Cinco de Noviembre Festival

Sigabong sang mga Kanyon means “explosion of cannons.” It is also part of an annual Fiesta dubbed as “Cinco de Nobyembre” by the City of Bago, Negros Occidental, commemorating the uprising of the Negrenses and the somewhat “explosive” true story behind the province’s independence. History accounts relate to the siege of Bago City, then a poblacion, which was liberated by the Philippine revolutionary General Juan Araneta in the early hours of November 5, 1898. Info from Aliwan Fiesta Website

Maytime Festival is the Pride of Antipolo City

Tayo na sa Antipolo Maytime Festival promotes the city of Antipolo as one of the pilgrimage sites in the Philippines, celebrated every first Tuesday of May and ends on the first Tuesday of July. This colorful festivities include Unang Prusisyon, Santacruzan and Katapusang Prusisyon, together with the beautiful street dancing competitions. Antipolo's native delicacies like suman, manga and kasoy are always part of the event to showcase the wealth of their city. The art and colors signifies their colorful culture. Info from Aliwan Fiesta Website

The colorful Inaul Festival

Inaul or Inol literally translates to "weaved" in English. It is a hand-woven fabric by the Maguindanaon women weavers. It is traditionally used as a "malong" or a "bara-bangsa," which describes royalty. Before, the use of Inaul reflected the status symbol of the wearer in society. These fabrics are woven with stunning colors with their own meaning. Yellow and orange signifies royalty, red is for bravery, green is for peace and harmony, and white is for purity. The use of gowns made from Inaul during the Miss Universe 2016 pageant made this local product a world-class fabric.

Tugtog ng Aliwan Festival

This travel wasn't planned, Jean, my high school classmate, messaged me to witness this grandest festival battle in the Philippines. We were thinking that today April 20, 2017 is the street dancing competition and unfortunately we're wrong but it's fine because this day is the Tugtog ng Aliwan 2017, where the contingents from different  regions in the country compete with their unique and distinct sounds using their native instruments. Since it's unplanned, I don't my have my DSLR camera, so these photos were captured using my not so expensive phone. 

Centuries Old Churches in Negros Occidental and Iloilo

 This Lenten season, one of the cultural practices by some of the Filipinos is Visita Iglesia or visiting several churches. Here are some of the Centuries Old Churches in Negros Occidental and Ilo-Ilo. Let's start with Miag-ao Church, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction began in 1787 while Fray Francisco M. Gonzales. O.S.A. was the parish priest of Miag-ao and Domingo Libo-on  was the Gobernadorcillo. The Church was completed in 1797 and it served as the fortress against Muslim Raiders. During revolution, this church was destroyed but was rebuilt. Like other heritage churches, it was damaged by fire and earthquake. Restoration work began in 1960 and was completed in 1962.

Before the Human Drone Got Famous.

Photo above: Britania Island, San Agustin, Surigao del Sur. This generation, technology evolution is really fast, especially with cameras. I can still remember the classic words like Fujifilm, AGFA as endorsed by Aga Mulach, analog/film camera, rewind, pa-develop, pa re-copy, wag buksan baka ma-expose and many others. It was in 2002 when I was able to use and capture a picture using my friend's digital camera. After fifteen years, here were are with the touch screen technology, hundred Millimeter lenses, filters, image stabilizers, underwater capabilities, more memory, and of course the latest which is the flying capabilities.

Reason Why You Shouldn't Miss Kanidugan Festival

Kanidugan Festival is one of the most awaited festivals in the Philippines. This festivities is celebrated on the first week of April in Odiongan,  Tablas Island, Romblon. The street dance parade and ground demonstration is composed of participants from the baranggay level. Each of the participants is wearing their best and colorful costumes made from the coconut products. It is showcasing the importance of coconut or "niyog" in Filipino or "nidog" a local term where its name came from. Photos below will describe why you shouldn't miss Kanidugan Festival 2016: