ROXAS CITY – The Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City received two awards from the International Festival and Events Association-Asia.
TRIBU Paghidaet of La Paz National High School performs at the 2025 Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City (left). The Dinagyang Festival bagged two awards in the International Festival and Events Association-Asia in South Korea. (Tara Yap and Elvert Bañares)
These are the Best Overall Entertainment Program at the 2025 Pinnacle Awards Asia and Best Dynamic Festival (Dancing) at the Asia Festival Awards.
Dinagyang bagged the awards for the second straight year and remains to be the only awardee from the Philippines.
Eric Divinagracia and Elvert Bañares, representing the Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc., received the awards last March 21 in Gyeongju, South Korea.
“(This is a) double blessing for the country, Iloilo City and the Dinagyang Festival,” said Bañares, the IFFI Director for Culture and the Arts Initiatives.
“The first award cited the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival for its comprehensive programming in providing arts and entertainment to its festival-goers,” said Divinagracia, Dinagyang artistic director.
“The second award distinguished Dinagyang as a dynamic dance festival, celebrating both tradition and innovation, attributable to all artists, arts managers, and cultural workers,” added Divinagracia.
The awards are a manifestation of the strong partnership between the private sector, the religious sector, and the local government.
The annual Dinagyang festival is organized by the IFFI led by president Allan Ryan Tan and Executive Director Joyce Ann Clavecillas, Iloilo City government under Mayor Jerry Treñas, and the San Jose Parish Church.
The Dinagyang Festival, held every last Sunday of January, honors the Santo Niño or the Holy Child Jesus.
The street performance of the Dinagyang depicts the folkloric story of the pact between the native Ati people and the Bornean migrants of Panay as well their conversion into Christianity.