COMEBACK | Iloilo City’s Ati tribes are raring to compete again in the Dinagyang Festival this year, the first full in-person staging of the religious and cultural celebration since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020. (Photo IAN PAUL CORDERO)
ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — Jaime Canlas has been participating in the Dinagyang Festival for more than 40 years but this year’s celebration is particularly special for him.
Today’s performance of his Tribu Molave in Dinagyang sa Barangay is a tribute to the Sto. Niño for helping them survive the pandemic in the past two years.
“It was because of our strong devotion [to Sto. Niño] that we didn’t lose hope, and now we’re back,” he said.
Canlas said the pandemic spared no one and stopped them from performing in the Dinagyang, which was reduced to a “virtual” festival due to health protocols imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Mobility restrictions and a prohibition on mass gatherings in 2021 and 2022 forced festival organizers to record or stream Dinagyang performances.
But the group, Canlas said, is happy to be able to perform again this year.
“We can show to the public that despite the pandemic, our faith in the Sto. Niño has never faded,” Canlas said.
Celebrated every fourth Sunday of January, the Dinagyang Festival started in 1968 when the replica of the image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu was brought to Iloilo’s San Jose Parish Church where it is enshrined until now.
In 1969, the first parish feast of the Sto. Niño was celebrated to commemorate the image’s arrival here. The champion and runner-up in the Ati-Atihan contest in Kalibo town, Aklan, performed in what was considered the first “Ati-Ati festival” in Iloilo City.
In 1977, the festival’s name was changed to “Dinagyang” from the Hiligaynon word “dagyang,” or merrymaking, to avoid duplicating Kalibo’s Ati-Atihan, which is celebrated every second Sunday of January.
Since then, Dinagyang has evolved into a major tourist attraction for the city.
DEVOTION | Devotees accompany the image of the Sto. Niño to the San Jose Parish Church after a sea procession down the Iloilo Strait, which separates Iloilo and Guimaras. (Photo IAN PAUL CORDERO)
Personal
What set Dinagyang apart from other festivals is the choreography: brisk movements, repeated change of costume in striking colors, and mobile platforms.
This year’s Dinagyang Festival takes on a more personal tone as the performances focus on expressing gratitude to the Sto. Niño even as COVID-19 claimed the lives of at least 760 people in Iloilo City and 1,634 in Iloilo province.
“We want to give thanks to Señor Sto. Niño for all the protection, for all the blessings, and for giving us the opportunity to celebrate the Dinagyang Festival once again, back in the streets,” said Joyce Clavecillas, executive director of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc.
Clavecillas said the festival theme, “Pasasalamat kay Señor Sto. Niño” (Thanksgiving to the Child Jesus), had been reflected in the performances of the tribes, even during prefestival activities last October.
She said the image of the Sto. Niño was present in every prefestival activity to point out that amid the excitement and revelry, it was all about the Ilonggos’ faith in the Holy Child Jesus.
The celebration this year marks the comeback of two street dancing competitions, which are the highlights of the Dinagyang Festival.
Eight tribes from the provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and Antique, participated in the Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan, a regional cultural competition, on Saturday.
STAR OF THE SHOW | The Sto. Niño remains the central figure in all performances during the Dinagyang Festival. (Photo IAN PAUL CORDERO)
‘Light in the dark’
In the evening, seven tribes from the city’s seven districts competed in a new event called Dinagyang ILOmination Showdown at Mandurriao district, the city’s business center. What made this new competition different was that the tribes wore costumes that glowed in the dark.
Professor Eric Divinagracia, the festival’s artistic director, said the glowing costumes were a metaphor for Señor Sto. Niño as the “light in the dark.”
“After two years of darkness [during] the pandemic, it is high time that we emphasize that Sto. Niño gives light and has been our source of light in the last two years,” he said.
Among those who performed was Gabriel Zamudio, 26, of Tribu La Paz, who was reviewing for the criminology board examination. Zamudio, who has been dancing in the Dinagyang since 2009, said his participation in the festival helped strengthen his faith in the Holy Child Jesus.
“Even when we were going hungry during the pandemic, we didn’t feel it because [Sto. Niño] made things easier for us. Even as things were becoming more difficult, we were able to cope because of Him,” he added.
His participation in the Dinagyang is Zamudio’s way to express his devotion to the Sto. Niño who, he said, has been helping him especially when things get tough.
As he danced in the Dinagyang ILOmination, Zamudio’s prayer was to pass the board exams.
“Once I get into [police] service, I promise that I will continue serving Him,” he added.
Today, eight Ati tribes from Iloilo City’s villages are competing in the Dinagyang sa Barangay.A mong those performing are Canlas’ Tribu Molave, which was founded by his father, Jaime.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said this year’s Dinagyang was a testament to how Iloilo City was able to bounce back from the impact of the pandemic.
Treñas recalled that as a boy, he watched the festival in the city’s downtown area. But he is glad that Dinagyang has become bigger and grander, as the celebration has reached Mandurriao.