“The Obando Fertility Rites are a dance ritual and Catholic festival celebrated every May in Obando, Bulacan, Philippines. Locals and pilgrims, sometimes dressed in traditional costume, dance and sing in the town's streets to honor and beseech Obando's three patron saints: San Pascual, Santa Clara, and Nuestra Señora de Salambáo.
During the Second World War, the church and a large portion of Obando were ravaged by fire; included amongst the damaged property were the images of the three patron saints. A few years after the war's end, both the Archbishop of Manila and the vicar of Obando Church forbade the fertility dance due to its pagan origins. During the prohibition, normal religious processions were still held on the triduum, but without the lively street dancing.
In 1972, parish priest Rev. Fr. Rome R. Fernández and the Commission on Culture of Obando helped in having the ban lifted and in reviving the ancient dance ritual, which is still practiced to this day.”
