Last June 14-16, 2011, we held an art workshop at Banaue, Ifugao. We taught the employees of Civil Service, Northern Luzon chapter, how to create arts and crafts, shoot good photos, how to make installation art, mural painting, perform theater arts, and play indigenous Cordilleran music.
During our free time, we took a couple of side trips. I have been to a few places in Ifugao, and I have loved it. It was my first time to really see Banaue. Banaue is probably the most famous in the province, and when a place is too famous, usually there's too much commercialism going on. It can mean overcrowding and losing the real essence of its culture. Someone I met told me they call Banaue as 'Banaue House Terraces', instead of 'Rice'. I expected that negative side, but our trip turned out to be fun and educational. There were areas of 'House Terraces', but I still stood with awe in the vast forest and rice terraces formation, and met some very interesting locals along the way. Towards the end of our trip, I concluded that it's the people you meet that make your travels unforgettable.
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| View from the house of the descendant of Otley Beyer, just right above the Banaue Museum. |
