Popular and Notable Nueva Ecija Festivals

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The “Taong Putik Festival” is one of the most popular festivals in the province. It had been featured to numerous television shows and magazines nationwide. This unique festival is presented every June 24, which marks the calendar for the Feast of Saint John the Baptist. The Catholic community engages in revelry of dousing each other with water.

The people of Biblicat, a barangay of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, present this peculiar tradition with mud from face to feet, together with dried banana leaves and vegetable vines and twigs. After the mass, the procession begins with the tune played by well-attired musicians. The image of the patron saint, being carried on shoulders of devotees, is followed by mud people (“taong putik”). Participants will parade around the town and the procession will then go back to the church. Residents consider celebrating the Taong Putik Festival their opportunity to gratify God for good harvest, good health, and same goes for the coming years. Hundreds of tourists and visitors are coming to Aliaga just to see this unique festival in person.

Sibuyasan Festival – Bongabon, NE

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Sibuyasan Festival is a festival similar to the “Tanduyong Festival” of San Jose City presented annually during the month of April in the town of Bongabon. Bongabon is one of the leading producers of onion in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. The town fiesta, which is highlighted by the said festival, is celebrated annually on the 1st to 2nd week of April.

Tanduyong Festival – San Jose City, NE

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Tanduyong Festival is popular festival celebrated annually in San Jose City, the “Onion Capital of the Philippines”. San Josenians hold a cultural show by conducting “dance ritual at the streets of this city showing the “way of life” of the folklore here by planting the “tanduyong” known as the “onion”. This feast is held every 4th Sunday of April and is a celebration of the harvest in San Jose City focusing on the contribution of onions and other vegetables to the city’s economy.

Tsinelas Festival – Gapan City, NE

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Tsinelas Festival is an annual festival celebrated in the historic City of Gapan, Nueva Ecija. Gapan, with Pantabangan and Carranglan, is one of the oldest towns of the province. The city is nicknamed “Footwear Capital of the North”.

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Tsinelas Festival, which literally means ‘slipper’, is presented annually mostly by students wearing colorful hats made out of slippers through street dance competition highlighted by a parade around the city.

Other notable festivals in the province include “Tilapia Festival” in the Science City of Muñoz and “Palayan Festival” of Palayan City – the capital of Nueva Ecija.

(The author of this article wishes to thanks all the owners of the pictures used on this post. Thanks!)

See also

• 10 Most Famous and Favorite Festivals in the Philippines

• Festivals All-Year Round in the Philippines

• Baybayanting: A One-Of-A-Kind Cultural Presentation