Tacloban City is a highly urbanized city centrally located in the heart of Eastern Visayas.
It is the official capital of the province of Leyte, and considered to be the largest city in Region VIII in terms of population.
Every year in the month of June, Tacloban celebrate festivities to commemorate Señor Santo Niño de Tacloban.
The city of Tacloban organizes a month long activities in regards of the celebration.
They have food stall all over Balyuan Park and RTR Plaza that sells filipino barbeque and beers, concert by local and national artists, singing and dance contest, beauty pageant, and my absolute and the crowd favorite – Sangyaw Parade of Lights and Pintados Kasadyaan Festival.
So, what are the festivals in Tacloban City that you should see yourself?
Pintados Kasadyaan Festival
Pintados is a term which means “painting people”, the celebration of the festival was started in 1986 by Pintados Foundation Inc. which is a group of people from Tacloban to honor the Señor Sto. Niño.
After a decade, it was united with the Kasadyaan Festival that was founded by former Leyte Governor Remedios Loreto-Petilla back in May 12, 1996.
The term Kasadyaan simply means “cheerfulness” in waray-waray.
The Spanish colonization affected the culture of many Filipino people and much of its tribal tattoos history especially in the Visayan including the people of Tacloban and Igorot.
Pintados Kasadyaan festival is a cultural religious celebration in Tacloban that showcases the colorful history of Leyte and Samar.
Several town participates in the Pintados Kasadyaan festival – Festival of festivals of Leyte.
Pintados dancers paint their bodies from head to toe with an armor looking that resembles from the old warriors and altogether as a group dances in native music at the streets of Tacloban City.
Participants represent their municipalities through a dance competition by showcasing their heritage and embracing the story of their home town.
Pintados Kasadyaan Festival has their set of judges to help them pick the best performance and award a prize to the group that win their heart.
This is a glorious experience you should see in Tacloban because it incorporates the history of the islands of Leyte.
Thousands of people from the nearby town and other foreigners visit Tacloban to witness this historical event, and this is by far one of the most anticipated celebration in Tacloban.
For many years, I was able to personally join my family and friends to celebrate Pintados.
I grew up celebrating this longest festival in Tacloban and I can attest that this is a great time to reconnect yourself with the beauty of our tradition that we can pass on from generation to generation.
We would wait for hours and make sure we have a good spot to see the parade, we also have our face painted to blend in with the crowd while watching, cheering and enjoying the parade.
The great thing about the Pintados Kasadyaan festival is the fact that they bring in something new to the Taclobanons every year.
This is definitely on the top list of the many things we look forward to in Tacloban City fiesta.
After a day full of fun, dancing and singing you and your friends can grab a delicious food in downtown Tacloban where they serve varieties of filipino food and drinks.
Tacloban has a good options of amazing restaurants in the area for you to choose from.
And, to end the night there are local and national bands playing in different parks for your entertainment.
RTR Plaza and Balyuan Park are famous places for concerts and if you get lucky it might even be your favorite Manila based band playing on that night. So, take your pick!
In addition to this, the Pintados Foundation Inc. composed multiple events as well like Ritual Dance Presentation of Pintados Festival, Pagrayhay on the day of the grand parade, and Miss Pintados.
The Pintados Kasadyaan festival is held every 29th of June.
Sangyaw Festival
Sangyaw means “to announce or proclaim news” in waray-waray dialect.
This festival is also celebrated on the 29th of June same day as Pintados Kasadyaan Festival.
Sangyaw Festival was first developed by former Philippines First Lady – Madame Imelda Marcos in 1974.
Due to the historical controversies of the Marcoses this festival was eventually terminated by the people.
Then, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, the nephew of Imelda Marcos decided to bring back the festival in 2008.
Sangyaw festival is the brightest festival in the Philippines that is celebrated by the happiest people in the world – the Taclobanons.
It is a religious and socio-cultural event that is being honored by the people of Tacloban on its city fiesta.
The main highlight of Sangyaw is the Parade of Lights that brings the different school and barangay of Tacloban in one event with their brilliant, magnificent, and lively glowing floats.
The participants wears creative costumes while doing an upbeat street dancing which is incorporated with music and rhythm.
Sangyaw festival has almost the same concept as the Pintados Kasadyaan festival, the groups are also going to be judge by their set of judges and they will pick the best presentation by the end of the night.
The uniqueness of Sangyaw festival is what made it standout and very special to the Taclobanons.
Sangyaw festival give the people of Tacloban the opportunity to see the city in a different perspective or probably in a way that we could have never imagine.
Sangyaw festival made Tacloban the city with full of lights and colors which symbolizes hope and resiliency of the people.
The grand parade is also joined by local celebrities to entertain the crowd and aside from that, Sangyaw at the same time made the city of Tacloban more fun and exciting with its lined up activities every year.
If you are from Tacloban like me, June is typically one of the best time of our lives because of all the nightly events we can go to.
I have been to numerous concerts that I considered most unforgettable in my life.
I have seen Manila based bands played in person and these are the bands you always hear on the radio or seen on television performing classic OPM (Original Pilipino Music) that you wish you can see in person because you have been obsessed with them since high school.
My friends and I are very into Pinoy bands that we can probably have our eyes close and sing their songs perfectly in the karaoke without a single mistake.
You just can’t go wrong with their songs, and wherever you are in the world you are still going to listen to them.
The government of Tacloban host events throughout the month of June.
They battle of the bands, Sangyawan musical festival (perform by Manila based bands – Parokya Ni Edgar, Callalily, Sponge Cola, Kamikazee, Hale, Silent Sanctuary, Chicosci, Rocksteady – to name a few of my ultimate rock en roll night in the city), cultural presentation, sports tournament, Ginoong Sangyaw Tacloban and Miss Tacloban.
And, to end the month long celebration there is a pontifical mass held every 30th of June.
Conclusion
I was born and raised in Tacloban City and this town will always have a special place in my heart.
As what I said earlier, I had the privileged to witness the Pintados Kasadyaan Festival and Sangyaw Festival.
And it is truly an honor to see people from different town and municipalities come together as one and take pride in our culture.
From the creative costumes, face and body paint, upbeat music and rhythm, street dancing, bright lights, colorful floats, and friendly people – the Tacloban City fiesta have it all.
Looking back from all the great memories I had, these events truly played a big role in making my teenage years worthwhile.
Tacloban is my home, and will always be. This is the place where I found true friendship, remarkable experience, and a place where a lot of my family resides.
I would love to be able to witness these festivals again and I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone.
If you are a local in Tacloban, definitely do not miss any of these events.
These are the moments you can look back in the future and will remind you the beautiful life you have experience and the colorful cultural and historical heritage we have as Leyteños.
If you are a tourist considering of visiting Eastern Visayas and thinking of things you can do and see.
I highly recommend that you visit Tacloban City and check out the Pintados Kasadyaan Festival and Sangyaw Festival.
Another bonus to every tourist, if you are in Tacloban you will also get the chance to see the San Juanico Bridge (one of the longest bridge in the Philippines).
This majestic bridge connects the islands of Leyte and Samar, and this alone attracts many tourist to visit Eastern Visayas.
Pintados Kasadyaan Festival and Sangyaw Festival are historical festivities you should experience to make your visit even more wonderful.
These festivals will make you appreciate what Tacloban has to offer and what it really is – a city of Hope.
