AGUINALDO, Ifugao - In a pre-Hispanic wild hunting ground that used to draw hunters from Isabela, Mountain Province, and the old Municipality of Mayoyao then including the territories of the towns now known as Alfonso Lista and Aguinaldo, a wild hunting festival dubbed as Apar ad Ubao was held here last April 28-30, 2008 that once again lured a huge crowd of visitors with various ethnic origin.
Research shows that Barangay Ubao, during the American occupation, was where Lieutenant-Governor William Dosser put up his bunk house and once brought Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison to experience wild game. Dosser transformed parts of the land into pasture land for livestock grazing and now remains a major producer of cattle in the region.
An occasion for extreme sports such as cattle wrestling, bull riding, calf roping, adventure challenge, motor cross, etc., the said festival gained support of distinguished sponsors such as Department of Tourism – Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR), Ginebra San Miguel, and San Miguel Beer. The said events were participated by competing teams from Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Benguet and Ifugao.
DOT-CAR Director Purificacion Molintas, who arrived on the 2nd day of the festival, said that the huge crowd of spectators and the participation of teams from Region 2 and CAR could make Apar ad Ubao qualify for the municipal level. She said that it is a model for all barangay festivals in the Cordillera.
Organizers headed by Ifugao District II Board Member Joseph Odan maintained that the venue of the festival has its unique geological, geographical, and historical significance, being located at the epicenter of Eastern Ifugao with an approximately 30-minute ride from Isabela.
The festival, according to the organizers, is meant to introduce a regular major festival not only local in scope but hopefully to go region-wide boosting tourism in the area, to promote this town’s cattle industry, and to develop and promote the art and discipline of lassoing, bronco-riding, calf-roping and other cowboy skills commonly practiced by local cattle herders.
Aguinaldo Mayor Delfin Bullan disclosed that to sustain the festival is a great challenge. He said that a meeting with local officials will be conducted to assess the festival and discuss its fixed schedule. Bullan further said that he hopes the festival will be instrumental in bridging ties with local government units having cattle buyers so that they will consider coming to Ubao.
This, according to him, could help ease the burden of the locals in transporting their cattle to Urdaneta, Pangasinan for marketing. -- Juan Dait Jr.
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