The beach in San Juan on weekends is dotted with surfers - pros, enthusiasts and wannabes all wanting to get a hold of the surfboard and ride it out on the waves. The waves come in varying sizes and intensity but they're stronger in the morning just after sunrise. Meanwhile, beach combers start their day by taking a dip in the water, ignoring the signboard that bore the caution: No Swimming. At mid-day when the sun is at its peak, the beach is virtually empty save for some souls who dare bear the heat by lazing on the sand. A couple of hours after siesta, men and women, old and young, start hauling their surfboards yet again, with instructors in tow and hit the waves. Feeling inebriated and tired, they head back to their cottage right before dusk, freshen up and share some booze with friends.
During the Surf & Music Festival, the atmosphere and scenarios on the beach in San Juan were pretty much the same except for the big crowd and music. (Now on its second year, the first one being held in Baler, Aurora, the festival drew a bigger crowd with about 1,700 to 2,000 people compared to last year’s 1,200 to 1,500 visitors and participants.) With a more festive vibe in the air, the beach looked like Boracay at sundown sans the white sand and posh hotels lining the shore.

We were only able to witness the third and last day of the festival but we surmised that each day had the same affair - beach, surfing, people and music. I'm not much of a metal rock fan and surfing isn't really my sport, but music at the beach is too cool of a proposition that I can't say no to. So when friends invited me to come to La Union for the Surf & Music Festival, I said yes without batting an eyelash. I didn't enjoy the performances as much as my companions did, but the experience was kind of rad, to say the least.

Sweltering heat at 3 in the afternoon

Not too early for booze

Pitching of tents on the beach is allowed

Female surfer looking for nice spot

You can leave your valuables unattended

Franco doing sound check while crew checked Portable & Arranger Keyboards.

Old woman picking up trash on the beach

Celebrity surfer Luke Landrigan with Franco

Exercise

Warning ignored

Surfers and swimmers

Crowd gets thicker

Eye candies

Some people brought their cars and parked it near the beach

Sunset casting a golden glow

Best spot to view the sunset

Minutes before the concert which started at 6:30

Fire dancer entertaining the crowd

Spy opened the show

Followed by Razorback

Wolfgang making the crowd wild

Ely Buendia of Pupil