POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE OF DAVAO DEL SUR, INC.
Mac Arthur Highway, Kiagot, Digos City
CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ARTS FROM THE REGIONS
MODULE 2
(WEEK 9-10)
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
 Identify different contemporary art practices in the Philippines
 Explain the importance of festivals and rituals in the Phillipines
DIFFERENT CONTEMPORARY ART TECHNIQUES AND PERFORMANCE
PRACTICES
One way of preserving and promoting the arts in the various regions of the
Philippines is by practicing it as often as possible. Contemporary art practices are
actual practices of the arts in everyday life. (Perez, 2016) Singing or Dance
Contest in your school or barangay is an evidence of the actual practice of arts.
Through holding different annual cultural and literary competitions, we are helping
in promotion and preservation of arts.
Perez (2016) said that contemporary art practices are expressed in
different ways, by an individual or by a collaboration of several artists. Perhaps one
collaborative art that is very common to every region is the festival. A festival may
be composed of various events such as street dancing, singing competitions,
architectural decors like floats and more. We are all aware that Philippines have
various kinds of festivals. It is a known fact that we, Filipinos, everywhere in the
world love to celebrate and get together.
Lasting anywhere between a day to an entire month, Philippine festivals
are huge cultural celebrations that attract both local and foreign tourists due to its
colorful and festive nature. Because of Spain’s Catholic influence dating back to
the mid-1500s, most of these festivals are usually religious in nature while others
are meant to commemorate important events in history. Either way, attending a
Philippine festival is definitely something you have to experience in order to
witness how rich our country’s culture is.
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SOME FESTIVALS HAT REPRESENTS OUR PHILIPPINE ART
ê Ati- Atihan Festival (3rd Weekend of January/ Kalibo, Aklan)
This Sto. Niño festival started it all. One of the oldest
religious celebrations in the country, Ati- Atihan is
characterized by parade filled with face painted celebrants,
indigenous costumes and weapon, tribal dances, and loud
drumbeats. Tourists who flock to Kalibo for thr festivities
are free to cover themselves in black soot and dance on
the streets with the drum beats. Kown as the “Filipino
Mardi Gras”, it is an experience not to be missed.
ê Sinulog Festival(3rd Weekend of January/ Cebu
City)
Cebu also has its own version of the festival in honor
of the Sto. Niño. If you find yourself attending the Sinulog
Festival, “Pit Senior!” is a phrase you will hear a lot. It
means “Panangpit sa Senior” a Cebuano phrase that
means to plead to the Senior Santo Niño. It is one of the
most attended festivals in the Philippines, attracting
millions of locals and tourists from all over the world.
Sinulog does not only sets the stage foe Cebuano talents
but also for other regional acts as contingents from
neighboring provinces are showcased through street
dancing, pageantry and sports. It is also known for hosting
country’s biggest raves, drawing a growing number of
party-goers from all over the country year after year.
ê Dinagyang Festival (4th Weekend of January/
Iloilo City)
Once a year, Iloilo City transforms into one big street
party – streets closed, bands in all corners, overflowing
food and drinks, and towering from boxes. To cap it all off,
tribes representing different barangays and high schools
perform in one very competitive street dancing contest
ê Panagbenga Festival (February/ Baguio City)
 POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE OF DAVAO DEL SUR, INC.
Mac Arthur Highway, Kiagot, Digos City
The word “Panagbenga” comes from “Kankanaey”
term which means “season of blooming”. With the numerous
parades of Floral Floats and children dressed as flora and
fauna, it definitely lives up to its name, making Baguio the
perfect destination for those who still have hangover from
the huge festivals in January. Adding to the usual Baguio
tourists sites to visit, the whole length of the Session Road during Panagbenga
becomes a feast for the eyes. Called the “Session Road in Bloom”, Baguio’s
famous street is closed to vehicular traffic to make way for flower carts, street
dancing and outdoor cafes.
ê Moriones Festival (Holy Week/ Boac, Gasan, and Mogpog,
Marinduque)
This week-long celebration of the Life of St.
Longinus is what makes Marinduque one of the top
destinations during Holy Week in the Philippines. Morion is
the helmet worn by the centurions while Moriones refers to
the costumed penitents reenacting the search for St.
Longinus, hunted by his fellow centurions for converting to
Christianity. During the festival you will see Marinduqueños dressed up as
centurions (Moriones) looking for Longinus, hiding from them while the
townspeople play along and allow him to hide in their houses. Via Crusis or the
reenactment of the Passion of the Christ also happens during this Philippine
Festival.
ê Aliwan Fiesta (last Weekend of April/ Pasay City, Manila)
Aliwan Festival is more of a competition than it is a
festival. However it has undeniably added great value to the
growing interest in Philippine Festivals. Although it just
started in the early 2000s, it has already gained strong fan-
base nationwide with more than 5,000 young men and
women from all over the country joining the competition. For
a lot of people who are in Manila, heading to the CCP Complex is the cheapest
way to see quality performances from tribes representing festivals in their
respective provinces.
ê Pahiyas Festival (15th of May/ Lucban, Quezon)
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One of the Philippines’ most colorful harvest festivals marks
the time of the year when people in Lucban decorate their
houses with different- colored products in an almost
competitive manner. It is not uncommon to see singkamas
(turnip), talong (eggplant), sigarilyas (winged bean) and all the
other vegetables and fruits mentioned in the Bahay Kubo song
hanging on the exterior of their homes. You can actually bring
a basket and pick the products from the walls for free.
ê Pintados Festival (29th of June/ Tacloban City)
Pintados is another festival in honor of the Sto. Niño. It
just goes to show how Filipinos want to be reminded to be
childlike in their ways and to place hope in their children. This
festival has been growing in popularity because of the
contingents they send to the Aliwan Fiesta every year. Leyte is
also hoe base of other festivals like Alikaraw, Pasaka, and the
2009 Aliwan Fiesta Champions, Buyogan.
ê Kadayawan Festival
Kadayan comes from the Dabawenyo word
“Madayaw” a friendly greeting which means good or
beautiful. Probably the biggest festival in Mindanao,
Kadayawan has everything all other festivals have:
street dancing, beauty pageants, fireworks display, floral
floats. It is a celebration of Davao as well as the rest of
Mindanao’s abundance; showcasing flowers, fruits, and
other products that abound the country’s second largest
island. They even introduced a week-long street food fiesta in Freedom
Park, Roxas Avenue called Kaan sa Da’n.
ê Masskara Festival
 POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE OF DAVAO DEL SUR, INC.
Mac Arthur Highway, Kiagot, Digos City

Colorful masks, street dancing, electrical PREPARED BY:

displays and the best of all, the sweet smiles of ANGELICA JANE C. PADASAY, LPT
Work of art!
Bacololeñas. Masskara is a combination of the
Direction: Create a collage about the Festivals being discussed. Select
words “mass” which means crowd and “kara”
only one festival and put your collage in a 1/8 SHEET ILLUSTRATION BOARD.
which means face. You will see participants Give a short insight about the Festival you’ve chosen. (30pts)
wearing a multitude of smiling faces, solidifying
Bacolods’s title as “City of Smiles”. Like Sinulog, it is also swarmed by the *PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME.
younger party crowd as it is conveniently scheduled during the semester
break.

According to Perez (2016), rituals, or rites are also examples of

Philippine folk tradition and art, practiced in almost every region. They are
series of ceremonies or prescribed actions performed for a specific
purpose. There are ceremonial rites, religious rites, betrothal and marriage
rituals, the rite of passage, and others. Rituals, often accompanied by
dancing, can be simple or complex, private or public, and can last for a few
minutes or stretch for days. They exist in regions because of a certain
need, such as the need to obtain order and harmony in the individual,
village or community. He also explains that there is a belief about the
interrelationship of man, nature, and the spirit world and that balance must
be maintained to achieve the state of order and harmony. The one who
performs the right is called “baylan” (priest) or the “babaylan” (priestess). In
other rituals, the shaman, a seer, or a healer, acts as an intermediary
between man and the spirit world, using the art of magic.
He also states that rituals are found in ordinary, everyday life. Even
personal daily routines undergo a process of a ritual, like the ritual of
preparing for school, washing the hands, combing the hair, etc. The family
has social rituals for greetings such as the “beso” for friends and
“pagmamano”, a respectful greeting of children to the elders.

RESOURCES:
Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions (An Apreciation Towards
National Identity) by Jason L. Dedal
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