To both frequent holidaymakers and locals, well, you know a lot of the Dinagyang Festival off by heart, it is held each year around January time, Iloilo City a colourful culture. The throwing of the festival is indispensable, thus, perceptibly. Competing tribes composed largely of vibrant young performers, mostly students, always use cheerful colours in their elaborate costumes worn during the festival time and no one can fail to be struck by the vibrancy of Iloilo City streets where they shimmy, shake their bodies, and jump through, their skins coloured black.
The Dinagyang Festival, transforming unusual spaces on and around the streets with a mixture of arts, performance, carnival, pyrotechnics, art installations, exhibitions, street events, music and dance, food and feasting, signifies Iloilo City celebration of its cultural heritage to pay the Ilonggos’ respects to Jesus Christ portrayed as a small Filipino pilgrim child, the Santo Niño.
Every year, key Iloilo City streets are closed to traffic for the festival's spectacular finale event, a magical dance competition that winds along all directions of the city, each tribe having amazing costumes and fantastic structures.
The definitive advantage of the festival, for my part, is a shared experience for those who usually take part in all the festival’s activities. This adds force to the societal bonds between those who push the boat out for the festival and shows vigour and unanimity to those outside of Iloilo City.
Taken over by commercialism although the festival has been, its meanings and significance has been kept on. It brings back a dissimilar nature of humour and delight - it’s something imitable where one and all comes together to enjoy that moment with devotion and friendliness, most of us, by and large, throwing our heads back as if in ecstasy, but its being Ilonggo could by no means be, it’s of Iloilo City. The festival, truthfully, lets the holidaymakers experience what makes Iloilo unique amongst other places and examine it more deeply and more realistically because its past and traditions are rooted in a particular period and milieu.
More to the point, there’s a lot of fun in spending our money as it’s an occasion of celebration that makes us place ourselves into a mood of being able to entertain and be generous on our wallets. It is a way of welcoming one and all, even our bitter foes, with a broad dazzling smile. So, I reckon, let it be colourful and enjoy the spirit of the festival.
Our life, for one thing, is so full of activity in recent times, and most of us don’t have time for our dear ones. That’s why the only way to stay together and get pleasure from our nearest and dearest is to celebrate one festival, i.e., the Dinagyang Festival, one of the best in the world, at least once a year.
The motto behind the Dinagyang Festival, when I reflect intensely on it, is our bright and breezy reunion with our kith and kin. It is to remember our traditions and rituals and be in close touch with the younger generation with the intention that they can also follow our folklore and that every Dinagyang will go into legend.
Celebrating the festival, unmistakably, is to share indulgence with each other by putting out of our mind our problems and differences. It helps us forge close meeting with our ancestors and solicit their protection, as some would trustingly affirm. It is what's more held so as to cleanse the city so that we can cross the threshold of every New Year with confidence and hope. Our culture of hospitality portrayed by the ways we speak and are on the same wavelength with others can be seen through the festival.
In the streets, to boot, the dances and the beat of the drums entwine themselves with the dancers in which the action unfolds so that the people, the culture, and the history turn out to be inextricably linked.
I believe that, expanded and stocked with new attractions every year and featuring no end of exhibits and activities, the Dinagyang Festival is the festival which explores and develops ever richer meanings of Iloilo City. Our experience of the Dinagyang Festival is part of what forms our identity, our very sense of self as Ilonggos.
Too, it gives the public chance to weigh up the competence of our local leaders enjoying having a little fun along with their hard work and dedicating their life to the citizens of their community.
We, in view of that, ought to know off pat that the Dinagyang Festival is very important in quite a lot of ways, by tradition, religiously, within society, economically, culturally, ethically, and politically in the lives of most Ilonggos. Observing the festival is holistic medicine which does away with the pall of displeasure from our life and conveys us a great sense of spiritual and cultural devotion and happiness. It makes us, by some means, understand that where we are is who we are.
I hope that every day of your life is a dinagyang, is filled with delight.
Have your say at inkslinger215@live.com. Hala bira! Here’s to celebrating our Ilonggoness!/PN
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