Trip Ko Lang

Dinagyang Festival has always been on my top list of must see Philippine Festivals…late last year I really made sure to book a flight and visit Iloilo in time for the Dinagyang Festival…luckily, there’s Cebu Pacific with their super cheap airfare promos and so my desire to witness Dinagyang 2012 became possible…

Iloilo celebrates Dinagyang Festival for a month long with different activities for everyone but the highlight of this event usually takes place during the 4th Sunday of January with the Dinagyang Ati Competition.

Our flight to Iloilo was just on time; we landed before 7am on Sunday (22 Jan) and headed right away to our hotel (Ong Bun) to get our Media Passes before the Dinagyang Ati Program starts…

Dinagyang Festival 2012

This year according to the Dinagyang organizers they changed the parade route and judging areas to the following:

Stage 1 – Freedom Grandstand
Stage 2 – Provincial Capitol
Stage 3 – La Paz – Huervana Street
Stage 4 – Iloilo Sports Complex

With 13 Tribes in line the program was scheduled to start at 8am. But we arrived at Freedom Grandstand before 8am; there were still few people in the judging area/seats while there were already other photographers and media people in placed.

Dinagyang Festival 2012

We were seated in front/first row of the middle area, good thing we were still early and very thankful for the Media passes that we have applied for, it was all worth it…

The program started at around 9:00am with opening remarks and some speeches from different notable persons in Iloilo City. When the first tribe was introduced we felt relieved that finally after a few hours of waiting the most awaited Dinagyang Ati competition started…

Dinagyang Festival 2012

Here are some of my shots during the Tribes performances; it felt good to be in front and able to shoot them easily; really thank God for our passes!   No more people hustling; no need to move a lot; we were even seated, relaxed, just shooting and enjoying the show.

But there’s always a downside – guess what?! At around 10:30am the sun was so up and had already moved towards our area; it was really hot and all the heat was focused on us!!! The sun’s heat was really hard to manage while shooting and tested us on how long we can manage it… Arrrgghh! Unfortunately, we gave up and were able to watch and shoot just about 5 tribes… And too bad, we didn’t see the performance of Tribu Pan-ay who won in the competition.

Dinagyang Festival 2012

Things to consider next time:

1. Freedom Grandstand is a good venue for this kind of performances, big stage area not that crowded. While, you have to anticipate where the sun will show up so better find a good spot.  As well as if it rains…still need a better spot with good shade.
2. Bring cap, scarf, and any cover-ups for arms and face… it’s really a must!
3. Media Passes is a must especially if you want to shoot this festival; you can enter the stage area but with limited spots also, but still it is really a big help! If you’re just outside with the crowd, well good luck in shooting…

Dinagyang Festival 2012

After leaving Freedom Grandstand, we looked for a place to eat just on the streets… then decided to go the next stage – Iloilo Provincial Capitol; we managed to walk going there; got inside the area but were advised by the Police that our passes (Blogger Pass)were not really allowed in Stage 2 and just left the area…

Still to consider:

1. Provincial Capitol Area’s stage is really, really small; very crowded and would only be good for shooting if you have a valid pass in this area and if you have a good spot  in front.

After this we just headed back to our hotel and didn’t bother to go to the other stages; because it was already too far and we weren’t really advised by the organizers on which stages were we allowed shooting…so this was our Dinagyang experience…

Dinagyang Festival 2012

It was still a new and fun experience for us; I never thought I would be part of Dinagyang 2012; few months before I was just busy googling Dinagyang pictures and now I have my own pictures and I have witnessed their amazing performances; was really moved and amazed by the Tribes’ costumes, props, great music and dance…   Kudos to the 13 Tribes; they were all great; I also realized that Filipinos are really rich in arts and culture; I’m very happy to be part of Dinagyang 2012 and really proud Pinoy!

Dinagyang Festival 2012

Dinagyang Festival 2012

Dinagyang Festival 2012

For more Dinagyang Festival 2012 pictures you can check out FB Fan page at TripKoLang.

Also you can see more stunning and cool shots at Shotnroll FB

Hope you enjoy our pictures! Feel free to comment on anything…

Freedom Grandstand Iloilo City

By the way here’s a picture of Iloilo’s Freedom Grandstand. And below is a shot of my Media Pass, super thanks to Ms. Perla (pearl376@yahoodotcom) the contact person for the Dinagyang Festival Media Passes. You can contact her for the application form/letter and other inquiries and also the Media Pass costs 500php.

Dinagyang Festival Media pass

See you on Dinagyang Festival 2013! This is one festival that you would love to witness every year… thanks to our very dedicated and motivated Ilonggos who strive each year to make their performances better and the best…

Panagbenga or Baguio’s flower festival is one of the biggest celebrated festivals in the Philippines which also attract millions of tourists local and international. It is an annual event usually takes place in the month of February with a month long celebration and highlights are the street and float parade.

Panagbenga festival street parade

It was our first time to be part of this Panagbenga event, we were not able to get passes/IDs for taking pictures in the parade so our space was really limited and we just shoot whatever we can… it was a challenging situation for photographers because of guards/marshals guarding our every move and the big crowd of tourists everywhere.

Panagbenga festival street parade

Panagbenga Tips:

1.       Apply for an ID/pass before the event.

2.       Wake up early to get a good spot for taking pictures.

3.       Point & shoot cameras can go handy, so bring if you have one.

4.       Don’t mind the crowd’s reactions/comments else you can be in a fight.

5.       Make sure you have eaten a full meal or bring crackers and water to sustain your energy.

Panagbenga festival street parade

6.       Wear a cap and sun block. You don’t want to go home with burnt nose and cheeks!

7.       You can bring a stool /chair or anything to step on in case you’ll be situated in the back most part of the crowd.

8.       Be mindful of your movements and people around you especially when you are all squeezed in one place.

9.       Watch, shoot and have fun!

Panagbenga festival float parade

The street parade was held on 26 Feb (Saturday) while the float parade was held on 27 Feb (Sunday), both in the morning around 8am until 11am. It was a morning of beautiful flowers, colorful costumes, and cultural traditions, good music, entertaining dance numbers and a lot more.

Panagbenga festival float parade

Being in Baguio and participating in their Panagbenga festival is really a fun and good experience. If you haven’t been here, put it on your list for next year’s travels.

Panagbenga festival float parade

For more pictures, check out these albums:

Street parade – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271547&id=228711662026

Float parade – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271560&id=228711662026