The Spirit of Binatbatan Festival in Admist of Pandemic 

    Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, is a city that has stood the test of time. It has a classic Hispanic checkerboard street layout. Calle Crisilogo, the major thoroughfare, features structures made of brick and wood with steeply pitched roofs reminiscent of traditional Chinese architecture. Vigan is a very well-preserved and intact example of a European trading town in East and Southeast Asia. Vigan was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 because to all of these features. The festival's name comes from the Ilocano term batbatin, which means to separate cotton balls from the seeds of the indigenous fruit kapas sanglay. Binatbatan Festival has its roots in the abel weaving business of Vigan, which existed even before the Spaniards arrived to colonize the Philippines. 

    

   

    The featured Binatbatan street dancing, showdown competition, in which contestants wear "abel" (woven cloth) costumes and sway in their original panagbatbat dances, is the major focus of this week-long celebration. The street dancing started in front of the Vigan Cathedral and finished on Crisologo Street, where old houses were decorated with abel iloco decor in preparation for the house decorating competition. Street dancers gracefully performed with their colorful props and costumes made of abel, boldly saying "Viva Vigan" to a spectacular choreography inspired by the weaving process of abel iloko. We can truly claim that the festival celebration is really pleasurable, interesting to watch, holds attention, and gives the audience pleasure and enjoyment. Today, celebrating this year's celebration is extremely challenging and crucial. With COVID-19 as the evil antagonist, a festival goer's life has taken a tragic turn. All of the great festivals that one might anticipate this year are no longer possible because public gatherings would just exacerbate the virus' spread. Despite the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic, the city government was able to organize festivities for this festival by going online, allowing Biguenos to settle in and celebrate this important occasion while remaining safe from the illness.

    While the good old days of celebrating the Binatbatan Festival of Festival were far better than today, Biguenos made this a memorable one filled with joy, happiness, and merriment despite the drastic change. The days are colder, the nights are longer, and COVID-19 lockdown restrictions remain, but it is in alert level 1, which means that festivals and other gatherings are permitted. It is vital that we remember the significance of this year's festival celebration, especially if we are unable to commemorate it in the same way as previous years. The celebration symbolizes life's continuation. Its celebration symbolizes the never-ending cycle of life's ups and downs.To put it another way, accepting the reality of our circumstance without holding out hope that things will eventually return to "normal." The spirit of solidarity and resiliency can be felt beneath and beyond the opulence of the festival's costumes and props.