Vizcayanos to launch common identity

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – This landlocked province, which is home to several ethnic groups, will give birth to a common identity during the weeklong celebration of its 170th founding anniversary in May. 

To be launched during the province’s First Grand Ammungan, the Tribu Vizcayano will personify the mixed heritage that has characterized the province’s more than 400,000 multi-cultural inhabitants, Vice Gov. Jose Gambito said.

The launch of Tribu Vizcayano through a grand cañao is slated on May 24, which falls on the day in 1839 when Nueva Vizcaya was formally created as a province through a decree of Spanish Governor General Luis Lardizabal, an act affirmed by the Spanish Crown a year later.

Gambito, this year’s founding anniversary director-general, said that coming up with a common identity would further unify the provincial folk’s drive toward “a more prosperous and peaceful Nueva Vizcaya.” 

An essential part of the launch, Gambito said, is the holding of a grand cañao or watwat during the weeklong festivities from May 19 to 25 where all local ethnic groups would come together and renew their bonds. – Charlie Lagasca