Ati-Atihan Festival in Aklan begins amid earthquakes

KALIBO, Philippines - Two simultaneous tremors in the central Philippine province of Aklan failed to dampen the spirits of local residents as they celebrated the annual Ati-Atihan Festival. Arlu Sabar of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) station in Kalibo said that the magnitude 3 tremors were first felt at around 11:52 on Friday. "The tremors were caused by the movement of fault lines in Panay," Sabar said. Another tremor of magnitude 3.1 was also registered at around 12:41 p.m. on Saturday. No damage or injury were reported in the tremors, which are considered weak. The Ati-Atihan Festival, now in its 797th year, is considered to be the mother of Philippine festivals. It is said to have been copied by other similar celebrations across the Philippines, such as the Dinagyang of Iloilo, Halaran of Capiz, Binirayan of Antique, MassKara of Bacolod, Biniray Festival of Romblon, among others. According to Wikipedia, the Ati-Atihan was originally a pagan festival, but missionaries gradually added Christian meaning to it. “Today, Ati-Atihan is celebrated in honor of the Christ Child, the Santo Niño. Three days of parades lead up to the main procession that starts in the church on Sunday afternoon. The parades are colorful and vibrant, much like the Mardi Gras Carnival in Brazil," said the popular reference site. - with Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV