'Pagtililipon' celebrates the cultural bond of Aklan and Capiz

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan - A rare cultural event of two provinces in Panay Island take centerstage on April 27.

A first of its kind, the event dubbed 'Pagtililipon' will be staged at the Gov. Augusto B. Legaspi Sports Complex here in Kalibo, Aklan featuring the colorfoul dances in native costumes and cultural presentations of artists and performers from Aklan and her mother province of Capiz.

'Pagtililipon' is an Aklanon word to signify the merging and brotherly friendship between two peoples in time for the 55th Aklan anniversary. The event on April 27 at 6:30 p.m. will also open a new age of friendly cooperation and consolidate the historical links of two provinces.

Aklan was separated from the province of Capiz by virtue of Republic Act No. 1414, beginning April 25, 1956. The law, authored by Cong. Godofredo P. Ramos, was signed by then President Ramon Magsaysay.

Since 1956 as an independent province, Aklan has made rapid progress in tourism and economic development, becoming one of the most progressive provinces in the country.

The extraordinary production, which would recapture and preserve the province' treasured tradition and culture, is a joint undertaking of the Aklan Provincial Tourism Council and the province of Aklan in cooperation with the Kalibo Sto. Nino Ati-Atihan Foundation, Inc. (Kasafi) and Aklan Historical and Cultural Society.