What Everybody Ought To Know
About Arts and Culture in Iligan

If you’re like me, then you will love to learn the arts and culture in Iligan. Painting and poetry is part of it but there are also dancing and singing which by themselves are a pure art form.

The best time to experience arts and culture in Iligan is during the Diyandi Festival.

During the festival, Iliganons share food, customs and traditions. 

The month long celebration leads to the Iligan fiesta - a religious celebration in honor of the city's patron saint - St. Michael, the Archangel.

Culture

Iligan City is home to diverse cultural groups: Maranao, Higa-onons, Lumads and Christians.

For ages, they have worked together, played together, and lived together in peace and prosperity. It is their diversity that makes Iligan what it is today.

It is no wonder that the city boasts different groups of artists that highlight the different talents of Iliganons in: art, music, dance and literature.

Dance

Iligan is a community of dancers. IPAG (Integrated Performing Arts Guild), is a resident theatre company of MSU-IIT (Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology).  It is a performing arts company acknowledged as a leading performing group in the country.

Their performances feature a mixture of songs and dances that are a true representation of the diverse cultural groups in Iligan and in the Philippines.

Another, is the Kalimulan Dance Troupe. 

It is also a resident cultural dance troupe of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology. 

These group of young talented students and faculty members formally launch this dance ensemble in 1988.

Both IPAG and Kalimulan perform a mixture of songs and tell stories through dance.

Music

Many local artists are also hitting...the right chords, drawing the crowd, and writing about it…

8va: The Octava Choral Society, a leading regional choral ensemble with a varied repertoire. The Octava Choral Society is a group who could sing folk, Filipino ballads, classical, ethnic, as well as, contemporary music.

In addition to that, they could also act, dance, and move but still maintain a good singing quality. They are the most versatile choral group in Southern Philippines.

Visual Arts

Iligan Visual Arts Group is a group of young and talented visual artists. Their artworks are recognized in Iligan as well as in the entire country.

Literature

The Mindanao Creative Writers Group composes some of the country’s awarded and leading poets, fictionists, playwrights, and essayists. It conducts the summer National Writers Workshop, acknowledged as the most prestigious in the south.

You can add to that the individual artists who have made their place in the world of art. When you put them together, you have a wonderful ensemble of talented Iliganons celebrating their rich culture and traditions.

These are some of the groups that portray the beautiful arts and culture in Iligan.

In the upcoming months, this site will feature some of Iligan’s local artists. Come back and check us out again soon.