Binatbatan

          Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts celebrated from the last week of April to the first week of May was originally the Feast of the Natives that began on May 3, 1883, according to the writings of Damaso King, a well-known Vigan historian. 

          For the past sixteen years, the festival of arts has been successful in drumming up attention for Vigan’s ancestral houses. With the help of national and local agencies, as well as media, arts and non-governmental supporters, the festival has also succeeded in promoting other aspects of Vigan. Its popularity has even benefited the whole tourism industry of the northern region, bringing in tens of thousands of local and foreign tourists curious to explore and have a “northern experience.” Binatbatan dancing is connected to Vigan’s abel Iloco craft. The dance depicts how cotton pods are beaten with bamboo sticks to release the cotton fluff called batbat from its seed. This festival was started in 2002 to showcase this traditional weaving craft that is said to predate the arrival of the Spaniards. 

          Visitors are also encourage to squeeze into their six-day Viva Vigan experience the watching of the calesa parade, ramada or traditional games, comedia or stage drama, Santa Cruzan parade, abel fashion show and house decoration, singing contests and beauty pageants and other exciting events like the Amazing Heritage Race. They can also participate in religious rituals or visit exhibits, garden shows, as well as trade and food fairs.

References:

https://www.vigan.ph/attractions/viva-vigan-festival-of-the-arts.html

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