ILoILo Dinagyang Festival!



Iloilo City's biggest and most colorful religion and cultural festivity --- the Dinagyang Festival once again attracted a myriad of domestic and foreign visitors, most of them have joined their local hosts in this one-of-a-kind festivity complete with all the frenzied merrymaking and non-stop street party.

Indeed, Dinagyang has once again stunned visitors and mesmerized the locals with all the sights and sounds. We hope everybody gets a chance to visit Iloilo and see for themselves the grandeur of this progressive city on this side of the country.

Bacolod Masskara Festival



THE MassKara Festival began in 1980 amid an overwhelming crises aggravated by the downfall in the prices of sugar in the world market, the heart-breaking mv Don Juan sea tragedy, and the worsening peace and order situation that threatened not just Negros, the Philippines' sugar capital, but the whole country as a whole.

Pictures of malnourished children in Negros, the "Batang Negros," were flashed in magazines and newspapers all over the world.

It was when the situation was so dire and hopeless that the indomitable spirit of the Negrenses emerged, galvanizing the people to overcome the gloom and celebrate life!

Happy grins were then carved in paper mache to hide the despair and grief behind the masks.
Thus, the hope for a brighter tomorrow was born.

MassKara Festival is the biggest annual tourism event in the province that coincides with Bacolod City's Charter Day celebration.

The term 'Masskara' was derived from the word 'Mass,' which means a multitude of people and the Spanish word 'Kara' (Cara - Doble Cara/Two faced ) which means face. Thus, Masskara means the "face of the masses."

The happy masks underscore the Bacolodnons' special zest for life and for fun. Inspired by the Mardi Gras celebration of New Orleans in the US and of Rio de Janiero in Brazil, the festival is highlighted by a dance parade of masked dancers, swaying and dancing to the infectious rhythm and beat of Latin music. Spectators are usually caught up in the exuberant gaiety of this explosion of colors, spectacular revelry and fabulous costumes.

Various sectors in the community have participate in the week-long celebration.

Dancers from neighboring cities participate as guest performers in the street dance parade.

Aside from the street dancing competition, with 20 barangays participating, the Masskara Queen pageant, Little Mutya ng Bacolod, fun rides, food festivals, sports events, kiosks and several musical concerts and gimmicks, are also held during the week.


The Masskara Festival has been invited to perform in several key cities in the country including Manila, Iloilo Davao, and Bohol. They have also danced their way to Singapore during the Chingay Festival. It was a proud moment not just for the Bacoleños, but for the entire Filipino nation, when they won the top prize in the 2004 World Tourism Festival in Shanghai, China. They also won the Best Foreign Contingent Award during the 2005 Midosuji Festival in Japan.

Pintaflores was born out of the people's search for a cultural identity and tradition.



If Cebu City has its Sinulog, Bacolod City its Masscara, and Aklan its Ati-atihan, San Carlos City also dreamt of having its own unique festival.

In 1992, after successfully holding two new activities, the Nabingkalan Tattoo Festival and the Dances of Flowers as highlights of the city fiesta, the idea of blending the two concepts to come up with a presentation that could be considered the City's very own started what today is one of the most popular street dancing festivals in the region--the Pintaflores Festival of San Carlos City.



Pintaflores is coined from the words Pintados, the concept behind the Nabingkalan Tattoo Festival, and "flores", the Spanish word for flowers, that dominated the theme of the Dances of Flowers.

The Pintaflores street dancing and ritual competition highlights the annual Pintaflores festival which starts November 3 and culminates on November 5, Negros Day.

It features rhythmic dances and dance dramas of life and death and the triumph of good against evil that depict the people's thanksgiving of merriment for abundant blessings and many victories.

As part of Pintaflores tradition, the faces, arms, bodies and legs of the dancers are painted with flowers to express gratitude to man and his environment.

The street dancing is culminated by a dance ritual performed at the City Auditorium. Different dance steps and musical accompaniment add to the thrill of the competition.

The human flower formation is another impressive part of the dance ritual that projects the ingenuity and skills of the choreographers and dancers.

To give emphasis to body painting as a ritual of Pintaflores, the festival also features the body-painting contest that gives expression to the true artistry of the people of San Carlos City.

Angono Higantes Festival!



Adding color and gaiety to Angono town fiesta, celebrated early the 23rd of November, are the "Higantes", paper to mache to giants measuring four to five feet in diameter and ten to twelve feet in height. Philippine Rizal Angono's joyous major festival in honor of San Clemente (patron saint of fishermen) whose image, glorious in papal vestment, is carried by male devotees during a procession accompanied by "pahadores” (devotees dressed in colorful local costumes or fishermen’s clothes, wooden shoes and carrying boat paddles, fish nets, traps, etc.) and “higantes" (giant paper mache images). The street event finishes in a fluvial procession in Laguna de Bay amidst revelry that continues until the image is brought back to its sanctuary.




The “higante” tradition began last century, when Angono was a Spanish hacienda. The hacienda owners concerned about costs prohibited all celebrations except for one annual fiesta. The townspeople concerned about enjoyment decided to make the best of a bad situation. Using an art form brought from Mexico by Spanish priests, they created larger-than-life caricatures of their Spanish landlords. In typical Filipino fashion, the fiesta become in equal parts, a stunning spectacle and a tricky inside joke. There too was a story that a French man happened to pass by this coastal town of Laguna de Bay as he cruised from Manila Bay. Captivated by the town being divided by a river, he predicted that someday giants would come out and become famous. True to his words, Angono can show off of two national artists - Carlos "Botong" Francisco in the field of visual arts and Professor Lucio D. San Pedro in the field of music. There are other Angono sons and daughters who are becoming big or giants on their chosen field of endeavor. Paper mache making is an art that is known back during the Spanish Era. The head of the giants is fashioned from a mold made of clay, which is dried under the heat of the sun.

With the advent of modernization and technology clay is changed to plaster of Paris and resin. The mold is then pasted with lots of newspapers then split into the middle and sun-dried, after which it is then pasted with the brown paper (the slit being covered) then sun-dried again and painted. The body is made of bamboo, but other materials like yantok (rattan) and thin iron bars can also be used. Yards are yards of clothing materials and accessories complete the costume of the "Higantes". Before, Angono town fiesta features a "Mag-anak" (family) Higantes consists of three figures, the father, the mother and the son. In 1987, Mr. Perdigon Vocalan visualized the idea of having a Higante Festival wherein all the barangays in Angono(13 of them) are to be represented by two to four Higantes symbolizing the industry or the personality of the barangay. This idea materialized with the funding given by the Dept. of Tourism and Provincial Tourism Office thus in a year after a seminar and a workshop in Higante Making , the fiesta was flooded with thirty-nine different Higantes. In that year too, there was a contest among the Higantes, thus one can see them a Higante with a duck on its head and another one a basketful of duck eggs representing a barangay that known for its fried itik and balut-making.

Flores de Mayo is a Catholic festival held in the Philippines in the month of May. It lasts for a month, and is held in honor of the Virgin Mary. The Santa Cruzan is a parade held on the last day of Flores de Mayo in honor of Reyna Elena.

Flores, from the Spanish word for "flowers," also known as Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May), Flores de Maria (flowers of Mary) or alay (offering), may refer to the whole Flower Festival celebrated in the month of May in honor of the Virgin Mary .

In the Bicol region, especially in the locality of Barangay Sabang in Naga City, this annual affair is held every wednesdays and saturdays of the entire month, headed by the legion of mary, presidium cause of our joy, rañeses and alcantara's family, with the last day called as "katapusan".The ritual is started with the rosary, with every decade followed by spanish marian songs.



Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) is a colorful celebration during the month of May to honor the Virgin Mary. It's highlight is the Santacruzan, a parade participated by beautiful women who are elegantly attired for the occasion (sagalas).

The Santacruzan depicts the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Helena (Reina Helena) and her son, the newly-converted emperor Constantine the Great. When they found the cross in Jerusalem and brought it back to Rome, a joyful celebration was held as thanksgiving.



This religious-historical tradition was introduced to the Philippines by the Spaniards. Large cities as well as small villages all over the country present their respective annual version of which. In Manila, for the past 29 years, the Congregacion del Santisimo Nombre del Niño de Jesus has been keeping this tradition alive.

Kadayawan of Davao

SINULOG Festival is a pageantry of faith, a festival held in honor of the Santo Nino, celebrating the origin of the island of Cebu. Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Niño. The dance moves two steps forward and one step backward to the sound of the drums. This movement resembles the current (Sulog) of what was known as Cebu’s Pahina River. Thus, in Cebuano, they say it’s Sinulog.



More than just the meaning of the word is the significance of the dance. Historians now say that Sinulog, which is of pagan origin is the link between the country’s pagan past and its Christian present.



Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in honor of their wooden idols and anitos.

Then Magellan came and introduced Christianity. He gave the Santo Niño (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebu’s Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about 800 of their subjects. Unfortunately however, shortly after the conversion, Magellan went into reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of Mactan, Rajah Lapu-lapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the encounter. That was on April 27, 1521.

I like the pagan festivals better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ati-atihan

The Ati-Atihan Festival is a feast held in honor of the Santo Niño held annually in January concluding on third Sunday, in the town of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines.

cool.

Moriones Festival



One of the most colorful festivals celebrated in the island of Marinduque is the Moriones Festival. Morion means "mask" or "visor," a part of the medieval Roman armor which covers the face. Moriones, on the other hand, refers to the masked and costumed penitents who march around the town for seven days searching for Longinus. This week-long celebration starts on Holy Monday and culminates on Easter Sunday when the story of Longinus is reenacted in pantomime. This is a folk-religious festival that re-enacts the story of Longinus, a Roman centurion who was blind in one eye.

Legend has it that Longinus pierced the side of the crucified Christ. The blood that spurted forth touched his blind eye and fully restored his sight. This miracle converted Longinus to Christianity and earned the ire of his fellow centurions. The re-enactment reaches its climax when Longinus is caught and beheaded.

The festival is characterized by colorful Roman costumes, painted masks and helmets, and brightly-colored tunics. The towns of Boac, Gasan, Santa Cruz, Buenavista and Mogpog in the island of Marinduque become one gigantic stage.

The observances form part of the Lenten celebrations of Marinduque. The various towns also hold the unique tradition of the pabasa or the recitation of Christ's passion in verse. The Via Crucis is also reenacted and flagellants, known as antipos, inflict suffering upon themselves as a form of atonement. After three o'clock on Good Friday afternoon, the Santo Sepulcro is observed, whereby old women exchange verses based on the Bible as they stand in wake of the dead Christ.

Did you know that

Morion means mask, which is part of the medieval Roman centurion’s helmet. Moriones are the masked penitents who take part in the reenactment of the legend of Longinus, and Passion of the Christ.

^ just a correction :

Roman empire didn't reached medieval age...

the Roman empire during the medieval time is either, the Greek Byzantine Empire (the legitimate one) and the Catholic Holy Roman Empire (a german empire)

I like Sinulog, Dinagyang and Flores de Mayo .

MassKara countdown this October