Every September, Vigan City celebrates the World
Heritage Cities Solidarity Cultural Festival. This month-long festivity,
in solidarity with other World Heritage Cities around the world, aims to
strengthen the pride in the city’s history and culture, promote friendship and
diversity between countries and serves as a great venue for forging ties and
understanding through community’s involvement in the city’s various activities
that highlights love for culture, arts and entertainment.
Other events of the festival from September 3 to 7 include
singing competitions, photography, zarzuela Ilocana), dallot (a part of the
Ilocano oral tradition of debate (through singing), kinnantaran (a form of
debate between a man and a woman through singing), cultural quiz, sabayang
pagbigas (speech choir), daniw, storytelling, writing on the history of Vigan
as told by senior residents, painting, and folk dancing.
For three years now, the festival has been featuring the
Chinese Community Solidarity Festival to appreciate the contributions of the
Chinese community in the development of the city. This started on September 17
and will run until September 30 at Sikatuna street in Barangay 1. The
presence of the Indians in the city is also appreciated by the city government
by staging the Indian Community Solidarity Day that began in 2017. This year,
it will be on September 22 at the Indian Sikh Temple in Barangay IV.
The role of the city’s youth in the preservation of the
World Heritage City is the focus of the Heritage Youth Congress on September 22
and 23 at the Vigan Convention Center.
In December 1999, Vigan City was listed in
the UNESCO World Heritage List of Sites and Monuments as the city,
which was established in the 16th century, is the “best-preserved example of a
planned Spanish colonial town in Asia. Its architecture reflects the coming
together of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and
from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that have no parallel
anywhere in East and South-East Asia. In 2014, Vigan was named as one of the
New Seven Wonders-Cities of the World and was officially inaugurated as such on
May 7, 2015.
source:https://images.app.goo.gl/r3jmdjMZc6r1PR8bA
