Iloilo's Dinagyang

Tribu Lunok of Iloilo City National High School

MANILA, Philippines — The colorful fanfare of Iloilo province’s Dinagyang Street Dance Festival will be a major highlight of the annual CCP Pasinaya Festival on February 26 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines grounds.

Leading the festivities is Dinagyang 2012 Ati Tribe Competition 1st Runner up Tribu Lunok of the Iloilo City National High School. They will take part in the opening ceremonies and parade at 8:30 a.m. at the Pedro Bukaneg Street of the CCP Complex. Repeat performances by Tribu Lunok will be held throughout the day at 10:40 a.m., 12 noon, 3 p.m., and 7:15 p.m.

Tribu Lunok’s winning performance in the Dinagyang 2012 has been described as “entertaining in its storyline and amazing for its choreography and use of props.” It won the Best in Street Dancing in this year’s Dinagyang festival.

Tribu Lunok is composed of 37 warriors, 18 star dancers, 18 bulilit, 21 drummers, 1 tribe leader and 4 girl dancers. Founded in 1998 by the late Ronnie Baretta, Tribu Lunok is made up of students from the Iloilo City National High School. It has won many prizes in past Dinagyang festivals.

Held every January, the Dinagyang Festival, according to the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, is a “thanksgiving for and a celebration in honor of Señor Santo Niño. It prides itself as a festival of excellent folk choreography, a showcase of Ilonggo heritage and culture. It is as grand as Iloilo’s old churches and crisp as pinasubong saging, as delectable as pancit molo and bachoy.” The Ati-ati is just one of three major events of the Dinagyang, the other two being the fluvial procession along Iloilo River and the cultural parade called the Kasadyahan.

More than twenty groups, each called a tribe, compete in the Ati-ati competition. The Ati-ati contest has gained for the Dinagyang the tag “Festival of Excellent Folk Choreography”, a recognition given to it by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

The Pasinaya is a yearly open house festival at the CCP that offers a preview of the forthcoming productions of the CCP Resident Companies. More than 300 cultural groups in dance, music, theater, film, and the visual arts from all over the country are participating in this year’s Festival. The public is invited to see all they can for R20. A fast pass to CCP Pasinaya shows can be availed of for P200

.