Normally tranquil, Lumban bursts with sounds and colors every third
week of September for its Burdang Lumban Festival. Aside from the fiesta
in January, which has been celebrated for centuries, the town has added
a festival. It has been a recent fashion in the Philippines to create
festivals to attract tourism, provide citizens cause for merriment and
honor and promote a unique product, industry or heritage. For Lumban,
the festival promotes its centuries-old craft and industry of hand
embroidery, burda in Tagalog.
Fashion designers, prominent personalities and people in the know go
all the way to Lumban for its barong Tagalog, wedding gowns and
embroidery, which flourished only in this town in Laguna. Lumban wants
to strengthen and further its reputation for hand embroidery, and
establish itself as the Embroidery Capital of the Philippines.
Embroidery remains to be the queen attraction of Lumban. And this was
shown in the festival, whose highlight is the street dancing
competition, in which school children dance in bright and colorful
costumes inspired by the barong Tagalog and embellished with known
embroidery designs. They started at the multi-purpose covered hall in
front of the municipal building, marched in front of the church, through
the narrow streets, and ended at the entrance of the barangay of Wawa
with a showdown. Larger-than-life tambors and bastidors served as props.
It was an amusing watch. Their zest and choreography led them to win a
prize at the Anilag Festival, Laguna’s “festival of festivals."Lumban, Laguna - Burdang Lumban Festival
Lumban is a third class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 29,470 people. Lumban is the home of Lake Caliraya, a man-made lake often visited by nature lovers and sports people. It lies 104 kilometres (65 mi) southeast of Manila.
Lumban is one of Laguna's oldest towns. It got its name from Aleurites moluccanus, a tree locally named "lumbang". The province's capital town, Santa Cruz, as well as Cavinti and Pagsanjan, were once part of Lumban.
Lumban is known as the "Embroidery Capital of the Philippines". Fine Jusi and Piña cloth are embroidered by hand, and the finished product is worn by males as Barong Tagalog
and by females as Saya (Filipiña). These are export-quality items.
Lumban is also known for its many beautiful designs of shoes, sandals,
slippers, and step-ins - all made from local materials. They are usually
sold in shopping malls in Metro Manila, albeit at slightly higher
prices than what can be found in Laguna.
Lumban is the home of Lake Caliraya, a man-made lake. Created in 1939,
the lake has developed as a popular spot for water sports and outdoor
recreation including fishing. Surrounding the lake are a number of
resorts catering to tourists and vacation homes abound because of the
beautiful scenery and favorable climate.Lumban, Laguna - Burdang Lumban Festival
