The only festival COVID-19 couldn’t eliminate

By Alex P. Vidal

 

“After all it really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic.”—Margaret Chan

THE coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) halted all major cultural, religious, business, political, academic, and sports events in 2020, except the amazing Iloilo Dinagyang Festival, now also known as the “Iloilo Dinagyang Digital 2021”, in Iloilo City.

Before COVID-19 could sweep and sink all the titanic festivals in Western Visayas last year, Iloilo Dinagyang Festival 2020 had escaped the pandemic’s murderous rampage.

Truly the spirit of Señor Sto. Niño was there to guide the Ilonggos as they celebrated and venerated the Catholic patron saint like no other community of Christian believers around the world did.

As the “Iloilo Dinagyang Digital 2021” and launched amid the onslaught of mind-blowing coronavirus, Iloilo City’s premier annual festival was successfully held this year from January 17 until 24 under a unique and head-turning “virtual” style, the first since the festival was launched officially 53 years ago.

If not for the innovation, strategy and geniuses of people behind the staging of the Iloilo Dinagyang Digital 2021 spearheaded by the

Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) and the Iloilo City Government, backed up by the Iloilo Provincial Government and the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas or DOT-Region 6, there would’ve been a gaping vacuum in the festival’s magnificent history.

 

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If we could’t mark them in the way we might have in the past, it is important that we held onto the meaning of most of the religious and cultural festivals around the country pigeonholed since 2020 and at this time of year especially when we celebrated prosperity, hope and light.

It could help if we accepted the reality of the situation without holding on to the hope that maybe things would return to normal in time.

And if we couldn’t reduce the gap between our expectations of the perfect holiday and the reality of what was possible, we could plan how to balance safety and celebration.

According to a report by the Daily Guardian’s Joseph B.A. Marzan, the main highlight of the program was the Dinagyang 360 Tour, dubbed “One Dinagyang, One Iloilo, Halad Kay Señor Sto. Niño”, a pre-taped performance of 7 “tribes” from the districts of Arevalo, City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao, and Molo.

Marzan reported that “360” was derived from how this performance was conceptualized—a “360 View”, wherein Dinagyang can be seen from various vantage points and from various sites in Iloilo City, a “360 Turn-Around”, showing a new way of seeing Dinagyang, and “360 Platform”, as it can be seen from everywhere across the globe.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas said that the push for the Dinagyang Festival to continue amid the current pandemic was a “show of gratitude” to the Señor Sto. Niño for the blessings it had bestowed upon the city, according to Marzan, who quoted the mayor while speaking during the program.

“The COVID-19 pandemic may have altered our plans and changed our way of life. But our faith as Ilonggos has remained intact, and in order to cope with the new normal, as a way of showing our unwavering faith, we celebrate Dinagyang Digital 2021. Despite the current pandemic, we cannot stop from celebrating Dinagyang Festival in honor of our patron saint, Señor Sto. Niño, as a show of gratitude for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us, even in the face of adversity,” Treñas said.

 

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Marzan added in his report that Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. “highlighted how the ‘uniqueness’ of this year’s Dinagyang is a testament to the resilience of the Ilonggos.”

“This year’s unique Dinagyang celebration is a clear manifestation of the resilience of the Ilonggos. After 53 years, Dinagyang Festival has shown to the world that it can survive the challenges that come along the way. This is because Dinagyang Festival is not just about fun and revelry, but a testament of our devotion to the Child Jesus. We may not hear drum beats as loud as before or feel the festive mood that characterizes the usual Dinagyang celebration, but we still have to be thankful that we are given the chance to celebrate our devotion to Señor Sto. Niño, even in these trying times,” Defensor said.

Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda also raised the bar of this year’s festival, as quoted by Marzan: “As seen by our own eyes, Dinagyang has evolved from a simple festivity to a global festival. (sic) As an Ilonggo I am more than proud to say that, indeed, it is the festival of all festivals, but let us not forget that the birth of this festival was because of the devotion to the Señor Sto. Niño. As we shift into a virtual celebration due to the unfamiliar situation we are in, I feel that we should focus more on its meaning and relevance than the pageantry.”

 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)