I knew about Ati-Atihan festival much before I came to the Philippines, I saw images of it numerous times, they always fascinated me. When I realized that I was in the country at the time that the festival would be held, in its’ original location Kalibo, I decided to try my best to make it to Kalibo to shoot this colorful and dramatic event.

A few motorcycle and boats rides from Tacloban, (the city where I was arranging my further travels and my bike) I got to Kalibo, just a day before the main parade of the festival began. It was a spectacle to behold.

I won’t get into why the festival is celebrated, you can Google that, what I will say is that it’s loud, really loud. It’s also colorful, full of energy and zest. However, I will also say that if you aren’t photographing it or aren’t drunk out of your mind, you’d have to be pretty masochistic to spend more than an hour or two anywhere near the parades.  I still had ringing in my ears from the drumming and the cymbals a couple of days later.

And so, here’s a small collection I’ve managed to put together. Remember, click on any image to see it large or click one and scroll through all of them with the next button or the arrow keys on your keypad.

Ok, that's all for this post. I leave you with a few more portraits from Ati-Atihan in Kalibo.