Tag Archive: festival

Feb
10
2010

Hala Bira To Life and Faith! Celebrating Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival 2010

Wow…It’s been almost two weeks since the festivities and I still can’t get over the January celebrations either. That January though, I came home for somewhat like an annual pilgrimage for myself. I couldn’t resist the temptation of those throbbing drums pounding loud and hard in this southern Philippine city every January. I’ve been with this festival since 2003, yet it never failed to amaze me as it continually innovates itself year after year it is being celebrated by the Ilonggos. Outrageous and frenzy as some say it may seem but this is Iloilo’s grandest fiesta at its finest!

It was one crisp morning of January that the city streets were starting to feel the throbbing beat of the drums, as if Iloilo City’s core was a heart. As the sun shines in this central Philippine city, the crowd gradually increased to witness and enjoy Iloilo’s grandest fiesta, the Dinagyang Festival. Now, this is the time you’ll be seeing those dancers painted in dark brown (back then it was black…welcome to the era of political correctness, hehe!) with colourful costumes and choreography so agile and fast that you shouldn’t blink during their performance! Read the rest of this entry »

Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2010/02/10/hala-bira-to-life-and-faith-celebrating-iloilos-dinagyang-festival-2010/

Feb
01
2010

Revelry and Dance: Kasadyahan in Dinagyang Festival 2010

Tribu Kasag of Banate in Kasadyahan 2010

Magsinadya kita! That’s what we do during Dinagyang. Sadya is a Hiligaynon term meaning “happy, joy or fun.” The Dinagyang Festival street dancing starts not on the Ati-Ati competition but with the Kasadyahan Festival. Held on a Saturday before the Ati-Atihan highlight of Dinagyang, it is a cultural dance parade, contest and showcase of Iloilo’s kabanwahanan or towns and several institutions within the city and the province (and I heard it is also open to all towns in Panay Island as well!) You don’t get to see soot-covered Ati warriors dancing during Kasadyahan like what most of us know about Dinagyang though. By the beat of the music and interpretative dance, the contingents showcase a myriad of cultural topics that is incorporated in every Ilonggo, from history to current events.

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Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2010/02/01/revelry-and-dance-kasadyahan-in-dinagyang-festival-2010/

Jan
04
2009

Devotion and Passion: The Black Nazarene of Quiapo

Okay, I may not be that be a devout Catholic but I am really fascinated about on how our fellow kababayans would really put their faith to the test through devotion to a certain patron saints and images. Seemingly, Christmas here in the Philippines isn’t done yet as thousands of devotees flock Manila’s Quiapo District for the upcoming feast of The Black Nazarene this 9th of January.

I’ve been to big fiestas of the country such as those of the Santo Nino and Candelaria but nothing compares to the devotion and intense drama that is happening in Manila’s street every January. Tourists be warned: People die here or get injured…yet with their faces usually aglow seeing their patron touched their lives with miracles and wonders.  Read the rest of this entry »

Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2009/01/04/devotion-and-passion-the-black-nazarene-of-quiapo/

Nov
05
2008

Kahilwayan Festival of Santa Barbara, Iloilo

Kahilwayan Festival

In the conventional history text books, they would mentioned that  when Aguinaldo declared Independence, all of the islands have been independent from the Spanish colonizers. They were dead wrong. After that mock battle between the Americans and the Spaniards in August 1898, the latter transfered their power at Iloilo to make last reforms but they were too late.

Given that the Ilonggos were loyal to the Spanish crown (as manifested by thge city of Iloilo’s seal “La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad”), the Spaniards stayed here thinking that they will be confident with the company of one of the most loyal peoples to them, they were wrong.

Sometime in late October, an event in Jelucuon (now part of New Lucena town) lead to the spark of the Ilonggo Revolt against the colonizers. Later on November, they moved to the town of Santa Barbara in which Nazaria Lagos “smuggled” the Philippine flag beneath the haystack. Santa Barbara was the first place outside Luzon to have hoisted the Philippine flag. The downfall of the European power is inevitable. Read the rest of this entry »

Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2008/11/05/kahilwayan-festival-of-santa-barbara-iloilo/

Nov
02
2008

Light & Fire: Banaag Festival of Anilao Iloilo

Banaag Festival
Just by All Saints Day or All Souls Day, while the people went to the cemeteries and lit up some candles for their loved ones, the people of the small town Anilao in the central Philippine province of Iloilo celebrates their town foundation, not only of candles lit in the cemeteries but also a celebration of light and fire, the Banaag Festival.

The said festival, usually held in the first weekend of November, is the town’s way in celebrating its foundation. “Banaag” or blazingly bright in Hiligaynon vernacular means “blazingly bright.” It is a celebration of valour and honor of their ancestors, triumph of light over darkness and the utilization of the light and fire in their everyday life in Anilao as farmers and fishermen. Read the rest of this entry »

Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2008/11/02/light-fire-banaag-festival-of-anilao-iloilo/

Aug
23
2008

Viva Virgen de Candelaria! (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Pebrero 2. Ito na marahil ang pinaka-una kong pagkakataon na maranasan ang sinasabing pinakamalaking pyesta ng Iloilo, bago pa man sumulpot ang Dinagyang sa syudad. Ito na ang Pyesta ng Nuestra Señora de Candelaria ng Distrito ng Jaro sa Syudad ng Iloilo. Noong una, hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit parag grabe ang kasikatan nitong pyesta na to, na magdadala sa north part ng syudad sa grabeng trapik at di mahulugan ng karayom na namamanata sa Birhen.

Flashback muna tayo. Ang kasalukuyang Katedral ng Jaro (o Katedral ng Santa Elizabeth de Ungria) ay itinayo noong late 19th Century sa komisyon ni Padre Mariano Cuartero. Ang statwa mismo na tinitingala ng mga deboto ay meron ding misteryosong nakaraan. Sinasabing nakita raw ito sa tabi ng Ilog Jaro ng isang mangingisda, hindi raw ito mabuhat ng madla kahit 1 feet lang. Wow, bigat!

Nang mailuklok ang estatwa na ito sa Katedral, pinaniniwalaang lumalaki at lalong bumibigat ito kada taon. May mga araw rin daw na nawawala ang imahen na ito, sabay na nakikita ang isang magandang babae na may dalang anak na naliligo sa isang bukal sa ngayo’y Plaza Jaro.

Dahil sa taglay na mala-milagrosong katangi-an. Maraming naging deboto ang Candelaria…ang kanilang naging simbolo ng pag-asa.

Mismong si Pope John Paul II na mismo ang nagdeklara kay Birheng Candelaria bilang Patrona Santa ng Western Visayas, ng Arsodiosesis ng Jaro noong 1981 nang sya’y bumisita sa syudad…

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Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2008/08/23/viva-virgen-de-candelaria-jaro-iloilo-city/

Aug
22
2008

Layag Paraw: Paraw Regatta Festival ng Iloilo City

Photobucket

17 Pebrero. Bagama’t binayo ang Iloilo ng malamig na ihip ng hangin mula sa Siberia, hindi nagpatalo ang mga Ilonggo sa kanilang talento na harapin ang bangis ng karagatan na humanaw sa kamuwangan ng mga Ilonggo bilang isa sa mga kilalalang seafarers ng bansa. Ang Paraw Regatta Festival ay tinuturing na isa sa pinakamatandang regatta o karera ng mga yate o bangka sa Asya. Ngayon na nasa ika-36 na taon ng pagdiriwang na ang nasabing festival, ito’y lumaki at lumaki mula sa simpleng karerahan ng mga bangka-de-paraw ng mga mangingisda noon, hanggang naging isa itong pang-akit sa mga turista at mga boat enthusiasts na rin. Tinaguriang ika-tatlong  best tourism event ng ATOP (Assoctiation of Tourism Officers in the Philippines), maliban sa karera sa dagat at pagpinta ng mga layag ng mga paraw, dinagdagan na rin ng mga karagdagang activites ang nasabing pyesta. May sayawan ng samba, may fireworks display noong gabi bago ang fiesta at mga pakontest habang nasa kalagitnaan ng karera ang mga bangka.

Ang karera ngayon ay tila hinabaan at nagtagal ito ng mahigit 2 oras na umiikot mula sa Villa Beach ng Iloilo City, patungo sa Guimaras at pabalik…

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Permanent link to this article: http://habagatcentral.com/2008/08/22/layag-paraw-paraw-regatta-festival-ng-iloilo-city/

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