Discover. Experience. Enjoy STA. BARBARA, ILOILO

More shopping choices and job opportunities for the Santa Barbaranhons will come as SM Savemore opens its  Santa Barbara, Iloilo branch (tentatively) this September 2016. Conveniently located at a major crossroad known as Bangga Osting, it will have have two entry/exit points on both Roosevelt and Arroyo streets and a parking space for a few vehicles. Floor Plan photo c/o Elmer Franco It is said to be the first Savemore branch in the province outside of Iloilo City. Enjoy your shopping very soon!

In time for the Lenten Season, a new attraction has emerged in Santa Barbara particularly in Brgy. Jibao-an near its boundary with the town of Pavia.  Called as the Our Lady of the Smile, the statue sits on top of a man made mound called the Hill of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Located in a former ricefield, the "hill" is about 2-3 storeys high with snaking paths going all the way up. The winding path is dotted with the Stations of the Cross for simple pilgrimage along the way making devotees and tourists as well experience Via Crucis all year round. At first it may seem so near but as you follow the path, you feel like treading the path Jesus took along the road to Calvary. But it only takes around 15-20 minutes to complete the whole trek, even under the scorching heat of the sun. A brisk walk or a few jogs would make it even faster. The hill is photogenic from almost all angles but the best spot is marked with a selfie or posing deck which captures th...

On display until the weekend at the Victory Plaza is a diorama depicting the Via Crucis. Located at the bandstand, these miniature 14 Stations of The Cross opens in the afternoon for devotees and visitors experiencing Semana Santa in Santa Barbara.

Good Friday Procession With Santa Barbaranhons predominantly Roman Catholics, the whole town commemorates Semana Santa with rituals, traditions and gastronomy that has shaped this celebration for centuries now. One of the Kapiyas dotting the town's poblacion  Kapiya and Pasyon-singing century-old traditions observed by Santa Barbaranhons every Holy Week, wherein, the life story of Jesus Christ is foretold through singing with strings as accompaniment. This activity is participated by the different barangays in the town.  Singing the Pasyon Palm leaf Creation is another activity wherein old folks compete for the most intricately-designed palm-leaf. This is staged every Palm Sunday to celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry intro Jerusalem. He was welcomed with a crowd waving palm branches. All these activities are celebrated annually.  Domingo de Ramos procession PASYON The Pasyón is normally heard during Holy Week in the Philippines, where its recit...

 PALM SUNDAY commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. It commences the start of the Holy Week with rituals and traditions that include a procession of the assembled worshippers carrying palms, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of "Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem". The origins of the Palm Sunday palaspas can be traced as far back as the pre-Hispanic Philippines. In his 1589 account, Fray Juan de Plasencia describes how early Filipinos would use “leaves of the white palm, wrought into many designs” to decorate lamps during festivities.  Here are some photos of the 2016 Domingo de Ramos celebration coming from the Santa Barbara Ugyon Facebook Page .