Cadiz City will officially begin its 52nd Dinagsa Festival today, promising a lot of surprises from day one until the 26th, a press release from Cadiz PIO said.
Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said, “Every year, Dinagsa is a festival of many breakthroughs.”
“We see to it that revelers will have something to look into. We will not allow Dinagsa, a celebration of our faith in Sr. Sto. Niño de Cadiz and all the blessings he bestowed upon us, to be boring. A lot of surprises will surely greet and amaze tourists and revelers alike,” Escalante added.
The 52nd Dinagsa will kick off with the loudest bang through Patikanay Drumbeating Competition to be held at the Caidz Grandstand at 5 p.m.
It will be a showcase of homegrown drum beating groups, bound to compete in an immense quest to produce an authentic drum beat / music that could truly be branded as “Tunog Cadiz.”
“It is a sort of a ‘rock and roll’ in an indigenous way via a drum beating tilt,” explained the mayor.
Following then are various events – be it spiritual, in sports, cultural, agriculture, fishery, and education, among other fields.
Celebrity concerts will also be among the high stakes in this year’s Dinagsa.
The coronation pageant for Miss Dinagsa 2026 is also one of the much-awaited events on January 23.
Cadiz will crown a new queen that will embody the city’s true beauty plus formidable spirit of resiliency.
But prior to the coronation pageant, Paralympiada, a fiesta for “special kids” will take center stage in the morning.
Various special education (SpEd) schools in Negros Island Region and Panay Island are set to converge in this unique fiesta meant for kids with special needs.
Paralympiada, led by the Department of Education – Division of Cadiz, is held every Dinagsa for more than two decades already.
Major festival events will unfold on January 24, beginning with the traditional Diana at dawn.
Cultural performances such as “Sayaw Pagdayaw” and Sinaot Cadiznon will fill the Cadiz main thoroughfares.
A fluvial parade will be held at Banquerohan Port in the afternoon where Sto.Nin̈o devotees are expected to flock and join in this religious tradition for more than five decades now.
Festivities continue into the evening with street parties and fireworks displays.
The highlight of the celebration, the Dinagsa Festival Street Dance Competition, takes place on January 25, as contingents perform along major city routes and designated performance areas.
The day also includes the signature trademark of Dinagsa – the Ati street dance competition.
This will be followed by the much-awaited “Lamhitanay sa Dalan”, a Cadiz event branded as the “colorful street chaos” where hundreds of thousands revelers enjoy staining each other using colorful non-toxic paints.
“Lamhitanay sa Dalan” is Dinagsa’s identity not found in other places across the country.
“This is unique. This is people’s convergence. This is unity. This is ours. This is Cadiz!” Escalante claimed of the “Lamhitanay sa Dalan.”
The 52nd Dinagsa concludes on January 26 with the Misa Fiesta, a local concelebrated mass at Sto. Niño Parish Church, marking the close of this year’s Dinagsa Festival.
Escalante said, “Above all, Dinagsa is not just a celebration – it is also a way of strengthening and sustaining our faith in the Child Jesus, the Sr. Sto. Niño de Cadiz – our great protector and our great provider.”
“Cadiz will never be progressive as it is today without Sr. Sto. Niño. We owe Him a lot. Without Him, we have no Dinagsa!,” he capped.*
