THE 52nd Dinagsa Festival in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental officially kicked off Friday, January 16, 2026, and it will run until January 26, Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said.
“Every year, Dinagsa is a festival of many breakthroughs. We see to it that revelers will have something to look into. We will not allow Dinagsa, a celebration our faith in Sr. Sto. Niño de Cadiz, and all his blessings he bestowed upon us, to be boring,” Escalante said.
He said a lot of surprises will surely greet and amaze tourists and revelers alike.
The festival kicked off with the loudest bang through Patikanay drumbeating competition, sports, cultural, agriculture, fishery, education, and celebrity concerts, among others.
The coronation pageant for Miss Dinagsa 2026 is also one of the much awaited events on January 23.
Escalante said Cadiz will crown a new queen that will embody the city's true beauty plus formidable spirit of resiliency.
But prior to the coronation pageant, he said Paralympiada, a fiesta for "special kids," will take center stage.
He added that various Special Education (Sped) schools in Negros Island Region and Panay Island are set to converge in this unique fiesta meant for kids with special needs.
The mayor noted that Paralympiada, led by the Department of Education-Division of Cadiz, is held every Dinagsa for more than two decades already.
Cultural performances such as "Sayaw Pagdayaw" and Sinaot Cadiznon will also fill the Cadiz main thoroughfares.
A fluvial parade will be held at Banquerohan Port where Sto. Niño devotees are expected to flock and join in this religious tradition for more than five decades now.
The highlight of the celebration will be on January 25 with a Dinagsa Street Dance Competition, and the much-awaited "Lamhitanay sa Dalan," a Cadiz event branded as the "colorful street chaos" where hundreds of thousands of revelers enjoy staining each other using colorful non-toxic paints.
Escalante said “Lamhitanay sa Dalan" is Dinagsa's identity not found in other places across the country.
“This is unique. This is people’s convergence. This is unity. This is ours. This is Cadiz,” he said.
The festival will end on January 26 with the Misa Fiesta, a local concelebrated mass at Sto. Niño Parish Church, marking the close of this year’s Dinagsa Festival.
“Above all, Dinagsa is not just a celebration, it is also a way of strengthening and sustaining our faith in the Child Jesus, the Sr. Sto. Niño de Cadiz, our great protector and our great provider,” Escalante said.
He said Cadiz will never be progressive as it is today without Sr. Sto. Niño.
“We owe Him a lot. Without Him, we have no Dinagsa,” he added. (MAP)