The Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival began in Kalibo, Aklan. It celebrates Santo Niño (Baby Jesus), who represents unity and Thanksgiving for the peaceful life of the ATI (indigenous people). Ati-Atihan is a festival Celebrated in Kalibo by both locals and tourists.
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Lead Image created using CANVA
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Every time the Ati-Atihan Festival is held, we get up at two in the morning and spend a few hours traveling to the Kalibo plaza. Before we leave, we bring water, bread, stuffing, or any other snack so we can eat in the car. We also bring our viand for lunch; we are afraid of going hungry. Haha, lol. Well, we also save money if we bring dish and rice to avoid buying things because the surrounding area is expensive during the fiesta. In order to attend the mass,we depart early. However, there are already many people in the church when we arrive. So we simply search for a seat so that we can hear father's voice while celebrating mass. After the mass we line up to pat the Santo Niño on our head As a sign that we have been blessed by Almighty God.
Then we ordered from jollibee near the plaza because we were hungry and the bread wasn't enough, haha. Even though jollibee was very crowded and there were many other establishments where we could still eat, we preferred it because while we were eating, we could see the parades and dancing in the middle of the road lol, and we had to eat quickly. It's important we can eat, everyone takes care of themselves, lol. because there are so many people waiting to finished others so that they can turn.
After eating, we went to the plaza to participate in "Sad-sad." While dancing, someone would shout "Viva, Senior Santo Niño," and we would respond, "Viva." You will be able to dance while the paraders are already dressed in Ari costumes. Their costumes are unique, making it more entertaining to watch.
I was lucky enough to be able to take pictures with these costumed people because there are often photobombers among the crowd. Haha, actually, there are also many costumed people to be seen in the plaza, and they are doing different customs. And they are really prepared for it.
While others were resting and others still couldn't stop dancing and "Sad-sad," I took the opportunity to borrow their mask, and I'm grateful because they let me try on their mask; they even put it on my head, hehe.
Everyone, regardless of age, is welcome to join in the fun. I once saw a kid dressed as a Santo Niño, and it looked adorable. BTW, we had a good time until we decide to go to our next destination where we choose to eat our lunch.
Thanks for the support! see you on my next blog, peace and love. 🫶🏻