Higantes Festival, held every November, is a colorful and fun celebration in honor of San Clemente (the Saint of fisher folks) in Angono Rizal. This festival has a deep and interesting history with two stories to tell, which one is true? You decide.

Version One: It was believed that the Higantes Festival started during the Spanish Era where “Higantes” (Giants) has a hidden meaning of “Higanti” (revenge), because during that time, the Spaniards was ruling them and the people of Angono is looking for a way to have their revenge. So, they decided to create Higantes (giants) with features that resembles the Spaniards like having pointed nose, with beard, thick eyebrows and with their hands placed on the their waist symbolizing the Spaniards, then, they will parade the Higantes on the streets to ridicule and laugh at.

Version Two: It was also believed that the Higantes Festival started after the Japanese war. Because many properties were ruined and the people were sad, Mr. Botong Francisco, the town’s national artist decided to do something about it. So when the town fiesta came, he placed 3 Higantes (giants) together with the “pagoda” or ‘float’ (composed of a father, a mother and a child.) Back in those days, the houses are still small and there is nothing to support and protect the Higantes, so during the parade, the Higantes kept on falling down, and the people saw this that made them laugh. Seeing that the people was entertained with this, they decided to continue with this tradition up to this time.

Having two stories to tell the history of the festival is a bit confusing, but one thing is for sure, that “the Higantes Festival is now celebrated to show off the people of Angono. The Festival now showcases that the people of Angono can excel in their own chosen fields, to be proud as a Filipino and as a community,” cited Mr. Richard Gapi, Executive Assistant to the Mayor and Tourism Head.

Higantes are made of paper mache, with varnish or sometimes polyresin. For the body of the Higante they often use bamboo and rattan, but now, some use aluminum because it’s lighter and easier to bend. Artists are very creative and they have a wide variety of materials to use to improve their artwork. It weighs around 10 kilos and is carried by one person underneath the Higante. One can make a Higante in around 2-3 weeks time.
 
The Higantes Festival are participated by some of the native artists of Angono such as Bukalan, Nene Miranda and the Tahan family to name a few. This year, they have added more activities to celebrate the festival such as Itik festival (a contest to showcase the different ways to cook duck), fun run (with around 700 participants) and Karera ng Higante,(Race of Giants) that is a real treat to everyone.

“Angono is known as the Art capital of the Philippines. Why? Because everybody in Angono can paint. Famous artists came from this noble town like Botong Francisco (visual art), Lucious San Pedro (Music), The Blanco Family (where all the family members are artists from the grandchild to the grand parents), Nene Miranda, and Orvil Tiamson to name a few.” Cited Mayor Aurora A. Villamayor

Food is a must try in Angono, from their famous Fried Itik (Duck) to a sumptuous meal in an exotic restaurant where you can try adobong bayawak (large lizard) or adobong ahas (snake).

Angono also has a cave called Petro Glipse. It was discovered by Mr. Botong Francisco where he was able to find stone age inscriptions inside the cave. This is now protected under the National Historic heritage and is open for public viewing.

More photos HERE.