• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office sent 84 police personnel to help secure the highlights of the Cadiz City “Dinagsa Festival”, disclosed provincial police spokesperson PCapt. Judesses Catalogo yesterday.
Aside from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office personnel, the Cadiz City Police Station also maximized the use of its force multipliers, including barangay tanods, along with the help of the Philippine Army.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the renowned Dinagsa Festival of Cadiz City in Negros Occidental, was celebrated, officially opened on January 21 with a series of activities led by Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr.
Malacañang also declared Jan. 26 as a special non-working day in Cadiz City.
The Dinagsa Festival is a colorful Ati-atihan style celebration in Cadiz City, in honor of its patron, Sto. Nino. The weeklong celebration is filled with rhythmic beating of the drums, with performers of participating tribes dancing along to the beat.
Similar to other festivals held in other places, a unique feature of the Dinagsa Festival is the “lamhitanay,” where residents and visitors roam the streets applying paint to faces and bodies of fellow merry makers.*
