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Top Five Must-see Visayan Philippines Festivals

By Lovely Philippines
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Festivals are a fun way to discover the culture of a people. And the islands of the Visayas are hosts to a variety
of festivals that deserve any traveler’s attention. The many islands of the Visayas come alive every so often
with festivals and fiestas that are marked with merry-making, color, pomp and pageantry, so much so that
these events have come into world-wide acclaim.
Festivals are also a time when natives now living abroad come home to relive their pasts and re-experience
their roots. Tourists from other areas or countries also visit to get a taste of the best of Philippine culture. The
influx of tourism became the very fuel that made organizers think of new activities to spice up and
differentiate their festival and attract more tourists.
However, there are five festivals that have stood out in recent years. Here are the Top Five Visayan Festivals
that you should not miss in your lifetime!
1.Â Â Â Sinulog Festival
Location: Cebu City Philippines
The Sinulog Festival is held in Cebu and lasts well over a week, culminating in the
street parade or Mardi Gras that falls on the third Sunday of every January. The feast
venerates the Senyor Santo Nino de Cebu. For many years, Cebu’s Sinulog has
featured different activities such as the Miss Cebu beauty pageant, the fluvial
procession, the solemn street procession, the film-making contests, the arts
contests, among others. But most people, especially non-locals, equate Sinulog with
the Grand Parade.
During the Grand Sinulog Parade, dozens of contingents representing the different
locales of Cebu City and Cebu province take part in different categories: free
interpretation dance, traditional Sinulog dance, best float and best “higantes”. In the recent years, guest
contingents have been allowed to participate and join the Cebuanos in the fun dancing, including contingents
from Manila, other provinces and even other countries. Major thoroughfares of the city are closed for this
parade, as people flock the streets and the Abellana Sports Complex to watch the pomp and pageantry, the
burst of color and the lively beat of drums.
It is rare that an entire city joins in the celebration of one festival, but Cebu has always primed its citizenry to
celebrate as a whole during Sinulog. No wonder that even as 20 years have gone by, Sinulog is still the most
looked-forward event for all Cebuanos.
2. Ati-Atihan Festival
Location: Kalibo, Aklan Philippines
Aklan plays host to the annual Ati-atihan festival, coinciding with the third Sunday of
January. Like the Sinulog Festival of Cebu, the Ati-atihan celebrates the many
miracles of the Child Jesus or Santo Nino.
The festival is probably more well-known for the black paint that most participants
put on their bodies. The black paint that covers the whole body contrasts starkly
with the colorful costumes and ornaments.
The Ati-Atihan, though honoring the Santo Nino, has tribal and pagan origins.Â But
together with the city’s Christianization, the festival has taken a new meaning.
3. Dinagyang Festival
Location: Ilo-ilo City Philippines
If you have the Sinulog or the Ati-atihan on your travel itinerary to catch the colorful
Visayan Festivals in January, then surely your next stop would be Ilo-ilo, where the
Dinagyang Festival is held on the fourth Sunday of January.
The Dinagyang Festival still venerates the Child Jesus, but also commemorates the
conversion of Filipino tribes to Christianity.
Today’s Dinagyang Festival is much anticipated with several events serving as highlights,
including the search for Iloilo’s prettiest ladies in the Miss Dinagyang pageant, the Atis
street dancing, and the Kasadyahan street dancing. Like the Sinulog and Ati-atihan,
prayers, drum beats and colorful costumes litter the streets of Iloilo for the Dinagyang.
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4. MassKara Festival
Location: Bacolod City Philippines
Bacolod City holds its Charter Day on the 19th of October every year. Coinciding with
its Charter Day is the MassKara Festival, a week-long activity that is currently dubbed as the Festival of Smile, a
take on Bacolod’s own monicker as the City of Smiles.
Unlike other festivals in the Visayas, however, the MassKara is not religious or tribal in nature. Instead, the
Festival ironically traces its roots on tragedy. The festival was first held in 1980, at a time when sugar cane and
sugar prices plummeted and the livelihood of Bacolenos suffered. It was also during that year that a terrible
maritime tragedy left more than 700 Negrenses dead when the Don Juan and the tanker Tacloban City collided
with each other and sank.
To eclipse the tragedy and the sorrow, Bacolod held its first MassKara Festival. The term MassKara was coined
by Ely Santiago, meaning many faces. It also became the festival’s trademark: smiling masks worn by the
participants.
Today’s Masskara features the search for the festival queen, street carnivals, competitions, food fests, sports
and music events, garden and agricultural shows and other activities.
5. Pintado-Kasadyahan Festival
Location: Tacloban City Philippines
Lasting a whole month, Tacloban City holds the Pintados-Kasadyahan Festival

culminating on June 29. The current festival also includes the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, the
Pagrayhak Grand Parade, and the Pintados Ritual Dance Presentation. The festival commemorates and fleshes
out how the Spaniards saw the early Filipinos when they arrived in Leyte: bodies filled with tattoos and holding
weapons which were previously heated in open fire. In fact, pintados is how the tattoo-covered natives were
called, and that’s how the festival got its name.
http://www.lovelyphilippines.com/festivals/top-five-must-see-visayan-philippines-festivals/

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Top Five Must-see Visayan Philippines Festivals

Lasting a whole month, Tacloban City holds the Pintados-Kasadyahan Festival

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