According to Engr. Lucas Francisco, tribe leader of Black Beauty Boys, they are very happy and overwhelmed for this year as they reclaimed the championship after losing it in 2020 and 2023.
The celebration of Kalibo Ati-atihan Festival was put on hiatus in 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic.
“Sa akon pag-obserbar, may laban mat-a kami kaso uwa man gid kami ga-expect nga mayad dahil nakita man namon nga abo nga manami ag tanan man nagpreparar it mayad (In my observation, we have the chance to the title but we did not expect much because we saw other contingents who have also prepared and performed very well),” Francisco said.
Aside from the championship title and grand prize, the Black Beauty Boys also won five special awards such as Best in Costume, Best in Beats and Sounds, Best in Street Dancing, Best in Headdress, and Most Disciplined, receiving P5,000 for each award.
“Ina tanan ro gaoy, stress, bukon it madali amon nga gin-agyan. Gintao namon ro among pinakamayad. Pero mahambae ko nga nagbulig gid sa among kadaeag-an ro debosyon ag pagpanaad kay Señor Santo Nino. Maski sa amon nga costume, sa headdress makita nga ina gid si Sto. Niño ag imaw ro focus ag ginadayaw bilang hari (It’s all there, the exhaustion,