BANANACUE
REPUBLIC
Vol II, No. 17
July, 2005

 
  
 by Leoncio Olobia

CONTENTS

Website:
Leoncio

Travel Lessons

Traveling in the Philippines is not at all a misery I should say. Aside from our natural endowments, our people are not at all detached or arrogant with every tourist that comes along their way.

Still trying to understand our behavioral patterns, I just can’t help but tell tales of my adventures in the world hoping I might be able compare things with our own.

One of  the many things that confront us is the struggle  to survive in an unstable economy. Because income disparity is highly pronounced, the lesser fortunate tend to engage in any means to uplift them from economic stagnation. The proliferation of small-scale canteens, food shops or industries with  almost zero sense of aesthetics seems to be the ultimate solution to this economic debacle. They are not tourist friendly stalls.

In other parts of the world, areas widely visited by tourists maintain a gesture of simplicity but with style. In Cozumel, Mexico, restaurants look really great the way they embellish on native materials. A great meal becomes a cozy adventure, very pleasing to the eye because the surrounding is clean and filled with cultural artifacts. They utilize local wood for example putting different installations that define the scene. It’s just perfect. Here, a simple canteen with plastic chairs tends to be the fashion statement, nothing more. There is a lewd display of affluence only if the owner can afford but if the place is cash-starved, the ambience is obviously deathly or unfriendly to any tourist. We don’t have to be like this. There is always some aesthetic statement even in the face of misfortune or something.

Even in Boracay, a popular destination doesn’t send an artistic message because these small stalls are not in style. The nipa dwellings are redundant, everywhere you go they look the same. We should shun altogether this imitative behavior. Tourists like to look at variety and creativity. If we develop a consciousness like this, I am sure our place will be at the forefront of tourism. You don’t have to be rich to be in style. Creative imagination is the key to bringing in more attractions.

Why can’t we expound on the theme of coconuts or bamboos or nipa huts, utilize them not as basic structures but as artistic creations? We can perhaps make them as dinner plates or something, bamboos as food trays for certain cuisine. In Ethiopia, formal dining is a treat because they incorporate art in their culinary presentations. People eat in big trays not in small plates. They tend to emit friendship if each takes a bite from the big tray. Not only that, people take turns in feeding one another as a gesture of acceptance. It is rather an insult to say no to a food being fed to your mouth. The rule only that you don’t touch the person’s mouth. The point is that these cultural attributes are so unique for a certain culture and if we are proud enough to show them all, we will surely increase appreciation eventually inviting more tourists. When these people go back to their countries, they always tell their tales to their friends. If we have something worthwhile to present, we can surely be included in the vacationer’s list.

What are some of our unique attributes as Warays? Our folksongs can be used to serenade guests just like the Mariachis of Mexico. People love this form of entertainment.

Is there a place in Tacloban that does this? Nowhere and there is no effort to bring back this consciousness. Aside from singing, our own local delicacies are not well-marketed because they remain in the periphery of the city. Why not package them commercially and I mean really include them in dessert menus for instance or make a gigantic display of all of them in the middle part of a restaurant?

Our tourist destinations are still not well-publicized and we need to mobilize marketing. This is the job of Tourism, to sell what is local. Let us exhaust all means to take us to the traveling mind. These people are searching. They are eager to explore our place. Let us not hide ourselves.

Posted 07/22/05.  Send your comment to bananacue_republic@yahoo.com

"Why can’t we expound on the theme of coconuts or bamboos or nipa huts, utilize them not as basic structures but as artistic creations?  Why not package our local delicacies commercially and include them in dessert menus for instance or make a gigantic display of all of them in the middle part of a restaurant?