Pamulinawen’s Calesa Parade

One of the activities in the celebration of the Pamulinawen Festival this year was the calesa parade. Calesa, karitela or horse-drawn carriage is still in use and plying the streets of Laoag today for the purpose of tourism, for public transportation and for its conservation. A calesa ride is one of the exciting things to do when in Laoag especially at night time. It can also be rented to take you not just around the city but even to Fort Ilocandia Resort.

There is a total of 283 calesas in the city. Majority of them participated in this annual event where some of them dressed up not only their carriages but even the horses. To see the designs and decorations of the calesa was such a work of art because they were so creative. They made use of indigenous materials to come up with beautiful set of decoration. They used twigs, dried leaves, flowers and even fruits and vegetables particularly garlic and onions.