ILOILO City – It’s all systems go for the staging of the first-ever Dinagyang Digital 2021 with highlights slated on Jan. 23 to 24.
“All activities as we speak natigayon na naton kag natuman except sa aton nga live religious motorcade on Jan. 22,” said Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, president of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) that the city government tasked to organize this year’s edition of the festival under a very challenging circumstance – the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Peñaflorida attributed this to the early preparation “made through the unity and cooperation” of various stakeholders.
“Aton ginapabugal nga kita ang nag-set sang trend sa mga festivals. Ang pagbinuligay makit-an mo sa end product sang Dinagyang Digital 2021,” Peñaflorida said.
Much of the activities will be transformed to a virtual spectacle, including the Dinagyang tribe performance.
According to Peñaflorida, Ilonggos and spectators worldwide can enjoy “tribal presentations” at the comfort of their homes.
For his part, Dinagyang Digital’s production committee chairman, Eric Divinagracia, emphasized the need to pursue the festival even amid the pandemic.
Dinagyang Festival, he said, is a celebration of the unity and identity of the Ilonggos that they need to harness during this time when everyone seems to be socially isolated.
“Subong ini sya ang balansehon naton – ang kultura kag ekonomiya sa ini nga presentation kay tanan nagatib-ong gid para sa Dinagyang,” Divinagracia further said.
Ilonggos, especially those in abroad, will have a glimpse of the city’s seven districts as the Dinagyang tribe performances were taped in various sites in the city.
“We have shots in more than 30 sites in a span of 10 days to bring to you the city of Iloilo in all its beauty and majesty in the midst of a pandemic,” said Divinagracia.
Digital Dinagyang 2021 will be featuring the indigenous people of Iloilo (the Ati and Panay Bukidnon), too, performances of Ilonggo artists, and even tributes to frontliners battling the coronavirus disease./PN
