Philippine Fiesta

Last August 28, 2008 we celebrated our fiesta here in our barrio (small community) for our patron San Agustin. The fiesta is part and parcel of Filipino culture. Through good times and bad times, the Filipino fiesta must go on. Each city and barrio has at least one local festival of its own, usually on the feast of its patron saint, so that there is always a fiesta going on somewhere in the country.The Philippine fiesta is a lot more that it seem on the service. It is the tie that binds Filipinos from a region or an area together, a time to reunite with our extended family and our countrymen. No matter where they are, they are expected to attend. It is a time to rejoice in friendship, spend all you have, forget the expense, just be happy you can afford to entertain and feed others, if you can. When i was still a kid, i was wondering why we really need to prepare something just to feed those people who will be our visitor on our fiesta. My mother answered me that it's like a thanksgiving for all the graces that is given to our family and sharing it to others. City fiesta are more fun than those in the barrios (small community) because usually big events happen. After the fiesta celebration of our barrio, Iligan City will celebrates its City Fiesta this September 29. Before the fiesta dates, there will be many events. Highlighted by the traditional Diyandi, Eskrima and the street drama. The Diyandi (ritual dance) is performed only during the feast of Iligan Patron Saint, Senior San Miguel. Other curious dance-forms, also performed during the San Miguel Fiesta, include the Eskrima (a dance simulating a fight between San Miguel and his enemies, and the Yawa-yawa, literally, devil-devil), a dance from depicting the celestial battle between the forces of good and evil as impersonated by St. Michael, the Archangel and Lucifer.

KASADYA(street dancing and merry-making) was started, as a local form of entertainment has become a major tourist attraction of Iligan drawing crowds both local and tourist alike. This happens every 27th of September at early morning. It is considered as a non-income generating project having the most number of spectators both in the streets and in the showdown venue proper as compared to other tourism related activities.