A
s you read these
words, you can bet the
townsfolk of Kalibo
in the province of
Aklan are preparing
for another round of wanton
merrymaking. It all happens on the
third weekend of this month (that’s
January 16 to 18), when the normally
tame and timid locals take on a
Merry
mayhem
We kick off the New Year with a bang and a lot of
drum-beating as Lester V. Ledesma leads us on a
march through the history of Kalibo’s Ati-atihan, the
Philippines’ longest-running street party
considerably wilder disposition. Out
comes the street décor on these days,
along with the drums, the costumes
and the free-flowing booze. Here in
the Philippines, where festivities are
a way of life, Kalibo’s Ati-atihan is
easily the loudest, liveliest and most
famous of them all.
It’s a classic symbol of the fiesta
islands: the festival’s soot-blackened,
