Igbaras Celebrates 6th Tangyan Festival

Tangyan Festival street dancing competition, photo by Julius Sollesta

The Festival of TANGYAN scheduled on May 16-23, 2011 is a time when the scenic town of Igbaras unites in recognizing the economic importance of its Tangyan River to its people. The river has functioned as the economic heartland where Igbarasnons are engaged in agriculture. As they say, the most fertile areas for farming are in the plains near the Tangyan tributaries where it provided irrigation water for their agricultural produce.

photo by Julius Sollesta

The festival is also dedicated to the preservation and protection of their cultural heritage and to be able to share them with the younger generation.

The River of Tangyan in Igbaras has played a fundamental role in the lives, history and culture of its people for many years. This waterway provides irrigation, potable water and fish stocks, supporting livelihoods in the area. Water from the river is a basic natural resource, essential for various human activities.

Tangyan River produces and supports the town’s extremely fertile soil. The rainy season further enrich the soil, as the river overflow its banks and deposit nutrient-rich silt over adjacent land. In this area, agriculture, as well as fish and shrimp farming are widely practiced by some. These activities constitute their sole sources of income or, in many cases, subsistence.

street dancers of Tangyan Festival, Igbaras, Iloilo, photo by Julius Sollesta

This year, with its humble preparations, the municipality of Igbaras through the leadership of their municipal mayor, Hon. Vicente E. Escorpion Jr. will celebrate the 6th Tangyan Festival with the theme, “Igbarasnon nga may Pagkabalaka, Pagla-um kag Dungog sang Banwa, Nagapanglakaton upod kay Sta. Rita.” Daily special events with start with a Fun Run at 5-7 a.m.; Opening Parade and Street Dancing Competition at 1:30 p.m. and the Opening of the Food Festival and Agro Fair at 4 p.m; the Igbaras Dance Revo caps the day at 6:30 p.m. on its first day. May 17 opens with the Adlaw Kang Tangyan through a River Clean-up and Tree-planting activity along the riverbank at 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.; the day ends with the Search for Little Mr. and Miss Igbaras 2011 with a cavalcade of dances at 6:30 p.m. May 18 is set for an Acrobatic Show at 2 p.m. and a Concert of Local Bands at 7 p.m. May 19 is full with a Medical Mission from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. and the search for Lin-ay Kang Igbaras 2011 at 6:30 p.m. May 20 highlights the Gabi-I Kang Tumandok with a fashion show featuring their hand-loomed fabric, hablon by the Napulak Ladies Club at 6:30 p.m. May 21 opens with a Motorcross event at 7 a.m. and the Disco Concert at 6:30 p.m. May 22 welcomes everyone with its Procession to be followed with a Concelebrated Mass at 7 a.m., an evening of Disco is set at 6:30 p.m. The final day is for Dho Peds in Concert at 6:30 p.m.

Igbaras is a quiet town with a number of captivating tourist attractions that include waterfalls, caves, endemic flora and scenic mountain ranges. The town is bounded on the north by the Municipality of San Remegio of the province of Antique; east by the Municipality of Tubungan, Iloilo ; west by the Municipality of Miag-ao, Iloilo; south by the Municipality of Guimbal, Iloilo . The province of Antique is separated from Igbaras by the presence of its famous Napulak Mountain, known to be the highest in the area with the elevation of 1,200 feet above sea level. It is famous because it is shaped like a woman's breast with its massive coral rock formation on its top. It is very popular to mountaineers since they can get an eye-catching view of Iloilo and Antique provinces during sunset and the peak of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Occidental on early sunrise.