Are you visiting Iloilo City? If you love festivals and merriment, this impressive city have what it takes to mesmerize you and will give you the best experience by combining cultural heritage, spirituality, nature and fun.
Here are 5 must-see festivals in Iloilo City that will change the way you see the original "Queen City of the South"...
Dinagyang Festival: Merriment, Spectacle and more!
Hailed as the “Mother Festival of the Philippines” and the most awarded of all, nationally and internationally, Iloilo City’s Dinagyang Festival continues to enthrall and captivate visitors and tourists throughout the years. The Dinagyang Festival is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City held every fourth Sunday of January, or right after the Sinulog in Cebu and the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan. The festival is the source of pride for Iloilo City by showcasing impressive drumbeats, spectacular and energetic dance choreography, and bright-colored costumes. The remarkable tribe performances tell about cultural myths, stories and history, all rolled into one mammoth cultural event that put the city in the map of global celebration and never fails to mesmerize that audience. But the heart of the festival is centered on the devotion to Santo Nino (Baby Jesus), showcasing the Ilonggos’ deep spiritual faith. Throughout the city during the festival, there are merrymakings, parades and other side events that gather thousands of people, witnessing and taking part in the massively-attractive cultural festivity with fantastic vision.
Jaro Candelaria: Spiritual Tradition comes alive
Right after Dinagyang Festival is the feast of Nuestra Senora dela Candelaria (our Lady of Candles) or simply Jaro Candelaria simultaneous with the annual fiesta of Jaro District, the center of Western Visayas’ Catholic faith and the largest annual procession among Catholic devotees held every 2nd day of February. The Marian image is said to be miraculous and uplifted the faith of the locals with her presence. Stories foretold that the image was found by a fisherman along the banks of Iloilo River and it was brought to Jaro Cathedral. Many believed that the image miraculously had grown in size and gained a lot of devotees throughout the centuries. Jaro Cathedral, an impressive heritage church in Iloilo City and one of the city’s architectural wonders is the seat of power for the Archbishop of Jaro, is the spiritual destination of devotees to participate in the religious celebration that is often describe as colorful and inspiring. Across the church is the Jaro Belfry, an important structure during the Spanish era that served as watchtower.
Iloilo Chinese New Year: Prosperity and Unity
After the spiritual passion of Ilonggos with the Jaro Candelaria, they celebrate another event that highlights their friendship and brotherhood with the Filipino-Chinese community of the city with the annual Iloilo Chinese New Year held every second week of February. This is the first and biggest Chinese Lunar New Year event held outside of Metro Manila that started in 2002 through the effort of businesswoman Fanny Uy, Sta. Maria Parish priest Fr. Manuel Uy, Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Panay, Inc. (FFCCCPI), Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Iloilo, Inc. (FCCCII), and former Iloilo City Mayor and now Congressman Jerry P. Trenas. Now the festival is managed and organized by the Iloilo Chinese-Filipino Cultural Association (ICFCA). The celebration is an impressive display of spectacular Chinese dances, dragon dance, food festival and city-wide parade participated in by prominent Chinese schools of Iloilo City such as Sun Yat High School, Hua Siong College of Iloilo, Ateneo de Iloilo and many others. The Filipino-Chinese community gather in this annual celebration to pay tribute to their rich Chinese tradition and heritage that symbolizes their unity with their Ilonggo brothers.
Paraw Regatta Festival: Embracing the Sailing Tradition
The Iloilo Paraw Regatta is the oldest traditional craft event in Asia, and the largest sailing event in the Philippines held every third week of February. The Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation currently organizes the activities, with leading support from the Iloilo City and Provincial Governments and the Department of Tourism, along with private sector donations.
Activities have been expanded to spread over a week. On the Saturday of the climactic weekend there is slalom racing on a course by the beach to facilitate crowd participation. On the Sunday, the thirty-kilometer distance race is sailed on a course in the Iloilo Strait, running up the coast of Panay and then down the coast of Guimaras, before returning to the finish at Villa Beach. Participant exposure to the events is in the tens of thousands.
The geophysical shape of the Iloilo Strait provides year round breezes. Thus the working sailboat still predominates. In these times of high fuel costs, and polluting oil spills, one can appreciate the simple ecology of the traditional paraw. Nevertheless, the skills needed to sail are far more complex. Other notable activities of the festival are the food festival, the regional beauty pageant of Miss Paraw Regatta and Samba de Regatta.
The objective of the Regatta is to celebrate the skills of the paraw sailors, and bring a fiesta spirit into their lives. And with the colorful painted sails, this spirit is brought into the lives of participants and tourists as well.
Iloilo Bike Festival: Healthy and Bike Safety Culture
The country’s largest gathering of bikers and bike enthusiasts unfolds in the annual Iloilo Bike Festival every second week of March in Iloilo City. The main venue of the event is Iloilo Business Park, Megaworld’s prestigious 72-hectare business township in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. The Iloilo Bike Festival is an annual sports event organized by the City Government of Iloilo in partnership with Megaworld Corporation with a vision to establish Iloilo City as the country’s biggest assembly of bikers, promoting bike-friendly culture, healthy lifestyle, and ecologically-inspired event. Iloilo Business Park and the whole Iloilo City aims to promote the share-a-road movement and raise the awareness of Ilonggos about the benefits of biking on health, safety and environmental concerns.
Thousands of bikers from Iloilo City and nearby provinces are expected to join in the much-anticipated 3rd Iloilo Bike Festival on March 13-19. The festival aspires to promote health and wellness among Ilonggos with new side events and innovations including the Ronda Pilipinas Criterion and “Bikes on Lights” contest. The project goes hand-in-hand with the city’s transition into an environment-friendly and healthy highly-urbanized city.
(Photo credits to the owners)
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