The Opening Salvo of the Dinagyang Festival 2022 will be livestreamed via Facebook on Friday January 14 as the festivities go virtual for second year due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Its first online edition was awarded Best Tourism Practice during the Pandemic Special Category in the 2021 Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines, Inc. (ATOP) Pearl Awards.
A short program will feature a trailer of Dinagyang tribes’ cultural dance competition to be shown before the start of caravan of drummers all over the city to share the festive mood.
Seven barangay-based tribes will bring the drumbeats to the streets around the metropolis.
The show will air on FB pages of Iloilo City Government, Jerry Treñas, Iloilo Dinagyang, and Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI).
“We will be celebrating again one of the most awaited festivals in the Philippines which is the Dinagyang. This year, we are hoping we will have the same innovation as last year – we were able to showcase Ilonggo culture through our celebration amidst the challenges we are facing,” said IFFI President Ronald Raymond Sebastian.
“Everybody will still feel our opening salvo, we will bring the drums to your homes,” said event organizer Gabriel Felix Umadhay.
The theme is “Padayon Iloilo upod kay Senior Santo Niño.” Padayon means to continue, move forward, go on or resume as the religious and cultural celebration showcases the values the Ilonggos are known for.
“These values will give us the hope and inspiration for the Ilonggos and for our youth,” said Eric Divinagracia, director of Dinagyang Tribes Competition.
The competing tribes will represent seven districts of Iloilo City, focused on each values: Arevalo for Pagsinadya or Celebration; Molo for Pag-amliganay or Nurturing; City Proper for Paghigugma or Love; Mandurriao for Pagpahanggud or Growth and Development; Jaro for Pagtililipon or Gathering; La Paz for Paghirupay or Closeness; and Lapuz for Pag-intindihanay or Understanding.
“Life as we know it these days is still very much uncertain. But, we persevere and carry on. We march on with strength and determination to conquer yet with heads bowed down and hands clasped in prayer, asking for protection. A Dinagyang warrior may have fallen and took time to heal, but he will rise up again – renewed, reenergized, and recharged! Through the grace and mercy of our beloved Señor Santo Niño!” IFFI stated.
“In defining the Dinagyang narrative or story, these values emphasize the indispensable cooperation of the different sectors of society, that one cannot exist without the other, and we weave and form one cohesive story altogether,” IFFI added. (Alexandra Jover/Iloilo City PIO)
First time here, haha. Thank you for the info on the events.
You’re welcome, Harold. See you again next Dinagyang and next Iloilo events.