ILOILO City – Let the drumbeats roll! Today’s “Pamukaw sa Opening Salvo” is hitting the city streets to kick-start the first-ever Dinagyang Digital 2021.
Drummers onboard city government vehicles will tour major thoroughfares as pamukaw to the Ilonggos that the Dinagyang fever is officially on.
“Pamukaw” is Hiligaynon for “wakeup call.”
In previous years, the “Pamukaw” was a parade of the tribes. Not this time, according to the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) that the city government has tapped to organize the 2021 edition of Dinagyang under a very challenging circumstance – the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Much of the activities will be transformed to a virtual spectacle, according Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, president of the IFFI.
Around 5 p.m., Mayor Jerry Treñas will lead the declaration of Dinagyang Digital Opening Salvo, which will be streamed on the Facebook pages of Treñas, Iloilo City Government, Iloilo Dinagyang, and on www.iloilofestivals.com.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic, we cannot stop celebrating Dinagyang Festival in honor of our patron saint, Señor Santo Niño, as a show of gratitude for all the blessings he bestowed upon us even in the face of adversity,” said Treñas.
Dinagyang is the Hiligaynon word for revelry or merrymaking. The festival is known for its participants’ impressive choreography and striking costumes that reflect Ilonggo ingenuity, craftsmanship and artistry.
With the theme “One Dinagyang, One Iloilo, Halad kay Senor Sto. Niño”, this year’s festival, known for drumbeats and striking colors, would be streamed live on social media.
The religious sadsad or street dancing on Jan. 23 would be shown online.
The culmination on Jan. 24 will feature an online Dinagyang Mass and pre-filmed dance performances of Ati tribes.
Peñaflorida said Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo, also the reigning Miss Iloilo 2020, is the official ambassador of Dinagyang. She will also be hosting Digital Dinagyang 2021.
The digital mode of the festival, according to Peñaflorida, will enable spectators in other parts of the
country and abroad to view performances in different sites in the city.
He said among those to be recorded and streamed on social media are performances of selected tribes and those done by several tribes in collaborative work.
A tribute to health and other workers, who are on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, would be added./PN
