TOURISM

Tourism

The town of Nabua is known for having a large contingent of active and retired United States Navy servicemen. That makes Nabua a veritable destination for tourists, retirees, and balikbayans from the United States. Oftentimes, coyly and with a tinge of amusement, the town is usually referred to as the Town of the Green Bucks (U.S. Dollars). Most of the families of these servicemen reside in Southern California, particularly in the San Diego area. During religious and special holidays, these U.S. based Nabuenos plus a growing number of Nabua natives now residing in other parts of the world would unfailingly return to their beloved Nabua, tagging along their friends, and freely spending their hard-earned foreign currency which definitely boosts the local economy and tourism.

Among the celebrations and local sites in the town includes:

• Nabua celebrates its fiesta with the now-famous Annual Boa-Boahan Festival on the third of May. The highlight of the festival is the reenactment of the traditional "Boa Feast," a 13th-century rite where ancient Bicolanos offered chains ofcoconut embryos called boa to their pagan deities, in the belief that this would give them ample harvests, favorable weather, and make their lives more prosperous and happy throughout the year. The feast is enlivened with frenzied street theater, heart-pounding street dances and spectacles, and a riveting display of colorful and dazzling ethnic costumes. This annual festival was initiated and given unprecedented impetus and funding by ex-Mayor Ulpiano Duran and the town's first lady then, Mrs. Delia Duran (a U.P. alumna), in tandem with the late District Supervisor Mrs. Patricia Romano and the principals, teachers, and pupils from both public and private schools. Sadly Mrs. Romano passed away a couple of years later. She would have been very glad and honored to see that the baby (Boa-boahan Fest) she had midwifed to a healthy birth has turned into a spectacular and much-anticipated annual event. The first-ever festival was held in 1974, a street pageantry that was graced in the evening by a memorable dramatic revue performed by the legendary U.P. Mobile Theater under Professor and National Artist Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, with the help of the touring company's long-time national coordinator, Mr. Timothy O. Albano (incidentally, he and his staff volunteered to research extensively the legend and authentic lore behind the festival's underlying mythology). The late U.S. Engr. Cleto Descalso, a Nabueno philanthropist who chose to retire in Nabua after the decades he spent working in the United States, generously funded the creation of the Descalso Garden Park near the Municipal Hall. This exquisitely-designed garden became the staging point for this first festival. A poetry-reading featured during the first Miss Boa-boahan/Alinsangan beauty pageant was delivered by National Artist Rio Alma (Virgilio Almario). The guests of honor who helped crown the first Miss Boa-boahan Festival had included the commanding generals and commodores from both the Subic Bay Naval and Clark Air bases. Today, this fascinating festival can proudly stand side by side with the world-famous Sinulog, Ati-atihan, and Dinagyang Festivals.

• The over 400-year-old church of Nabua known as the Vicariate of the Holy Cross is a prominent landmark along the national diversion road connecting the municipality of Baao directly to this town without passing the city of Iriga.

• Starting from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, you will find 400-year-old religious customs and traditions being celebrated by the locals. Semana Santa starts with the Palm Sunday procession and blessing of Palms. On Holy Wednesday and Good Friday, the Processions of 'Pasos' are solemnly held to depict the Passion of the Christ. To commemorate Christ's resurrection, the "Balo-balu" is celebrated the night of Black Saturday and then the "Ton-ton" at dawn on Easter Sunday after the "Salubong" procession.

• Existing local industries such as bamboo craft, handloom weaving, woodcraft and basketry derived from available raw materials.