Spend a sweet,
welcome to summer weekend in Tigbauan during the 2nd annual Pagdaug-Saludan Festival,
March 14- 18, 2016. Both, the abundance the town’s home-grown produce and
artisan food products plus the annual celebration of the historic Liberation of
Panay are what initiated this free, family-oriented arts and crafts event.
March 14 (Monday)
Opening of Agri-Tourism and Trade Fair, Opening Salvo and Street-dancing Competition
at 2 p.m.; March 15 (Tuesday) Pagdaug-Saludan Festival Queen 2016 Coronation
Night at the Covered Gym, 7 p.m.; March
16 (Wednesday) PNP Night, Covered gym at 7 p.m.; March17 (Thursday) 23rd
Foundation Day of SCFAI-Tigbauan, Covered Gym at 1 p.m.; March 18 (Friday) Victory Run 2016 (Oton to
Parara Landmark) at 5 a.m., Mass at 6:30 a.m., Foot Parade and Floral Offering
at the Liberation Landmark at 7:30 a.m., Tribal Dance Competition at 2 p.m.,
Closing and Awarding Ceremonies at 5 p.m.
Saludan, a
Hiligaynon term coined from the word salud, the traditional way of gathering or
accumulating a thing for its interest or value such as threshing rice using a
basket or catching fingerlings through nets. Fishing and farming had been this
town’s way of life.
On its 2nd year,
this traditional harvest festivity of Saludan is celebrated alongside Pagdaug,
a festival segment commemorating the annual observance of the Liberation of
Panay. The festivity has become the symbol of Tigbauans’ esteem not only in terms
of its abundant varieties of local produce but also for the honoured
Tigbauanons who served and died, and all who supported the World War II effort
from this town.
The festival
highlight is the tribe performances that illuminate the Japanese experience
during the WWII era with personal stories. Symbolic of the defining event are
dramatizations of some chilling reminders of its Japanese wartime existence.
The presentations will draw on the commemorative
experiences of spectators watching by capturing, in the audiences’ own words,
their individual reflections on those Tigbauanons who have sacrificed their
lives during WWII.
A scenic drive
around the town is a perfect historic escapade where its historic structures
are completely immersed in the urban fabric, both its past and its future.
Visitors are oftentimes forced to re-imagine its past.
It was in 1942 when
the Japanese Imperial Armies invaded the Philippines. Outside of Manila, Iloilo
was the most devastated. Iloilo was at that time a massive military complex
housing in its history of Japanese military. Churches, plazas, schools and
colonial houses were used as detention areas for Japanese soldiers. Port San
Pedro in the city, used as a Japanese Garrison was heavily damaged. The town of
Tigbauan was one of those devastated areas.
The warship shaped
mini-memorial marker in Barangay Parara was built in honour of all the Ilonggos
who have given their lives in the defense of the Japanese Imperial Army. It was on the 18th of March, 1945 when the
40th Infantry Division, spearheaded by the 185th Infantry Regiment landed at
the shoreline of Barangay Parara in Tigbauan.
Several tanks and infantry with an estimated number of 23,000 guerilla
forces headed by Col. Macario Perlta had secured the area.
With today's
conveniences, visitors can still enjoy Tigbauan’s historic charm with plenty of
historic sites that form part of its tourism system. The best historic
experiences here are closer than you think.
Come join us for
summer fun in Tigbauan, just 20 minutes or 22.5 kilometers south of Iloilo
City. The town is comprised of 52 barangays over its 6,062 hectare land area
and is bordered in the northwest by Leon; the northeast by San Miguel; east by
Oton; west by Guimbal and the Iloilo Strait in the south.
No comments:
Post a Comment