Colors of the rainbow will underscore this year’s celebration of the Wattah! Wattah! San Juan Festival.
It has long been a tradition to commemorate the feast of San Juan’s patron saint, St. John the Baptist every 24th of June.
The main attractions during the Wattah! Wattah! Festival include the traditional “basaan” dousing passers-by with water, and the street dancing competition joined by local dancers from various barangays and public schools in San Juan.
As a symbol of unity, the festival started with a grand parade of colors by the constituents of San Juan on June 23, then proceed with the yearly inter-school street dancing competition and to be followed by the St. John the Baptist Festival Procession.
The big day starts in the morning of June 24 at Plaza ng Masa.
It gets off at 7:00 a.m. with Wattah! Wattah! Funlympics where random participants join the fun and get a chance to win prizes.
There are the Wattah! Natin ‘To Barangay Installations, where people can take their selfies and groupies in the colorful booths built by each barangays.
The traditional Santong Tao Float Parade will take to the streets depicting the life and works of St. John highlighting verses in the Bible.
Each float is adorned with exquisite designs and attractive artwork.
The Basaan Watercade, where local officials clamber on board fire trucks to douse people on every street with water, and who are game enough to squirt back using water guns and improvised water delivery contraptions, like pail and dipper, water in plastic bags, and more.
The much-awaited inter-barangay street dancing competition is one of the highlights of the festival. Each barangay will battle for the championship title and take home the grand prize.
To top it all, Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree and fliptoppers Dellos and Ron Henley will pump up the crowd as special guests of the event.
In the evening, a Holy Mass concelebrated by HE Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, will be held at the St. John the Baptist Parish.
Then at 7:00 pm, the celebration continues at the Plaza ng Masa with “Always Your Number Juan” Concert in partnership with 90.7 Love Radio with Sponge Cola, Christian Bautista, Bugoy Drilon, Go Girls, and many more as special guests.
With Globe and Greenhills Shopping Center as major sponsors, this year’s festivities will surely be a colorful, exciting, and memorable one.
Please be informed that there will be a re-routing of all types of vehicle plying within our “AOR” for the following dates:
I. June 23, 2017 (Friday) from 1:00 p.m. – onwards, for the Inter – School Street Dance Competition (Pre – Wattah – Wattah Festival Celebration).
II. June 24, 2017 (Saturday) from 5:00 am – onwards, for the celebration of the yearly “Wattah Wattah Festival”.
N. Domingo Street will be closed to traffic from corner F. Blumentritt Street up to the corner of Pinaglabanan Street. Likewise, A. Luna Street will be closed to traffic from Aurora Blvd to N. Domingo Street.
Pinaglabanan Street will also be closed to traffic from the corner of Jose Gil Street up to the corner of N. Domingo Street, for the preparation and holding area for the floats of Santong Tao and fire trucks for the Watercade. (Pinaglabanan Street will be opened to motorists after the Santong Tao Parade and Watercade passed by).
All vehicles/buses/trucks coming from Ortigas Avenue and Santolan Road bound to Manila shall take Granada Street, Quezon City west bound, left to Aurora Blvd. up to their destination.
All vehicles/buses/trucks coming from Manila via Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard bound to Ortigas Avenue shall proceed straight ahead to Aurora Blvd., right to Gilmore Street, proceed straight to Granada Street, straight to Ortigas Avenue to their destinations.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Araneta Avenue and Magsaysay Blvd. bound to Ortigas Avenue and Santolan Road areas may take Aurora Blvd. right to G. Reyes Street, left to N. Domingo Street and then right to M. Paterno Street to their destinations.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Ortigas Avenue bound to Manila shall take left to Santolan Road, right to M. Paterno Street, left N. Domingo Street, right to De Leon Street, right to Lourdes Drive, and right to Aurora Blvd. to their destination /
and or from N. Domingo Street right to J. Ruiz Street, and left to Aurora Blvd. to their destination.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Ortigas Avenue bound to Manila shall take left to Santolan Road, straight ahead to Pinaglabanan Street, right to N. Domingo Street and left to J. Ruiz Street and left to Aurora Blvd. going to their destination.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Ortigas Avenue and Boni Serrano Avenue bound to San Juan proper shall take Santolan Road, then right to M. Paterno Street, left to N. Domingo Street, right to De Leon Street and/or right to J. Ruiz Street, left to Aurora Blvd. to their destinations. Or from Santolan Road left to Jose Gil Street, cross F. Blumentritt Street straight ahead to Valenzuela Street and/or left to F. Blumentritt Street to Gen. Kalentong to their destinations.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Gen. Kalentong Street bound to Ortigas Avenue shall take F. Blumentritt Street, right to Jose Gil Street, right to Pinaglabanan Street, straight ahead to Santolan Road up to their destination. Or from F. Blumentritt Street right to Lope K. Santos Street, right to N. Domingo Street, right to Pinaglabanan Street straight ahead to Santolan Road to their destination.
All light vehicles (private cars) coming from Ortigas Avenue bound to Gen. Kalentong Street shall take left to Santolan Road straight ahead to Pinaglabanan Street, left to Jose Gil Street left to F. Blumentritt Street to their destination.
All PUJ San Juan – Gen. Kalentong
Going to San Juan shall take F. Blumentritt Street, right to Lope K. Santos Street, left to Atty. Mendoza Street, left to D. Santiago Street and then left to F. Blumentritt Street going to Gen. Kalentong, back to their destination.
All PUJ San Juan – Cubao
Cubao going to San Juan – shall take N. Domingo Street, right to J. Ruiz Street, right to R. Lagmay Street, right to G. Reyes Street and turn left to N. Domingo Street going back to Cubao.
All PUJ San Juan – Divisoria
Divisoria going to San Juan – from V. Mapa left to Old Sta. Mesa straight ahead to N. Domingo Street, left to Araneta Avenue, right to Aurora Blvd., right to G. Reyes Street and then left N. Domingo Street to their destination.
San Juan going to Divisoria – from N. Domingo Street shall take right to J. Ruiz Street and then left to Aurora Blvd., to their destination.
All PUJ San Juan – Rosario
Ortigas Avenue going to San Juan – shall take Ortigas Avenue, left to Santolan Road up to Pinaglabanan Street, left to Atty. Mendoza Street, right to Lope K. Santos Street crossing N. Domingo Street straight ahead to H. Lozada Street, left to R. Lagmay Street, and left to A. Lake Street going back to their destination.
All PUJ San Juan – Crame
From Crame going to San Juan – From Boni Serrano Avenue crossing Ortigas Avenue, straight ahead to Santolan Road up to Pinaglabanan Street, left to Atty. Mendoza Street, right to Lope K. Santos Street, crossing N. Domingo Street straight ahead to H. Lozada Street, left to C. Leyva Street and left to A. Luna Street to their terminal.
From San Juan going to Crame – From terminal (A. Luna Street), right to R. Lagmay Street and then right to G. Reyes Street right to N. Domingo Street, Left to Pinaglabanan Street straight ahead to Santolan Road up to Boni Serrano Ave. to their destination.