The bangkero, or boatman, of Pagsanjan, Laguna illustrates the steely resolve adopted by a man taking on the gods: on a wooden boat, armed with little more than a paddle, he attacks the rushing current, maneuvering masterfully around rocks and boulders. Tourists descend upon Pagsanjan Falls to join the bangkero in his thrilling upstream ride, especially in summer when this Laguna-edition Odysseus is honored with his own fiesta. Held yearly since 1999, the Bangkero Festival is an amphibious celebration that includes both street and fluvial parades and, of course, boat races in the famed delta branching out into two rivers that gave Pagsanjan its name (a contraction of the word pinagsangahan) and produced some of the finest swimmers and boat men you’ll find anywhere.

Like the boat ride to the falls, the journey of the bangkero - and of the Pagsnajan itself – was hardly smooth-sailing. The town was once bogged done by peace and order problems, including errant boatmen who were known more for tipping stingy tourists overboard than for their paddling prowess. Then-mayor Abner Afuang resolved to clean up his town’s image, at times employing such unorthodox punishment as forcing druggies to make out in public. A bangkero’s son, Afuang also convinced the boatmen to get organized, resulting in standardized fares and increased safety measures for visitors. Tourism at Pagsanjan River is now a million-peso industry. Began during Afuang’s term, the Bangkero Festival may celebrate Pagsanjan’s skilled helmsman, but it is also a tribute to a town’s determination to turn the tide and not go under.