The province's best known festival: tribal dance, music and a street parade in Kalibo on the third Sunday of January, held in honour of the Santo Nino. The name means to be like Atis, after the Aeta people who first settled Panay. Dancers wear indigenous costumes and carry indigenous weapons, and Christians and non-Christians both join the religious processions.
It began as a celebration of the treaty between the Ati, who live in the mountains, and the Malay people of the flatlands. When the Spanish converted the Malays, they asked them to hold the celebration on the feast of the Santo Nino. The festival started in Batan and later spread to neighbouring towns, and it has inspired other Philippine festivals.
- When
- 17 January 2027
- Every year
- third Sunday of January, Kalibo
- Where
- Aklan
Source: Wikipedia, Aklan · checked 23 Sep 2026