When I ask somebody that is foreign to Ati-atihan what he/she likes about the festival, the person almost always answers: "Its because I can participate in the celebration."

When I'm at theDinagyang in Iloilo, I always wonder how the people really enjoy. They just watch under the scorching heat, buy overpriced tickets and cheer for the tribes. Sometimes I cant really grasp the sense of celebration. I mean, where's the feast? Of course there's lots of food down the road. What I mean is free food, like in fiestas. Here in Kalibo, when the days of the celebration come, you can almost always be certain that someone can feed you. I guess that's one strong point of the Ati-atihan festival. You can just storm into a house without any invitation and eat all you can.

The next thing that people probably enjoy the most is the "sad-sad". Its a free for all street dance. No formations needed, no steps that must be synchronized with others. Just pure self expression while shouting "Viva kay Señor Sto. Niño" meaning "Long live the Holy Child!"

This year, I was almost able to cover the whole event. Almost covered because I spent too much time enjoying with my friends that I went home in the wee hours of the morning. But, I was still able to make-up for lost shots in the afternoon. And here's the story...

In the afternoon, my friends and I went to the center of the festivities, Pastrana Park. But we went there a bit too early and none of the tribes were out yet. So we decided to go to the Product showcase.

Inside would make any Aklanon proud. There were lots of stuff inside, and the ones that caught my attention was the piña products. They were really amazing and elegant for my taste, plus the fact that most were really cheap.




After a while, we decided to go and check if the Tribes were already out. And they were. So we decide to shoot. Most of the costumes were really entertaining. We saw real Aeta's participating in the event. I always find it amusing to see them because legend has it that the festival originated when the Borneans smeared themselves with soot in order to show their solidarity among the Aeta's. You can check the legend in my old post The Barter of Panay.


I really enjoy covering the festival. You don't need long zooms to get a nice shot. You can just walk inside of the tribe and take pictures. All I can say is its one of the most photographer-friendly festivals in the island of Panay.

















Aklanons never forget that the celebration is always about the Sto. Niño. And after the Sunday mass in the morning, there is a procession in the afternoon. Ati-atihan groups parade for hours together with their beautifully adorned Sto. Niño "caro's", devotees carrying Sto. Niño image and bamboo torches that create floods of light beginning at the town plaza and ending at the Kalibo Cathedral for the "Paeapak".





After attending my first procession after several years, I've now rediscovered the meaning of Ati-atihan. People come for fun and adventure, but its the passion for spirituality that drives this festival. I have seen it in their eyes, and hopefully next year, I'll be here to see it once more.