Blogalicious: a philippine photo odyssey

Just got back from the Paraw Festival weekend! What a blast! Iloilo knows how to celebrate a festival.. last month we had the Dinagyang which is two festivals in one.. the Kasadyahan and the Dinagyang. While the Paraw Regatta, I discovered is also a fun packed festival which includes the Main Event the Paraw Regatta and the Samba de Regatta (a dance festival - will post this within the week)

Paraw Regatta is a race among the native fishermen with colorful paraws lined-up along the waters of the strait between the island province of Guimaras and Iloilo City. The highlight of the event is the paraw race, participated by local fishermen as they pit their skills, stamina and strategy against one another for honors.

The Festival is 36th years old.. the oldest running sailing festival in Asia as mentioned by Mr. Manny Villa. He toured us around the preparations area and showed us the different sails that were being made by students and artists for the festival.. I also found out that Mr. Manny Villa was a JCI Senator.. so I introduced myself… maybe the JC connection got me the personal tour..

The Paraw Festival is a cultural festival, a break from our regular street dancing festivals we have been doing for the past years. I was with the Travel Photographer group on this trip..

Note: this was taken on Saturday and it was raining! despite the rains the artists continued working to produce their masterpieces.

here is a sneak preview of what to expect… more photos on the paraw festival to come!

can you imagine how colorful this would be if the sun was out? maybe nextyear!

more photos on the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival

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