DINAGYANG FESTIVAL

he 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 Nio and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the
subsequent selling of the island to them by the Atis.
The main part of the festival which is the Ati Tribe competition consists of a number of "warrior"
dancers (who hold a shield in one hand and a spear in another) in a tribe (locally called "tribu")
dancing in a choreographed formation and patterns as well as chanting to the sound of loud drum
beats and improvised percussion instruments innovated by the respective tribes. In the early years,
a number of tribes where created, founded and organized by some of the barangay or communities
around the city but through the years and as the Dinagyang evolves and the competition becomes
competitive gaining worldwide fame and attention, schools are starting to create and organize tribes
introducing dynamic new dance patterns, formations and choreography soliciting sponsors from
private companies for expenses and cost of participating in the competition.

MASSKARA FESTIVAL
The MassKara Festival (Hiligaynon: Pista sang MassKara, Filipino: Fiesta ng MassKara) is an
annual festival held every third weekend of October in Bacolod, Philippines.
The mask motif of the festival has changed from masks influenced by native Filipinos to those
influenced by the Carnival of Venice and the Rio Carnival. Earlier masks were hand-painted and
adorned with feathers, flowers and native beads, while contemporary masks feature plastic beads
and sequins.
The festival features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the
streets to see masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin musical beats in a display of mastery,
gaiety, coordination and stamina. Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant,
carnivals, drum and bugle corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts,
agriculture-trade fairs, garden shows, and other special events organized ad-hoc every year.
The street dance competition is divided into two categories; the school division and
the barangay division, the latter is considered as the highlight of the street dancing competition.

PINTADOS FESTIVAL
The Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival is a merry-making event lasting a whole month,
highlights of which include the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, the 17th
Pintados Festival Ritual Dance Presentation and the "Pagrayhak'' Grand Parade.
These festivals are said to have began from the feast day of Seor Santo Nio, held
every June 29th. The Leyteos celebrate a religious festival in a unique and colorful
way. Since the Visayans are experienced in the art of body tattooing, men and
women are fond of tattooing themselves.
The Pintados Festival displays the rich cultural heritage, incorporating native music
and dances, of the people of Leyte and Samar. The Leyte Kasadya-an Festival of
Festivals, meanwhile, showcases the unique culture and colorful history of the
Province of Leyte. Started by former Leyte Governor Remedios Loreto-Petilla, the
celebration was first held on May 12, 1996. The festivities weren't always held every
June 29th; the first three years saw different dates. It was only in 1999 that it was
fixed to June 29, the Feast of the Seor Santo Nio de Leyte.
"Kasadyaan'' in the Visayan tongue means merriment and jollity. Various municipal
festivals of Leyte gather together in the original capital of Tacloban City for the
celebration. There, lively dance-drama parade of many colors takes place. There is
an important role that the festival plays, and it is strengthening the Leyteos' sense
of pride. Every municipality mounts a storyline all their own to portray with pride
their local folklore and legends.
The Pintados festival of Tacloban City is a Filipino festival with its own unique flavor.
This Pintados festival recalls Pre-Spanish history of the native Leytenos from wars,
epics and folk religions. The most expected aspect of the Pintados festival are the
festive dancers, painted from head to toe with designs that look like armor to
resemble the tattooed warriors of old. During the course of the Pintados festival,
dancers whose bodies are painted in an amazing array of colors fill the streets of
Tacloban city. At first sight, they may seem outrageous as grown men pour into the
streets decorated in such dazzling colors as luminous blue or neon green. But as
one gets used to this and sees the dances depicted, one gets a glimpse of the
history of the people that once lived on the islands of Leyte so long ago.

PAHIYAS FESTIVAL
Pahiyas Festival is a colorful feast celebrated every 15th of May by the people of Lucban, Quezon in honor
of San Isidro Labrador. It is the farmers' thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest with a grand display of colorful rice
wafers, fruits, vegetables, and handicrafts adorning every house in the town.
The highlight of the festival is a procession along the streets of the image of San Isidro Labrador, to ensure the
people's bountiful harvest in the coming seasons. The procession features a pair of giant papier mch figures
of a farmer and his wife. This is followed by the image of the patron saint and his wife Sta. Maria de la Cabeza,
who carries a basket with triangulo biscuits, which are given to the children during the procession. This
culminates with generous sharing of food among the townspeople.
All the locals' houses are decorated with agricultural harvest (fruits, vegetables, rice grains, rice stalks, flowers,
and ferns) and colorful rice wafers, called kiping. These thin wafers made from rice dough are usually arranged
into two or three layers of chandeliers called aranya. The locals use different kinds of leaves to add flavor and
color to the kiping. They also produce varieties of tastes and textures by using different ingredients such
as kabal, coffee, talisay (umbrella tree), cocoa, and banaba leaves.
Each house tries to outdo each other in decorations in an annual competition as they vie for the honor of being
recognized for their creativity. After the competition is over and the awards are handed over to the owners of
the winning house, the decorations of the house will be thrown away to the huge flock of people as free treats.
For the other houses, after the festival, those kipings that were used as decorations are cooked and eaten as
rice chips. Also during the festival, the people display their harvest in front of their homes so that the parish
priest can bless them as the procession passes by.

ALIWAN ESTIVAL
Aliwan Fiesta is an annual event that gathers different cultural festivals of the Philippines in Star
City Complex in Pasay City wherein contingents compete in dance parade and float competitions, as
well as in a beauty pageant. Organized by Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) together
with Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the cities of Manila and Pasay, the event is dubbed
as "The Mother of All Fiestas," with prizes totaling to P3 million (roughly US$70,000). Aliwan Fiesta,
which began in 2003, aims to showcase the different Filipino cultures and heritage not only to the
people in Metro Manila but also to the rest of the world.[1] The contingents, meanwhile, aim to
promote their respective regions both economically and tourism-wise.[2] It was originally organized as
a visual extravaganza for the Christmas season, but it has since been held during the summer
months of either April or May.[3] Aliwan is a Tagalog word for "entertainment" or "amusement." For
2010, the colorful banner at the Roxas Blvd. entrance proclaimed the fiesta as THE PHILIPPINES
GRANDEST FIESTA.[4]
Aliwan Fiesta is divided into three categories: Cultural Street Dance Competition (the main event),
Float Parade, and Reyna ng Aliwan (Queen of Entertainment/Amusement) beauty pageant. Each of
the country's 18 regions have the option to send up to two contingents representing its respective
cultural festival, as well as an option to send a representing float and or beauty pageant contestant.
[5]
However, the roster of entries for the cultural dance and float competitions are limited. In 2008, the
number of slots for cultural dance was increased from 20 to 24 groups, which was completed as
early as January.