ILOILO CITY – Intermittent rain failed to dampen the festive mood of revelers in yesterday’s highlight of the Dinagyang Festival.
Fortunately, it did not rain during the fireworks competition Saturday night at the old airport site, where 18 fireworks manufacturers across the country participated.
Light rain started to pour just as Batanes’ Tribu Ivatan was preparing to open the Ati tribes contest at the Freedom Grandstand at around 8:30 a.m. yesterday. As of press time yesterday, different tribus (tribes) were still performing in the various judging areas.
Despite the rain, the Ivatans strutted their stuff. Tribu Ivatan is the first group from outside Region 7 (Western Visayas) to take part in the Dinagyang.
The drizzle continued for about an hour, but it did not interrupt the competition. Competing tribes, especially the “warriors,” took off their sandals and chose instead to perform barefoot on the wet pavement. At one time, a “warrior” slipped while performing.
At around 10:30 a.m., the skies cleared and the drizzle stopped, only to rain again before noon in some parts of the city.
This year’s Dinagyang saw several marked changes. There were only four judging areas, instead of five last year, to accommodate street dancing, especially while the competing tribes were making their way to the next judging area. Twenty tribes joined the Ati competition yesterday.
Winners were to be announced last night, followed by another fireworks display.
The event organizer, the Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc., also changed the color motif to dark brown to give the city’s annual tourism event its own identity.
Yesterday’s Ati competition also saw the increased use of indigenous materials, especially coconut fiber, for the props and costumes.
Different musical instruments were used in the performances, although drums remained dominant.
Some of the competing tribes had less body costumes compared to the others, although majority donned colorful ones. A few did away with spears and shields.
The competing tribes had lesser “warriors” compared to the previous Dinagyangs, although there were more female participants.