The town of Angono comes alive every November as they celebrate the Higantes Festival. The Higantes Festival is a joyous festival which is celebrated as an honor of San Clemente. Here, the townspeople held a procession of the image of San Clemente and paper mache giants measuring around 10 – 12 feet in height and 4 – 5 feet in diameter. Known as the “Arts Capital of the Philippines”, the people of Angono will surely give you a magnificent display of their masterpieces and work of art.
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Higantes Festival 2014
Higantes Festival 2014 is a two-week long celebration. It starts on November 22 which falls on a Saturday and ends on December 7 which falls on a Sunday.
Higantes Festival 2014 is a two-week long event. The celebration usually starts on November 22 which is Saturday this year, as they welcome the Higantes festival with a marching band procession. The main event including the procession of the Higantes will be held on November 23 which will fall on a Sunday. You better come on the day itself in order to take part and witness such a fun and colorful event.
A number of activities are also scheduled on the succeeding days. Following the two-week celebration, the Higantes Festival is supposed to have its concluding activities on December 07 which will fall on a Sunday
Highlights
The Higantes Festival will start on Saturday, November 22 with the Bisperas Mayores. This is a parade featuring the marching bands and drum and lyres from each barangay of Angono.
The next day, November 23, which is Sunday, the festival opens with a mass held by the Bishop of Angono. Afterwhich, the parade takes place. The parade usually ends in Laguna de bay where a fluvial procession shall take place until the image of San Clemente is brought back to the church. Some activities are also scheduled on the succeeding days.
About Higantes Festival
What is Higantes?
Higante is a Spanish word which means giant. During the higates festival, the townspeople create big and colorful paper mache which they refer to as the “higantes”.
What is Higantes Festival?
Higantes Festival is a celebration held in Angono, Rizal. In this celebration, they held a procession featuring 40 colorful and magnificent higantes representing each barangays of the town. This festival is held as an honor of San Clemente, the patron saint of the fishermen.
Who is San Clemente?
San Clemente is the patron saint of Filipino fishermen folks. He is the main reason for the celebration of the Higantes Festival.
Main Attractions
Higantes procession
Every year, people from all over the Philippines, and even foreigners visits the small town of Angono, Rizal to take part in this colorful and fun celebration. The main feature of this celebration is the colorful and elaborate Higantes made of paper mache. They are called higantes (giant) due to their size as they measure 10 – 12 feet in height. During the procession, the people of Angono dress themselves in fishermen outfits and bring with them some tools which are associated with this humble profession.
History of Higantes Festival
When the Philippines was still under the reign of the Spanish colonizers, they prohibited all celebrations except for one festival to be held for the whole year – the town’s fiesta in honor of its Patron Saint. Also, they prohibited the celebration of pagan festivities.
The people took advantage of this festival and made a big preparation. They wore colorful clothes, prepared a lot of food, and a big procession which features a big paper mache caricatures representing their Spanish Landlords. The people maintained the festival and evolved during the years. Now, Angono, Rizal boasts of having 40 wonderful higantes each year representing each barangay.
Interesting Information about Higantes Festival
Each barangay is expected to come up with 2-4 higantes to represent the industry or personality of their barangay in order to complete the parade of 40 higantes.
In the old days, the head of the higantes were carved out of clay. With the advancement of technology, clay is then changed to plaster of paris and resin, while the body is made up of bamboo or rattan.
Preparations for the Higantes festival usually start as early as September as the members of the marching band begin practicing their parade pieces. Also, they start creating the higantes during this time.
Higantes Festival 2015
The Higantes Festival will occur and begin on a Sunday, 22nd day of November and continues until Monday, 07th day of December, 2015.
Recommendations
Come early: If you are coming from Manila area, you don’t need to book a hotel accommodation. Come early so you can witness the start of the celebration and attend the mass. And thereafter, come to witness the colorful and most awaited procession.
Bring your camera: The Higantes festival features colorful and magnificent higantes during the celebration. So, it is best to come prepared and take some shots of this wonderful celebration.
Bring an extra shirt: As the street procession ends and the fluvial procession starts, the townspeople uses squirt guns and water bottles to splash water on unsuspecting participants and onlookers. This is done as a means of having utmost fun and merry making. Better come prepared and bring an extra shirt.
Useful Information
Location: Angono, Rizal
How to get there:
By bus: If you are coming from Metro Manila, take a bus ride to Angono, Rizal. It is easy to find these buses at the Shaw Boulevard terminal in Pasig City. It will take you around 45 minutes to an hour to get to this place, depending on the traffic.
Date: The Higantes Festival is an annual event celebrated as a two-week long celebration, while the procession of the Higantes is held every November 23 (Sunday this year). This year’s (2014) Higantes Festival is expected to end on Dec. 07, which is Sunday in accordance to the two-week celebration.
Fee: None
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