ILOILO CITY – Carles, the northernmost town in Iloilo province, celebrated the inaugural Hinugyaw sa Kadagatan Festival on October 14.
NATIVE dancers perform at the Hinugyaw sa Kadagatan festival in Carles town, Iloilo province. (RJ Lens)
Coinciding with the town fiesta in honor of patron saint Santa Teresa de Avila, the festival symbolizes the thriving fishing communities and the bounty of their catch from the Visayan Sea.
Three groups competed in performances that depicted the daily lives of fishermen and their communities from the 18 island and 15 mainland barangays.
Tribu Mandaragat emerged as the first-ever champion of the festival, the brainchild of Narold Castellano and Eiljohn Derrick Buaya Manikan from the Kapawa School of Performing Arts.
The local government unit Carles said the Hinugyaw sa Kadagatan complements the rising eco-tourism of the town.
Carles is home to Sicogon Island which preceded Boracay as the beach destination in the Visayas. The resort-island that has a private airport has been redeveloped by Ayala Land Inc.
The town also has Isla de Gigantes (Gigantes Islands) which has become another buzzword in beach tourism.
Mayor Siegfredo A. Betita and Vice Mayor Arnold T. Betita are studying the proposal for the enactment of an ordinance that will make Hinugyaw sa Kadagatan an annual festival with funding.