Major Festivals in Visayas By: Alkhalif S. Amberol

1. By Alkhalif S. Amberol

2. held annually in January in honor of the Santo
Niño (Infant Jesus),
concluding on the third Sunday, in the island and
town of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines.
The name Ati-Atihan means "to be like Atis" or "make
believe Ati's".
Thrillist.com
The Ati-Atihan Festival

3.  The people attend masses for the Santo Niño, and benefit
dances sponsored by government organizations.
 The formal opening mass emphasizes the festival’s
religious event.
 The procession begins with a rhythmic drumbeats, and
dances parading along the street. The second day begins at
dawn with a rosary procession, which ends with a
community mass, and procession.
 The phrase "Hala Bira! Pwera Pasma!" is originally
associated with the Sto. Nino Ati-Atihan Festival as the
revelers and devotees keep on going with the festivities all
over the town from morning to the wee hours of the next
morning, rain or shine, for one week or even more.
 They believe that the miraculous Child Jesus will protect
them from harm and illness. The highlight of the festival
occurs on the last day, the third Sunday of January, when
groups representing different tribes compete for tourists'
attention and prizes.

5. Binirayan festival
 The Binirayan festival is an event celebrated in the
province of Antique in the Philippines.
 "Binirayan" literally means "where they sailed to“
 3rd weekend of April
 first celebrated on January 11–13, 1974.

6.  The festival was conceived by Governor Evelio Javier, and first
celebrated on January 11–13, 1974. In 1975, the festival was moved
to April 25–27, but in the succeeding years was celebrated in
December to coincide with the Christmas celebration in the
province. In 1981, with the assumption of Governor Enrique A.
Zaldivar, it was moved back to April. The festival was not
celebrated in 1980, 1984–1987, and 1995 due to political crises.
Consequently, the dates of the festival, which has become one of
the major festivals in the West Visayan region has suffered
inconsistency with the every change of leadership of the
province. In 2002, however, the provincial board of
Antique passed a resolution fixing the date of the celebration in
April, and when the management of the festival was given to
Binirayan Foundation, Inc. the dates were set on the third
weekend of April.

8. Dinagyang Festival
 The Dinagyang Festival 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 Festival in
Kalibo, 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.

9.  Dinagyang began after Rev. Fr. Ambrosio Galindez, the first Filipino Rector of
the Agustinian Community and Parish Priest of the San Jose Parish introduced
the devotion to Santo Niño in November 1967 after observing the Ati-Atihan
Festival in the province of Aklan. On 1968, a replica of the original image of
the Santo Niño de Cebu was brought to Iloilo by Fr. Sulpicio Enderez of Cebu
as a gift to the Parish of San Jose. The faithful, led by members of Confradia del
Santo Niño de Cebu, Iloilo Chapter, worked to give the image a fitting
reception starting at the Iloilo Airport and parading down the streets of Iloilo.[1]
 In the beginning, the observance of the feast was confined to the parish. The
Confradia patterned the celebration on the Ati-atihan of Ibajay, Aklan, where
natives dance in the streets, their bodies covered with soot and ashes, to
simulate the Atis dancing to celebrate the sale of Panay. It was these tribal
groups who were the prototype of the present festival.[2]
 A participant of Dinagyang Festival
 In 1977, the Marcos government ordered the various regions of the Philippines
to come up with festivals or celebrations that could boost tourism and
development. The City of Iloilo readily identified the Iloilo Ati-atihan as its
project. At the same time the local parish could no longer handle the growing
challenges of the festival.[3]
 Dinagyang 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 cooperatives.[4]

11. MassKara Festival
(Hiligaynon: Pista sang MassKara, Filipino: Fiesta ng
MassKara) is an annual festival held every third
weekend of October in Bacolod, Philippines.
 Genre carnival, parade, street dancing
 Dates third week of October
 Location(s) Bacolod City, Philippines
 Years active 1980 - present

12.  he festival first began in 1980 during a period of crisis. The
province relied on sugar cane as its primary agricultural crop,
and the price of sugar was at an all-time low due to the
introduction of sugar substitutes like high fructose (corn syrup)
in the United States. This was the first Masskara Festival and a
time of tragedy; on April 22 of that year, the inter-island
vessel MV Don Juan carrying many Negrenses, including those
belonging to prominent families in Bacolod City, collided with
the tanker Tacloban City and sank. An estimated 700 lives were
lost in the tragedy.
 In the midst of these tragic events, the city's artists, local
government and civic groups decided to hold a festival of smiles,
because the city at that time was also known as the City of
Smiles. They reasoned that a festival was also a good opportunity
to pull the residents out of the pervasive gloomy atmosphere.
The initial festival was therefore, a declaration by the people of
the city that no matter how tough and bad the times were,
Bacolod City is going to pull through, survive, and in the end,
triumph.

14. Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival
 is a cultural-religious celebration in Tacloban based on
the body-painting traditions of the ancient tattooed
"pintados" warriors.
 In 1986, the Pintados Foundation, Inc. was formed by
the people of Tacloban to organize this festival in
honor of Sr. Santo Niño.
 Years later, it was merged with the Kasadyaan
Festival which is always held on June 29.

16. Sinulog Festival
 is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the
third Sunday of January in Cebu City,
 centre of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the
Philippines.
 One of the main highlights of the festival is the grand
street parade which lasts for 9 to 12 hours,
 The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano
adverb sulog which roughly means "like water current
movement;" it describes the forward-backward
movement of the Sinulog dance.

17.  One of the main highlights of the festival is the grand street
parade which lasts for 9 to 12 hours (practically the entire day)
with participants coming from the different towns and cities of
Cebu and from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao across the
Philippines. The Sinulog dance contingents are dressed in bright
coloured costumes dancing gracefully to the rhythm of drums,
trumpet and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are
held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor
the Santo Niño. There is also a "Sinulog sa Kabataan" performed
by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the
festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest
featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The
Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex.
The Sinulog Festival competition is divided into three (3)
categories namely the Street Dancing Category, Free
Interpretation and Sinulog base categories.