• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
All is set for the Magayon Hinuptanan Festival in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, that will kick –off in-person celebrations from March 25 to 28, after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Hinuptanan” which means domesticated animals, is being marked as a festival because Moises Padilla is considered the livestock capital of Negros Occidental
Everyone in Moises Padilla is excited, according to Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo.
The festival is highlighted by a street dancing competition, where all the barangays in Moises Padilla participate, divided into two categories. Category A is for the seven barangays in the poblacion, and Category B for the eight barangays outside the poblacion.
The participants will be dressed in costumes representing various domesticated animals.
Another attraction in the festivities is the Lechon festival that will be part of the kick-off activities, right after the parade and opening program today, to be followed by the opening of the Agro-Industrial fair, and the Magayon Hinuptanan Queen 2023 pageant.
The town’s 15 barangays are set to showcase their respective versions of lechon (roast pig), to highlight the town remaining free of African Swine Fever (ASF), despite the increasing number of LGUs in Western Visayas affected by the virus.
While it won’t be a contest, Yulo encouraged all the barangays to make the “best presentation and tastiest lechon.”
She stressed that Moises Padilla, being the livestock capital of Negros Occidental, has taken all necessary precautions, in cooperation with the provincial government, in the prevention of swine from ASF infection.
The fiesta celebration will be capped with a street party featuring one of the popular band, Rivermaya on March 28.*
