Pintados Festival

When the Spanish reached the Visayas they found men whose bodies were covered in tattoos - marks of status, achievement and warfare, applied over years - and they called them pintados, the painted ones. Tacloban's festival, begun in the 1980s and merged with the city's Santo Niño devotion as the Pintados-Kasadyaan, revives the image: dancers in body paint imitating those tattoos perform in the streets in late June, with contingents from Leyte's towns competing in choreography and costume, a parade of Santo Niño images from across the province, and a ritual dance in the plaza. It is a modern festival built on a real historical practice that ended centuries ago, and the tattoos are paint - which the organisers do not pretend otherwise. Tacloban is also where Typhoon Yolanda struck hardest in 2013, and the city's recovery is visible everywhere; the memorial sites are a short drive out at Palo.

What you actually see

• The painted dancers - body paint recalling Visayan tattooing.
• The town contingents - Leyte's municipalities competing.
• The Santo Niño parade - images gathered from across the province.
• The plaza performances - the main competition ground.

When to go

Late June, with the main days usually around the 29th - confirm dates with the city, as the schedule shifts.

Honest expectations

It is a modern revival, not a continuous tradition; the tattoos are paint. Streets close and accommodation fills. Tacloban is hot and humid in June.

Nearby

The San Juanico Bridge and the Palo memorials are close; Basey and the Sohoton caves are across in Samar.