Binatbatan Festival: A Pride

 

Image retrieved at http://www.ilocandiatreasures.com/2010/08/viva-vigan-binatbatan-festival-of-arts.html?m=1
   Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, a famous city that’s been preserved in time. A street plan of traditional Hispanic style. The Calle Crisilogo as its main alley, has structures that are built of brick and wood which is a traditional Chinese architecture. Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of a European trading town in East and South-East Asia. With all these characteristics, Vigan’s declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. But the city’s charm goes beyond Calle Crisologo. The city’s impressive and breathtaking architecture matches its people. Local artists has been thriving to keep the city vibrant through Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts.

   The World Costume Festival is an international fashion festival held every two years in the Philippines city of Vigan City in Ilocos Sur. The event showcases indigenous and modern costumes geared towards live performances, such as drama, festivals, events, as well as multimedia presentations.

   Binabatan street dance is one of the main attractions during the week-long celebrations. Binatbatan Festival came from from the abel weaving industry of Vigan which has been in existence even before the Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines.  Costumes and props were created with abel iloco and the choreography was inspired by the weaving process. ”Binatbatan” is the process of beating cotton pods to remove the seeds for Abel weaving. Which locals interpreted into an occupational dance with the use of two sticks called ”batbat” which is a pair of bamboo stick used to separate cotton pods that come from a tall tree called kapas sanglay. The word "kapas" from kapas sanglay means "cotton" in Ilocano.

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