The Fiesta in Philippine Culture

Edmonton Filipino Fiesta

Fiesta is a Spanish and Latin word for a festive celebration of a religious holiday. In modern times, it connotes a feast, a holiday or a carnival. The Philippine culture is marked with various fiestas, both pagan and Christian in origin. These fiestas may commemorate a moment in history, the feast of a patron saint, or celebrate a bountiful harvest. The fiestas are so spread out in time and geography that it is virtually impossible to participate or witness them all. In fact, the Manila Broadcasting Company has organized the Aliwan Fiesta, an annual event that gathers the different cultural festivals, as a one-stop showcase not only to the people in Metro Manila, but as an attraction to those abroad.

Before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, the Filipinos were already engaged in mystical beliefs, worshipping and appeasing gods believed to control their family, livelihood, prosperity, health and their safety.

Fiesta in Toronto

The Spanish colonizers, especially the friars, used the fiesta in converting the pagan Filipinos into Christianity. The processions, festivities, music and pomp, would lure the “natives” from the remote fields, into the “plaza” or centre of the town. Instead of outlawing the pagan celebrations, the dances and rituals were altered as offerings to the saints.

In these modern times, the fiestas may be used to promote economic, political or tourism objectives. But with every Filipino, it is a social time, a time for fellowship, and a holiday. Although most fiestas originated as religious events, it has become secondary to the general spirit of celebration.

Fiesta in Sacramento

Components of Filipino fiestas are banderitas (small flags), endless or continuous eating, processions, parades, dances, entertainment programs, religious or cultural rituals, trade fairs, pageants, games and contests and holy mass. Filipinos are known for their hospitality and there is no better avenue to showcase this than during a fiesta. One can be in a fiesta and partake in meals in several houses in one street!

Much like the fiestas organized by the early Spanish missionaries who were homesick, and flavored the festivities with practices back home, anywhere in the globe where there is a strong Filipino community, some form of fiesta has been celebrated. Go through any social media newsfeed and you will find Filipino fiestas held in North America, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Europe. In Edmonton alone, there have been several events on patron saint’s feast days and regional festivals. Because as diverse as the Filipinos are in geography and ethnolinguistics, it is the fiesta that unifies us all. With its atmosphere of revelry and pageantry, the fiesta embodies what we crave for and aim to sustain - the invitation to connect, celebrate, and affirm the Filipino life and culture.

Fiesta in Honolulu

To quote Florentino H. Hornedo in his book Culture and Community in the Philippine Fiesta and Other Celebrations, the fiesta is rooted in the communitarian and expressive instincts of human nature, is a durable venue for Filipino culture and expressions, and is a symbol of Filipino sense of community as they struggle against modernization, involving individuals in their community. It serves as a cultural anchor, whereby the fiesta recreates for the Filipino a sense of being home, renewing his identity, and sense of belonging to a home and familial village.

Fiesta in Australia

History has shown how the fiestas serve as a tool for varying purposes. The Filipino fiesta in today’s context, especially abroad, is whatever we, as a Filipino, make of it. We shape it based on how we view our Filipino-ness and how we want it to be perceived and celebrated in the society or community we live in. It is a reflection of who we are in that point of time and location. It an event by the Filipino community, for the Filipino community and secondary to the other people in whatever foreign place the Filipino may be.

Edmonton will be having its own Edmonton Filipino Fiesta on June 9-11, 2017 at the Sir Winston Churchill Square. For more information, go to edmontonfilipinofiesta.com or philippineartscouncil.com/edmfilfiesta.


This article was published in the May 2017 issue of the Alberta Filipino Journal.

Aliwan Fiesta: the Mother of all Fiestas

Philippine culture is rich in rituals and celebrations of all kinds. And with the varied cultural influences, we are rife with fiestas that are both of pagan and Christian origins, observed all throughout the year. Each fiesta distinct from others, i.e. the rhythm of the Ati-Atihan, the colours of the Panagbenga, the masks of the Moriones, the creativity of the Pahiyas, among others. They are diverse and so spread out in time and geography that it will take years to be able to witness a majority of them.

The Manila Broadcasting Company conceived of a brilliant idea of an annual event gathering the different cultural festivals in the Philippines at the Star Complex in Pasay City. This event is the Aliwan Fiesta, dubbed as the Mother of all Fiestas. Started in 2003, its objectives are two-pronged: to showcase the country’s cultural richness and diversity, and promoting economy and tourism for the respective regions. Initially held as a Christmas extravaganza, it has then evolved as a summer celebration, in the months of April or May.

The Aliwan Fiesta brings together about 5,000 dancers, musicians and artisans who compete for prizes totaling to 3 million pesos. The regional contingents perform in a 4 kilometer stretch along Roxas Boulevard, marked by street dancing and gigantic floats. The participating floats are required to utilize only local textiles, produce, and other products representative of their region. Thousands of people brave the heat and line up the streets to witness this 7 hour spectacle. Major categories for the event are: PasaKalye, the Inter School Dance Competition; Reyna ng Aliwan, the Beauty Pageant for Festival Queens; the Float competition and the Street dancing competition.

Scheduled in 2013 for April 11-13, the 19 featured contingents are: Ang Tipulo festival of
Antipolo; Pamulinawen festival of Laoag, Ilocos Norte; Panagbenga festival of Baguio; Bangus festival of Dagupan, Pangasinan; Mango festival of Zambales; Pandang Gitab festival of Oriental Mindoro; Mahaguyog festival for Batangas’ Ala-eh; Fiesta de Toros of Nasugbu; Unod festival of Castilla, Sorsogon; Lumad Basakanon for the Sinulog of Cebu; Tribu Panayanon for Iloilo Dinagyang; Salakayan of Miag-ao for Iloilo’s Kasadyaan; Kabankalan’s Sinulog for Negros Occidental; Pasaka festival of Tanauan, Leyte; Tuna festival of General Santos; Padang-Padang festival of Parang, Maguindanao; Sagayan festival of Buluan, Maguindanao; Zamboanga Hermosa festival; and Kalivungan festival of Midsayap, North Cotabato.

Previous years’ winners have been: the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo City (also the first to be inducted into the Aliwan Hall of Fame); the Sinulog Festival of Cebu; the Sinulog sa Carmen, and Lumad Basakanon, also from Cebu; and Halad Festival of Midsayap, Cotabato.


Other activities, aside from the major categories for the competition, include design and photo exhibits, and a shopping bazaar. These are booths showcasing indigenous handicrafts, garments, jewelries, accessories, delicacies and agricultural products - giving the public a flavor of each participating region. In a single location, one can find: the dreamweavers’ creations from the T’nalak festival in Koronadal, South Cotabato; the Ilokano damili pottery; the Pampanga lanterns; and Marikina footwear, among others.

Few countries can boast of a culture as diverse and as numerous as the Philippines, reflected in the music, the movements, the rituals, the beliefs, and the industry. And the fiestas provide a creative and economic outlet for its peoples.


So if visiting or going back to the Philippines is in your near future bucket list, consider timing your visit around the dates of the Aliwan Fiesta. You not only are treated to a visual cultural spectacle, but you get to witness a gathering and celebration of what the 7,107 islands of the Philippines can offer.

* This article was written for and published in the April 2013 issue of the Pinoy Times.