Asean lanterns to lighten mood in Visayas, Mindanao

Pampanga craftsmen pack a “parul” (Christmas lantern) that will be displayed as the country hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Craftsmen in this Pampanga capital last week began shipping their giant lanterns to 10 cities and towns in the Visayas and Mindanao that would be lit on Aug. 8 when President Duterte would switch on the lanterns at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to formally kick off activities for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit scheduled in November.

The lanterns would be delivered to the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Ozamiz, Davao, Tacloban, Ormoc and Puerto Princesa, and the towns of Malay in Aklan province and Mina in Iloilo province, according to Arvin Quiwa, whose firm, Quiman Trading, was commissioned to produce the lanterns.

These lanterns should help lift the Filipino spirit amid the government’s clashes with the terrorist Maute group in Marawi City and anxieties stirred by recent strong earthquakes in the Visayas, Quiwa said.

Quiwa designed the lanterns, which are six feet (1.83 meters) in diameter. Each lantern features the national leaf, anahaw, the national flower, sampaguita, and the traditional Mindanao sail boat, vinta.

Quiwa’s team is also putting up a 24-foot lantern at the CCP grounds in Pasay City.

The local governments tapped Quiwa after reading about the giant lanterns display that he had helped mount with overseas Filipino workers in Singapore in September 2016, to commemorate Christianity in Asia.

The lanterns were made by his sons Lervin and Adrian, nephew Bon Jove Guevarra and technicians Darwin Dayrit and Edward Abad.

Quiwa is continuing the tradition started by his great-great grandfather, Francisco Estanislao, who pioneered the crafting of big lanterns to simulate the Biblical Star of Bethlehem, which guided the Three Kings to the Child Jesus more than 2,000 years ago.

Quiwa, a commerce graduate, learned lantern-making at the age of 13 by doing errands for his father Ernesto, who produced lanterns for over 50 years.

Quiwa’s lanterns have been showcased in Taipei, Dubai, Singapore and Honolulu.

Former Mayor Oscar Rodriguez initiated the display of giant lanterns in Poland, Moscow, Ottawa, Dublin, Vienna and Beijing to promote the Philippines.