Author: Jun Ariolo Aguirre (305 Articles)

KALIBO, Aklan – An Ati-atihan festival was held in the United States, this time in San Francisco organized over the weekend by the Ati-Atihan Association Incorporated.

Organizers said the festival held in St. Marys Cathedral was considered a success and they were looking for a bigger venue next year possibly in Cow Palace to accommodate the increasing interests of the Americans in the festival.

Aside from San Francisco, the Aklan Ati-atihan is also celebrated yearly in California and Vancouver. Other countries such as Italy, Saudi Arabia and Singapore are also holding their own Ati-atihan celebrations organized by Aklan migrants.

In San Francisco, the event was featured in newspapers as organizers shared the origin of the festival commemorating the arrival of 10 Bornean datus in the country. The Bornean datus fled their country because of the tyrannical rule and landed in Panay Island in Central Philippines.

Organizations abroad comprised of migrants from Aklan hold their own Ati-atihan festival as part of their fund raising campaign sometimes with the purpose of helping the poor in the Philippines through different projects.