‘ONE FESTIVAL, ONE ILOILO’: Unity sets Dinagyang Digital apart from the rest

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

“Unity” is one reason why the team behind the tribes’ performance of the first-ever ‘Digital’ Iloilo Dinagyang on January 24, 2021 is anticipating success. It will become a “trendsetter” among festivals in the country in the coming months, according to the head choreographer.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced many of the festivities in the country, including Dinagyang, to scale back performances, sans the boisterous crowds.

The festival’s main organizer, Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI), with help from the Iloilo City Government and San Jose Parish Placer, formulated a way to hold the festivities without sacrificing the need to stay at home while everyone is still battling COVID-19.

Hence, the 53rd Dinagyang Festival will continue, albeit on a much-minimized scale, with almost all activities to be held online.

The “virtual” festival’s theme, “One Dinagyang, One Iloilo: Halad Para Kay Señor Sto. Niño”, was announced in December 2020, and focused on the cooperation and camaraderie between Ilonggos amid the pandemic.

It will still be dedicated to the Señor Sto. Niño or Holy Infant Jesus, out of the gratitude for keeping the city safe and strong despite the economic and health challenges posed by the pandemic.

The festival will continue to receive support from the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Iloilo Provincial Government.

Two of the regular highlights of the festival, the Sadsad and the Dagyang tribal dance contests, have been scrapped for this edition.

Aside from the anti-crowding restrictions, school-age children, who have been the regular participants in these contests, were barred from going out as part of the national government’s guidelines for areas under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

The city was still under GCQ status during the brainstorming, finalizing, and preparation of the activities for Iloilo Dinagyang Digital. It shifted to the more permissive modified GCQ early this month.

The contests will be replaced by one grand performance of a “united” tribe consisting of 29 members, most of whom are alumni of previous Dinagyang editions.

Patterned after this year’s theme, the performance, which was taped in December and will be premiered via Daily Guardian’s Facebook page, features the culture and history of each of the city’s districts.

Preparations for the performance are helmed by the Ilonggo Artist Festivals Association, Inc. (IAFA), a newly minted group of experts and workers in the city’s festivals industry.

IFFI President, Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, began tasking the IAFA with the performance since October 2020.

The details were finalized in November, with auditions for dancers held on November 28.

Rehearsals began in the first week of December and ran for 10 days, with filming commencing afterwards and wrapping up altogether on Dec 21.

The whole team rehearsed and stayed in their “bubble” at the Ramon Avanceña National High School in Arevalo district during rehearsals and shooting.

In accordance with health protocols, they were all tested via Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) by the city government before rehearsals and after shooting finished.

None of them tested positive.

The city’s seven districts are represented by choreographers of their top tribes: Brian Francisco of Tribu Dagatnon (Arevalo), Rey Vincent Jaena of Tribu Baryohanon (City Proper), John Paul Patrimonio of Tribu Salognon (Jaro), Errol Jave Villalobos of Tribu Paghidaet (La Paz), Gerlin Francisco of Tribu Ilonganon (Lapuz), Johnrey Collado of Tribu Baybayanon (Mandurriao), and George Susvilla Jr. of Tribu Panayanon (Molo).

The choreography team is headed by Romel Flogen who is also the president of the IAFA.

Flogen told Daily Guardian that the costumes were borrowed from the schools, with only a few enhancements, due to budget constraints related to the current pandemic.

The choreography, however, is entirely new and “showcases the best of the districts”, said Flogen.

 

“All artists joined in one common goal to represent Iloilo at its best. We will see the unity of directors, choreographers, costume designers and visual artists to come up with one best presentation, which Iloilo can call its own. We are not only showcasing our talents but also our best spots in Iloilo and best spots in each district,” Flogen said in an interview.

 

One of the things he highlighted was the teamwork displayed by the choreographers and directors during the preparation of this performance.

 

“Before, it was a competition. All tribes and choreographers hid concepts from each other and sometimes there would be conflicts. Now, everyone is helping out to come up with a very good presentation. Each district has a choreographer who are assisted by other choreographers and the artistic directors. Everyone is critiquing each one’s work,” he added.

 

The whole team faced three “challenges” according to Flogen during rehearsals and shooting – financial restraints, observance of health guidelines, and negative comments.

Flogen expounded on the challenge of having to observe the minimum health protocols, saying that he “experienced something new” in his 33 years of being involved with the city’s festival industry.

 

“Our choreographers are holding rehearsals without having physical contact with the dancers. I have been with the festival industry for 33 years, and it was the first time I did a festival where I cannot personally move dancers, approach them, or reprimand them closely. It was difficult because they were barricaded. Even in the shoot, we wore masks, and it was difficult to execute and give instructions,” he said.

 

What he appreciated about the process, aside from the power exhibited by their combined talents, was the opportunity to shoot in places which had only ever been used as backgrounds in canvas.

 

“Before, we were only mindful of the square floor patterns we needed to use at the Freedom Grandstand, which was later aided by risers and backgrounds painted in canvas. Now, we get to dance with those backgrounds behind us, and we were amazed of how we were able to do it,” added Flogen.

 

After shooting was finished, Flogen said he was “proud” of what the team of choreographers, dancers, visual artists, and artistic directors had achieved in the short amount of time they had.

He said that they were really helped by this opportunity to perform, especially after the pandemic had placed economic uncertainties upon them.

IAFA, Flogen said, was established because artists in the festival industry were being heavily affected by COVID-19.

 

“Mostly, 99% of our artists in Iloilo, in terms of the directors, choreographers, dance masters, dancers, visual artists, and costume designers, are all freelancers, who do not have any monthly [regular] income. We didn’t know where to ask financial and material help, so we were displaced,” he shared.

 

He also said that the people should be very “excited” of what’s in store for them when their performance premieres on the 24th, saying that it will show “another face of Dinagyang”.

 

“It will show the best scenery, the best locations in Iloilo, and for those who have been here before or Ilonggos who are in other places, they will definitely have the feeling of missing Iloilo,” he said.

 

Flogen also took pride in the fact that their preparations were a “trendsetter to other festivals in the country”, even before putting out their masterpiece.

He cited the recent shift of Cebu’s Sinulog Festival to pre-taped performances after scrapping their planned live broadcast.

He owed this to the combined efforts of the IAFA, the IFFI, the city government, and other supporters from the public and private sectors, as well as the Ilonggos locally and worldwide.

A report by Cebu Daily News last week said that Cebu City’s Operations Center praised the Dinagyang Festival’s shift to virtual celebrations.

 

“Dinagyang was able to do what Sinulog hadn’t. Our preparations had made a big impact on what made it a big trendsetter, because we were careful in doing this, and how much more when this comes out on the 24th? We are being watched by other festivals. If the Dinagyang can go digital, why not the other big festivals?” Flogen said.

 

Another preview of their performance is scheduled for next week before the festival premieres through social media and local traditional media on January 24.

Daily Guardian is an official media partner of the IFFI and the Iloilo City Government for Iloilo Dinagyang Digital 2021.