Tigbauan’s Saludan Festival

The culture of the town of Tigbauan reflects a society with diverse influences and traditions. And to express this cultural richness, Saludan a cultural festivity was organized to showcase the town’s distinct traditional activity in a celebration of dance and music. A dialect used for the “crude method of threshing rice or catching fingerlings through nets,” Saludan is one of Iloilo’s emerging festivals.

Aside from the way of life of the people of Tigbauan, the Saludan Festival also centers on the town’s colorful history. Tigbauan was the site of the first Jesuite Boarding School for boys, the first educational center in the Philippines; Furthermore, it is the home of a regional fisheries research institution, the Aquaculture Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC); and the town is also the place where the American Liberation Forces landed on 18 March 1945 which led to the Liberation of the islands of Panay and Romblon. These milestones are a source of pride for the people of Tigbauan.

The Saludan is held every last week of October. The four day event opens with a food festival, Trade Fair, and a Beauty pageant. The gem of the festivity is the tribe competition.

For more information, call Kenny Arlas – Municipal Tourism Officer at (033) 5117936.