MANILA, Philippines - Zamboanga del Norte (ZaNorte) has opened its month-long celebration of this year’s Hudyaka ZaNorte Festival which marks the province’s 159th founding anniversary.
The celebration centers in the historic Shrine City of Dapitan where National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal lived in exile for over four years in the early 1800s.
The event kicked off last May 6 with a motorcade from Dipolog City to Dapitan City with participants from various municipalities and cities of ZaNorte sporting colorful costumes from China, Germany, Taiwan, Africa, Japan, Hungary, Belgium, Yemen and local Subanen tribes. It will run until June 6.
ZaNorte Gov. Rolando Yebes, Vice Gov. Francis Olvis, First District Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos, Third District Rep. Cesar Jalosjos and former Rep. Romeo Jalosjos declared the festival open.
Hudyaka, a Visayan term which means merry-making, started in 2005.
It has the participation of ZaNorte’s 25 municipalities and two cities, the provincial government and various civic groups and business organizations in the province.
Hudyaka was conceptualized by Yebes to showcase the historical and cultural heritage and different agricultural products of ZaNorte and promote its tourist spots among local and foreign visitors.
Every year, thousands of people come to witness and join the Hudyaka ZaNorte Festival which the Department of Tourism has declared the top festival in the Zamboanga Peninsula Region and No. 4 among the Best Festivals in the Philippines.