Kinabayo Festival

Kinabayo is an exotic and colorful pageant re-enacting the Spanish-Moorish wars, particularly the Battle of Covadonga. In that battle the Spanish forces under General Pelagio took their last stand against the Saracens. They were able to reverse the tide of the war with the miraculous apparition of Saint James, the Apostle. The addition of local color and innovations has made this annual festivity a popular attraction to visitors of Dapitan.

History of Dapitan City, Philipines

Dapitan City is the second class city of provnce of Zamboanga Del Norte, Philippines. It has population of 68,178 people in and 13,560 household. Dapitan is really historical becaused of of our national hero José Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonso Realonda "Jose Rizal" the spaniard exiled him there.The origin of the word " DAPITAN" is history itself. It tells of Datu Pagbuaya who left realm in the island of pangalo, Bohol to escape the Ternatans at whose hands his brother Dailisan meet an untimely ends. With Pagbuaya were his fallowers numbering 800 families.Uncertainly about there destination when ask about the exodus, the fallowers simply replied 'Dito sa Pagdapitan', which means There in Pagadapitan. Dapit in Visayan means "to invite". They crossed the sea to northern Mindanao or the so-called "Dakuyang Yuta" (literally "big Land"),and after several days of travel,co me upon a bay with picturisque hill beyond and decide to settle there. Thus,the historic settlement of Dapitan.

Dapitan lies on the northwestern coast of the island of Mindanao. It is a double-wedge-shaped mass of land bounded on the north by the Sulu sea, and linked on the south by the municipalities of La Libertad and Mutia, on the east by the municipalities of Sibutad and Rizal, and on the west by Dipolog City and the municipality of Polanco.The city has a total land area of 215 square kilometers and is 14 kilometers from Dipolog City. The 50 stars on its official seal represent the 50 barangays under it. Approximately 99.3 percent of the total household population in the city speak Cebuano while the remaining 0.7 percent speak Subanun, Ilonggo and Filipino, among others. A few of the elder folks speak Spanish.

Dapitan's climate is characterized by rainfall more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. Warm months are May and June and the cold months are December, January and February.The economy of Dapitan is fundam
entally agricultural. The four (4) leading crops are coconut, palay, corn and fruit trees.