t buy that. We bought the Langgonisang Lucban Pizza - which is not bad, I
must say. The store didn’t look festive to me – there was no decors whatsoever.
I asked. Every year, the route of the parade is changed – and only those
included in the route are tasked to decorate their houses with crops, fruits,
vegetables and kiping. Kiping is a brightly colored leaf-shaped wafer made of
rice paste. (I actually thought kiping is a suman.) No colorful kipings = not
the parade route.
The tricycle ride from SLSU to Grotto was about 5-10minutes.
Entrance to the Grotto is free. There were a lot of people inside the park. I’m
not sure if that’s the usual crowd or because of the festival.
Depending on
your stamina and determination, climbing up the steps could take from 15
minutes to an hour (?). But. It’s. Worth. It. (Traveler tip: bring a bottle of
water on your way up, especially if you’re climbing mid-day, like we did. There
are no vendors on top of the hill, except for an ice cream vendor, so you’ll
really feel thirsty when you’re up there.)
We decided to head back to town and figure out where we’ll
eat lunch. Luckily, Nix’s lolo has a house in town. We were treated to lunch in their house. Quezon staples: pancit habhab and hardinera. Then the usual Pinoy food. We decided to forget the original itinerary and waited for the parade. JAVIER AND I WANNA SEE CARABAOS!
Going around town was nice - the colorful kiping-decorated houses indeed made this festival the most colorful I've ever seen. After the parade, it was time to buy pasalubongs before heading home. #WhenInQuezon, don't forget to buy a couple dozens of langgonisang Lucban, as well as noodles for pancit habhab and broas (lady fingers). Although not originally from Lucban, you'll see stores selling the well-known
Rodillas Yema Cake. While it is still relatively cheap (compared to online sellers' prices), I must warn you that carrying a box or two of this delicate dessert is a bit worrisome during a festival - it's crowded and hot. If you must, go ahead and buy puto flan/leche puto as well.
Will I go through all the hassle again of walking for a day in Lucban for Pahiyas? HELL YES I WILL. Photos below will tell you about the awesome time we had. (All photos are mine unless where credited.)
