C O L O R S O F H A RV E ST W R I T T E N B Y M I C H E L L E A Y U Y A O . P H O T O S B Y E D G A R A L A N Z E TA - Y A P A N D O L I V E R B A U T I S TA
The first blush of May has the streets of Quezon’s Lucban community laced in a spectrum of colors. Homes are cloaked in the town’s recent harvest of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and rice stalks, while wafer-thin strips of rice dough called kiping hang like stained-glass panes overhead. Come May 15, along the city’s main avenue, a procession honoring San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of farmers, highlights this annual celebration of thanksgiving called Pahiyas.
Lucban’s colorful streets live up to the name Pahiyas, from the local term payas, which means “to decorate.”
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