Dinagyang Festival

I BARELY got any sleep when I arrived at the Port of Iloilo on a Saturday morning after a 24-hour ferry ride from Manila. It was Dinagyang weekend, and the ferry was packed with people coming home to celebrate Iloilo's biggest festival. My decision to go was last-minute, so I felt lucky to secure a ticket from Manila to Iloilo. I had a tourist-class accommodation, which seemed fine at first — until bedtime. A crying baby, teenagers chatting all night, and a boy playing Mobile Legends at full volume kept me wide awake.

Still, I was as excited as everyone else who arrived at Fort San Pedro that morning for the Dinagyang Festival. Running on little sleep, I was ready to experience all the activities prepared by the organizers. Dinagyang is one of the Philippines' major festivals — a cultural and religious celebration in honor of the Sto. Niño and a tribute to the oral tradition in which the aboriginal Atis welcomed the Malays and Spaniards. The festival's name comes from the Hiligaynon word "dinagyang," meaning celebration or merry-making. Established in 1969, it drew inspiration from Aklan's Ati-Atihan and Cebu's Sinulog, both held every third Sunday of January. Dinagyang, meanwhile, takes place every fourth Sunday of January, one week later.

Sleepless in Iloilo City