Kabakahan Festival in Padre Garcia Date in the current year: December 1, 2024

Padre Garcia is a second class municipality in the Philippine province of Batangas. It was named after Padre Vicente García, a Filipino priest and revolutionary famous for defending Jose Rizal. Padre Garcia used to be part of the municipality of Rosario; it became an independent municipality in 1949.

In 1952, the municipal council of Padre Garcia founded a cattle market in direct competition with the already established cattle market in Rosario. Since then, the livestock market of Padre Garcia has become the largest auction market in Southern Tagalog, earning Padre Garcia the nickname “Cattle Trading Capital of the Philippines”.

Every year on December 1, Padre Garcia hosts the Kabakahan Festival to celebrate the town’s main source of income and to attract tourists. Some sources claim that the date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Padre Vicente García, but he was born on April 5; in fact, December 1 is the founding anniversary of Padre Garcia. The day of the festival is a special non-working holiday in the municipality.

The program of the festival includes street dancing and a dance contest, an agricultural and food fair, special attractions for children, a cooking competition, a talent show, a Kabakahan Festival Queen pageant, and a grand parade.

One of the main highlights of the festival is Rodeo Ala Garciano, a rodeo competition. Rodeo was introduced to the Philippines during the American colonial era (first half of the 20th century) and became popular in the regions known for cattle ranching, including the provinces of Masbate and Batangas.

In Rodeo Ala Garciano, several teams not only from Batangas but also from other provinces demonstrate their skills in several events: calf lassoing, cattle wrestling, casting down, and carambola (restraining an unruly cow by hand). The competition is open to both men and women.