The Pintados Festival is an annual event held during the third week of March in Passi City, Iloilo, Philippines. The multi-day event celebrates the life of pre-colonial Filipinos settling in Visayas, the second largest island in the Philippines.
It is said that the Pintados Festival used to be a thanksgiving celebration for good sea harvest, where the Visayans largely source their livelihood from fishing. Through time, with the increase in the influence of Spanish culture, the festival has largely become religious, placing Sto. Niño (The Child Jesus) at the core of the celebration. From thanking the Sun, Sky, Sea and Earth for good harvest, thanksgiving has now been directed towards Sto. Niño.
As the festival kicks off on March 14, visitors should expect streets to be filled with rows and rows of colorful “pintados” (human bodies painted all over) marching and dancing along the streets of Passi City.
It is always a good insight, seeing the festival as a bisection between the Filipinos’ animistic past, and their largely Catholic present.
For more information, you can contact the event’s organizer:
Name: Municipal Government of Passi City
Phone: +63 33 311 5087
Email: passicity.iloilo@gmail.com
