"Binatbatan Festival Boasts Joyful Colors That Promotes Fabric Culture."
Festivals have both social and economic consequences. On our chaotic and hectic planet, happiness is overwhelmed by negativity and insecurity, so the need for something that can provide optimism has been felt time and again. As a result, festivals arose that allow us to forget about our problems and enjoy the pleasant aspects of life, if only for a few days. Festivals in the Philippines allow people to celebrate their rich culture while also paying homage to history and patron saints. They're brightly colored, massive, and full of pomp and circumstance. It's no surprise that each province has its own distinct Filipino Fiesta, which they are very proud of.
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Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, is a city that has stood the test of time. It has a traditional Hispanic checkerboard street plan. It is unique in that much of its Hispanic colonial character has been preserved, particularly its grid street pattern and historic urban layout. Its significance is also based on how the various architectural influences are blended to create a cohesive townscape. The city's architecture is as impressive as its people. Local artists thrive in keeping the city vibrant during the Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts, which runs from the last week of April to the first week of May. The aforementioned festival features vibrant colors that envelop, promote, and preserve the livelihood or industry of the local fabric. The name of the festival was derived from the Ilocano term batbatin, which means to separate the cotton balls from the seeds of the local fruit kapas sanglay. Binatbatan Festival has its origins in Vigan's abel weaving industry, which existed long before the Spaniards arrived to colonize the Philippines.
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The main highlight of this week-long celebration is the featuring Binatbatan street dancing, showdown competition, in which participants wear "abel" (woven cloth) costumes and sway in their original panagbatbat dances. The street dancing began in front of the Vigan Cathedral and ended on Crisologo Street, where old houses were festooned with abel iloco decor in preparation for the house decorating contest. Street dancers were performing gracefully with their colorful props and costumes made with abel as they proudly said "Viva Vigan" to a magnificent choreography inspired by the weaving process of abel iloko. We can truly say that the festival celebration is very enjoyable, entertaining to watch, holds attention, and provides pleasure and delight to the audience.
Nowadays, it is extremely difficult and critical to celebrate this year's festival. The life of a festival goer has taken a dramatic turn with COVID-19 as the diabolical nemesis. All of the exciting festivals that one would look forward to in can no longer be experienced this year because public gatherings would only worsen the spread of the virus. Despite the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic, the city government was still able to find ways to organize events for this festival by taking things online, allowing Biguenos to settle and celebrate this special occasion while also ensuring their safety against the virus.
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Throughout the one-week festival, even though performers and dancers cou ld not hear or feel the warm applause of the audience, they still joyfully and cheerfully waved their "batbat and continued to gracefully perform while adhering to health protocols such as social distancing and wearing face shields. Other activities such as the Abel House Decor Competition, Boklan Art Competition, Carabao Painting and Samiweng Chorale Competition were also able to push through digitally using social media.
The days are colder, the nights are longer, and COVID-19 lockdown restrictions remain, but it is in alert level 1, which means that festivals and other gatherings are permitted, while the good old days of celebrating the Binatbatan Festival of Festival were far better than today, Biguenos made this a memorable one filled with joy, happiness, and merriment despite the drastic change. It is critical that we hold onto the meaning of this year's festival celebration even more so if we are unable to commemorate it in the way that we have in the past. The festival represents the continuation of life. Its celebration denotes the on-going flow of life's trials and tribulations. In other words, accepting the reality of our situation without holding out hope that things will return to "normal" in due course. The spirit of unity and resiliency can be seen beneath and beyond the grandeur of the costumes and props seen in this festival.
Multimedia References:
Binatbatan Festival Street Dancing
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