Solidarity Cultural Festival

“Join us as we once again celebrate our unique culture this September with various activities,” Mayor Juan Carlos S. Medina said as he invites visitors and residents alike to enjoy interesting activities lined up for this year.

The Solidarity Food and Trade Fair at the Vigan Convention Center, Paseo de Vigan, and the Tres Patrimonio Zarzuela on  September 1 opened the month-long event.

Other events of the festival from September 3 to 7 include singing competitions, photography, zarzuela Ilocana (Ilocano stage play), dallot (a part of the Ilocano oral tradition of debate through  singing), kinnantaran (a form of debate between a man and a woman through singing), cultural quiz, sabayang pagbigas (speech choir), daniw (poetry), storytelling, writing on the history of Vigan as told by senior residents, painting, and folk dancing.

In the morning of September 8, the Solidarity Mass and renewal of pledge to heritage conservation was held at Vigan Cathedral while the history of Vigan came alive in a street drama and Solidarity parade in the afternoon. At night, a cultural show was showcased.

For three years now, the festival has been featuring the Chinese Community Solidarity Festival to appreciate the contributions of the Chinese community in the development of the city. This started on September 17 and will run until September 30 at Sikatuna street in Barangay 1.

The presence of the Indians in the city is also appreciated by the city government by staging the Indian Community Solidarity Day that began in 2017. This year, it will be on September 22 at the Indian Sikh Temple in Barangay IV. 

The role of the city’s youth in the preservation of the World Heritage City is the focus of the Heritage Youth Congress on September 22 and 23 at the Vigan Convention Center. 

In December 1999, Vigan City was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List of Sites and Monuments as the city, which was  established in the 16th century, is the “best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its architecture reflects the coming together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that have no parallel anywhere in East and South-East Asia.