DINAGYANG FESTIVAL: The Philippines Best Festival!

Dinagyang Festival is a spectacular event in the province of Iloilo where people in unique costumes dance all day and night every 4th week of January to commemorate the Christianization of the natives and to honor the Holy Child Jesus. It is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the fourth Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog In Cebu and the Ati-Atihan in Aklan. It is held both to honor the Santo Niño and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the subsequent selling of the island to them by the atis.

Dinagyang is an annual event, when the whole town rejoices, shouting their pride of being an Ilonggo and telling their culture. It is wonderful looking back to the past. It is not just a celebration, it is a religious evangelization. Going back to 

Iloilo is more like a past fulfilled and a looking forward to future celebrations. It is our culture. The Aeta culture. That's why it is painting the town black.

 

Today, the main part of the festival consists of several "tribes", called "Tribus", who are supposed to be Ati tribe members dancing in celebration. There are several requirements, including that the performers must paint their skin brown and that only indigenous materials can be used for the costumes. All dances are performed to drum music. Many tribes are organized by the local high schools. Some tribes receive a subsidiary from the organizers and recruit private sponsors, with the best tribes receiving the most. The current Ati population of Iloilo is not involved with any of the tribes nor are they involved in the festival in any other way.

Dinagyang Festival was voted as the best Tourism Event for 2006, 2007, and 2008 by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines. It is the first festival in the world to get the support of the United Nations for the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, and cited by the Asian Development Bank as Best Practice on government, private sector & NGO cooperation.

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