The pages of history could attest how colorful the events that trussed the heritage and culture of the city of Iloilo. Long before foreign fleets discovered the land, there were already local settlers living or staying in Iloilo curving their own version of civilization.
To know what the city of Iloilo is all about, tourists and visitors should witness the feast called Dinagyang. The festivity of Dinagyang is a cultural and religious feast in Iloilo City. It is being held annually after the Sinulog Festival in Cebu and Ati-Atihan Festival in Aklan (this is celebrated every fourth (4th) Sunday of the month of January. Dinagyang Festival is celebrated and commemorated in honor of the Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus) and the arrival of Malay settlers on Panay.
The said feast was just introduced in the late 1960's by a local Catholic Priest Reverend Father Ambrosio Galindez. It started as a simple parish devotion until the Condradia tried to outline the devotion to the Aklan's Ati-Atihan Festival. This local annual celebration became famous for the neighboring locals and with some international tourists. For that reason, in the late 1970's President Marcos initiated several regions to come up with festivities or merriments to bolster development and tourism. Since then Dinagyang Festival had been the trademark of the city of Iloilo. This festival is parted into three (3) main events, the Miss Dinagyang, Kasadyahan Street Dancing and Ati-Atihan Street Dancing.
The richness of its cultural and historical heritage in the Dinagyang Festival's theme, the said event was chosen and voted several times as the best tourism event by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines. This annual occasion is also recognized by international organization such as the United Nations.
Tourism, particularly of the Dinagyang Festival, had been the main reason why the influx of tourists, visitors and possible business entrepreneur or investors are steadily growing. The next big task of the local government has something to do with using the power a worldwide network which is the internet or the World Wide Web. The local administration of Iloilo City official website (http://iloilocity.gov.ph/) contains a lot of information about history, culture, tourism and even business related details of the place. As potential visitor or financier, it is definitely a must to check and visit Iloilo City's website for real-time updates.