Do you love stepping up to the beat?  Ever enjoy the sound of drums and bare feet stomping into the pavement in perfect unison?  How about joining the locals dancing in the streets with a bottle of beer?  If you do, the Dinagyang Festival is just for you!

About Dinagyang

• The Dinagyang Festival is held on the 4th Sunday of January every year, right after Cebu's Sinulog and Aklan's Ati-atihan
• It is a religious and cultural celebration in Iloilo City.  It honors the patron saint Santo Niño as well as celebrates the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the subsequent selling of the island to them by the native Atis.
• Dinagyang began after Reverend Father Ambrosio Galindez of a local Roman Catholic parish introduced the devotion to Santo Niño in November 1967. In 1968, when a replica of the original image of the Santo Niño de Cebu was brought to Iloilo, the faithful gave the image a fitting reception starting at the Iloilo Airport and parading down the streets of Iloilo.
• The Dinagyang is divided into three major events: (1) Ati-Ati Street Dancing; (2) Kasadyahan Street Dancing; and (3) Miss Dinagyang.
• Today, the main attraction of the Dinagyang consists of locals competing in tribes, or "tribus," painting their bodies brown or black, dressing in costumes made of indigenous materials, and dancing in the streets in groups with the drums.
• Many high schools participate in the Dinagyang and Kasadyahan competitions.
• Dinagyang was voted as the Best Tourism Event for 2006, 2007 and 2008 by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines