Abra is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. The province is enclosed by the towering mountain ranges of the Ilocos in the west and the Cordillera Central in the east. It has an extremely rugged terrain, with mountains and hills rising along its perimeter and interior. When you are in Abra, you can see the sights of amazing and impressive stalagmites at the Libtec Underground River and Sibud-Sibud cave. Tourists can come, visit, witness and also participate in the annual festival of the province the Arya Abra Festival, held on the second week of March, which commemorates the founding anniversary of the province.
Date of the Festival
Abrenian Festival or the Arya Abra Festival is a week-long celebration coinciding with the province's foundation anniversary held annually every March 5 to 10 or at the second week of March in the capital town of Bangued. It showcases the province's history and culture through parades and cultural shows as well as agro-industrial fairs.
Short History
Bangued is the capital town of the province of Abra. The name of the city means "roadblock" and has been the seat of provincial government since July 25, 1861, coinciding with the feast day of St. James the Great. The city of Bangued is known for its Arya Abra festival, which means, "Onward Abra".
In ancient time, the festival is the colorful anniversary celebration of the province’s Charter Day on March 9, 1917.
Arya Abra Festival is a celebration of of Abra’s individuality. It features various sectors/groups in the province together with the indigenous people in Abra which is the Iraya Tribe. Each day is offered to a particular group of people as a way of honoring them for what they have done for the province of Abra.
Description
The first day of the festival starts with the Youth Festival where competitions are held between school groups in various events including cheering and street dancing.
Also, the "Basi Festival," is also included in the course of events. It is a wine festival featuring the local alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane and one of the beverages popular in the celebration is the Abrazzi, which is a mixture of basi, honey and green mango juice.
Activities
- Sports and shows
- A dog show held at the Bangued Town Plaza
- Usual horse racing
- Exhibitions at the Arya Abra Oval
- Exhibition games and a basketball clinic in the Bangued Town Plaza
- Women of Abra parade with their colorful traditional costumes
- Ms. Arya Abra-Earth pageant
- Karambola (a simultaneous fight among four or more cocks and hack fight for bantam and regular cocks)
- Grand party at the Bangued Municipal Hall
How to get there:
From Manila, you can ride a bus going to Abra by Partas Trans. The Philippine Rabbit bus has a Baguio-Abra-Manila route and Viron Trans has trips from Baguio to Abra.