It’s official! The chief of staff of the Iligan City Local Government Unit Verne Padilla announced that the Dinagyang Festival Concert 2023 of rapper Andrew E, Cueshe Band, and yours truly, Giselle Sanchez, has garnered the most number of attendees for a public event. 

The free concert was a gift of the Iligan City LGU headed by Mayor Frederick Siao and was attended by around 35,000 people. “For safety reasons, we had to turn down thousands of people who wanted to watch because the outdoor venue could not accommodate the number of people anymore. For the record, this is the most attended public event in the history of Iligan City, beating public campaigns and other fiestas and festivals since time immemorial,'' Padilla tells Gossip Girl. 

"The crowd was overwhelming; when I came out, I was teary-eyed; their cellphone flashlights were all open, and they were all screaming and clapping, I felt like Taylor Swift. It was like every Iligaganon was present at the Anahaw Amphitheater, plus other residents around Lanao del Norte and Marawi were there to party with us."

I asked rapper Andrew E how he felt. “It’s been 30 years since I last performed in Iligan. Maybe they missed me so much. I am humbled by the number of the crowd," Andrew E tells Gossip Girl. 

Indeed, the Iliganons did miss the rapper/comedian. When Andrew E came out, everybody seated stood up and shouted his name several times like a Rockstar. “Andrew E, Andrew E, Andrew E!” I was amazed at how Andrew handled the crowd. For an hour and a half, the crowd sang his songs, rapped with the rap star, and jumped up and down. We even spotted people climbing trees to watch the concert.

In his social media accounts, Andrew writes, “Libo-libo pang hindi makapasok sa amphitheater kahapon - here’s proof! Gagawin ang lahat makapanood lang….Sana pala tinagalan ko pa yung show.” (Thousands were not able to enter the amphitheater yesterday. – here’s proof (Picture of a man climbing a tree just to watch the concert). I wished I had made the show even longer." 

The day after the concert, the Regional Director of the Department of Tourism May Salvaña-Unchuan, showed me the beauty of Iligan City. She brought me to the breathtaking Tinago Falls. Iligan is also the home of one of the wonders of the Philippines, the Maria Cristina Falls, but since I had to fly back home the same day, I had to choose the closest waterfall from my hotel, which was the Linaw Resort Hotel, a stone throw away from Tinago Falls. 

If you are into healthy cold plunges for your body to release proteins and new neural pathways, jumping in the clear waters of Tinago Falls will be your best bet. The water is so clean visitors would fill their water bottles with natural mountain spring water from the falls. Just be physically prepared to go down 357 steps to see the falls. I promise you that your effort will be rewarded by the breathtaking view of the falls.  

Having the falls on your head and body is another mind-blowing experience. Contact the Department of Tourism in Iligan for more information on how to get to Tinago Falls and its hotels. When you get to Tinago Falls, look for Jeric Garil, one of the guides there. He takes fantastic videos and pictures. Just tip him well because they do not charge anything as guides.