Dinagyang 2009!
Dinagyang 2009! Freedom Grandstand (Judging Area #1), Iloilo City: January 25, 2009
The Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held usually on the fourth Sunday of January. It is held both to honor the "Santo Niño", or the "Child Jesus Christ" and also to celebrate the arrival of the Malay settlers to the Panay Island in the Visayas. The Visayan Islands were inhabited by a dark skinned race called the Atis, known to be one of the earliest settlers of the Philippine Islands. All performances only use drum music. Many of the tribes are organized by local high schools (thus you will note the youthful features of many of the performers). From WIKIPEDIA: It is the first festival in the world to get the support of the United Nations for the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, and cited by the Asian Development Bank as Best Practice on government, private sector & NGO (Non-Government Organizations) cooperations.
Read MoreThe Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held usually on the fourth Sunday of January. It is held both to honor the "Santo Niño", or the "Child Jesus Christ" and also to celebrate the arrival of the Malay settlers to the Panay Island in the Visayas. The Visayan Islands were inhabited by a dark skinned race called the Atis, known to be one of the earliest settlers of the Philippine Islands. All performances only use drum music. Many of the tribes are organized by local high schools (thus you will note the youthful features of many of the performers). From WIKIPEDIA: It is the first festival in the world to get the support of the United Nations for the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, and cited by the Asian Development Bank as Best Practice on government, private sector & NGO (Non-Government Organizations) cooperations.
