Watching the Apung Iru fluvial parade: tips for visitors

For three days every year, June 28 to 30, Apalit gives thanks to its patron, Saint Peter the Apostle, known as Apung Iru. The Apung Iru Fluvial Festival is one of Pampanga's best-known religious processions, and the centre of it is the libad, a parade on the Pampanga River.

What you will see

The life-sized, seated image of Apung Iru, dating from the last quarter of the 1700s, rides a large decorated barge, followed by boats carrying other saints and creatively dressed bancas. Banderitas cover the streets, and the town fills with fiesta food. The tradition began on June 28, 1844, under Capitan del Pueblo Pedro Armayan Espiritu.

Tips

• Bring an umbrella and wear clothes you do not mind getting wet: it is the rainy season, and some boats carry water hoses to soak spectators.
• The riverbanks are muddy and the streets crowded. Arrive early and park well away from the river.
• Visit the San Pedro Apostol Parish Church, where the image is received with a Mass.
• Across the river, Sulipan also dresses up for the fiesta; its old Arnedo House is a reminder of the barrio's grand past.