ati-atihan in kalibo 2012, part 2

The Ati-atihan Festival lasts for a week. This year, it started on Monday, 9 January 2012 and culminated on Sunday, 16 January 2012. My favorite portion is always Saturday morning, after all the tribes go through the judges' station and then literally flood the streets with color.

You can stand in the middle of the street, look the performers right in the eye, and even join the dance if you like. Or just watch.

When I blogged about the Ati-atihan last year, the costumes really made an indelible impression on me. But this year, it was the faces that fascinated me. That doesn't mean that the costumes were any less intricate and beautiful this year, though.

To be right in the middle of the mob, to make eye contact with the participants, to feel the breeze the costumes make as they sweep by, and to experience the drumbeats in my head, my chest, in the pit of my stomach, down to my feet... There's nothing like it.

I think that I've become an Ati-atihan addict.