By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet ― Kalinga cultural group who came from Rizal National School of Arts and Trades (RNSAT) won the cultural presentation on December 18 in the 1st Pine Tree Festival organized by the Cordillera Ecological Center.

The group awed the audience as they stormed the stage with meaningful exhibitions depicting how unity can restore the destroyed ecology.

In their opening narration, the reader said, mankind had been ungrateful to the creator as greed consumes them. They abused God’s other creation by destructive activities such as logging. The reader also qualified that trees are essential to the balance of life. If not because of trees, she said, there would be no watersheds. Without watersheds, there would be drought that leads to meager agricultural harvest. And with meager harvest, food will be scarce for human consumption.

Without any props except the ethnic attire and the “banga” they were able to impart the message of their performance clearly. At first, their performance showed creation. All the cast acted as growing trees that have weathered natural calamities in order to stand tall. Then they transformed into a balance forest ecology nurtured by the dwellers.

However, the conflict came when greed consumed mankind that they destroyed the ecological balance of nature. In the play, the said conflict was showed by three formations of trees being cut down by one of the cast.

Meanwhile hope was portrayed by the cast struggling to stand and formed one big tree that symbolized unity among mankind. Then the play concluded with festive movements depicting that the people united will never be defeated by any greed force.

Other groups that participated in the competition were the groups reperesenting Tabuk City, Baguio City who bagged the 3rd place and Mt. Province who got the 2nd.

Among other competitions were, poster making, photography, song writing, poem writing, and battle of the bands. All competitions focused on the revival of the ecosystem by planting a tree a day.

Delegates also participated in the tree planting activity in Barangay Puguis of this town. # nordis.net