I went to Iloilo for the Dinagyang festival a week after I experienced my first Sinulog festival in Cebu, to complete a memorable back-to-back festival incursion. Both festivals has many similarities starting from its devotion to the Sto. Nino. The two festivals also features elegant and colorful street parades. Both revelries also attract a huge crowd that eventually stays up and parties all night long like jubilant citizens celebrating the end of a war.
However, as almost similar to each other, these twin festivals presented me a unique joy of witnessing each festivity in two different places. Cebu and the Sinulog Festival provided me its own vibrant mood climaxed by the wild street parties at night, while the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo gifted me with a different set of intensity. This observation have made me glad that I was able to experience both in a span of one week. Coming from the highs of the festivities in Cebu, the downshift of going back to Manila for a couple of days work and back again to a raucous but fun setting in Iloilo the next weekend.
Life is so much fun when you get a balance of things. Work brings a trait of responsibility and working on a particular goal while traveling in between cures the sheepish occurrences of a normal life. It's like bringing a jolt of electricity through a straight line with experiences like these, of new places, of festivals, of massive celebration reverberating through drum beats and merry making. Most of all, meeting new friends and creating meaningful experiences to treasure down the road.
Which was all I experienced during the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo. I arrived there first thing Friday morning to meet my lovely couchsurfing host Joanne after lunch. With nothing yet to do, I embarked on a Visita Iglesia tour of Iloilo. I visited churches in Molo, Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Miag-ao (my 2nd time) and San Joaquin.
By lunch time I was already in Iloilo City meeting up with Joanne. We proceeded to hang out at her friends place where we had our lunch. Afterward, we finished a few bottles of beer and smoked some weed. Yeah I tried that thing a few times in the past – not to get super high and crazy though – just to clear my mind. It did wiped my mind of worry, as I went to sleep for 12 hours straight after that. After enduring sleepless nights of Thursday and Friday, it was what doctor sleep ordered.
I awoke Saturday morning filled with energy courtesy of my very long slumber and the mighty atmosphere being felt around in the city. Hearing drumming beats everywhere, shouts of joy and the uniformed breathe of anticipation from people lining up the streets waiting for the street parade. I joined my fellow couchsurfing guests Alina and Yan (an American and German couple traveling the world for the last 1 and a half years and into their 3rd month in the Philippines) out into the streets as early as 7am.
We managed to insert ourselves into the thick crowd and watched a half dozen tribes performed on one of the 5 or 6 staging grounds. That was before I was pushed back by the eager crowd. I left them there while I met up with Marinelle (another travel blogger) and her cool mom. They too, were pushed back from the crowd and so we decided to explore other places around Iloilo.
So, for the second time in two days I went on a trip from the city to San Joaquin - showing Marinele and her mom the churches I visited the previous day. By afternoon we were back again in the Dinagyang fest city of Iloilo.
I spent the remaining daylight taking a brief rest before going out again that night with Joanne, Alana and Yan while we waited for Ada to arrive. We had a sumptuous dinner for five at "Talabahan" place near SmallVille. We were supposed to attend a Couchsurfing meeting at SmallVille but Alina was adamant in attending by saying "A CS meeting in an expensive restaurant" - agreeing with her observation, we opted to feast on cheap plate-full of oysters at only 70 pesos per plate and went home happy.
The next day - Sunday was the highlight part of the Dinagyang Festival. We partook in the parade by watching the tribes and contingents passed by and fought through the crowd to get a closer look of the performance.
The tribes came out in full force adorned with decorative and colorful costumes. Each facial reactions depicted numerous human emotions.
While waiting for the start of the performance I got a bit bored at the redundant introductions of VIP's (politicians) in attendance. The Congressman took the microphone and introduced Presidential sister Ballsy Aquino, Senator Drilon, the Governor, then a bunch of other local officials. Drilon then takes the stand and does the same, the Governor followed him and introduces again the VIP's and then the Mayor did the same thing again.
Not finding how the politicians hijacked the early morning celebration, a yell of "Hurrahs" echoed once the host told the crowd the street dancing will begin. It was then the young men and women from Iloilo and neighboring places did what they have prepared well for so long, they kicked butt and entertained the crowd who were hopping into their feet simultaneously with the deafening chants and drum beats.
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| last night of Dinagyang we went to this Karaoke make shift bar at the side of a street and gorge on peanuts, beers and Scorpion songs - Ada though sang a perfect 4 Non-Blondes song and Alina belted Madonna's "Isla Bonita" |
It was another wonderful experience to both experience my first Dinagyang and first Sinulog festivals. I didn't get burned out by what some call as 'festival overload'. I was in fact presented with an idea that I should plan attending every festival held all over the Philippines.
