It was in January 2014 when a certain professor from the University of the Philippines-Diliman decided to visit and observe the Ati-Atihan Festival, particularly focusing on the basic beat(s) used for the said festival. This was because of his research. He wanted to dig deeper into the richness of culture of the Ati-Atihan music that the Aklanon People have.

While he was roaming around, asking the different groups about the Ati-Atihan basic beat(s), nobody as able to give him a definite answer. He kept on looking until he came across the Ati-Atihan group named “Renaissance”. He went to the group founder’s home at Rizal Street, Kalibo, Aklan, and talked to one of the founders of the groupo – Suljohn I. Renacido.

It was found out by that UP Professor that the Ati-Atihan basic beat is “rhumba” which has 4/4 time signature. Another type of Ati-Atihan beat is an upbeat which is a country rock beat.

The professor kept on communicating to the founders of the Renaissance Ati-Atihan Group until recently when the pandemic hit. Thus, to address the concern of that UP professor, the Renaissance made this video to let other people know the basic beat and upbeat of the Ati-Atihan Festival.

The first beat that you’ll hear is the “rhumba” beat. 
The second beat, which is an upbeat, is a country rock beat.
Lastly, applying the beats presented into a song, you’ll hear an Aklanon song entitled 

“Ang Eambong kong Gisi”. 

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is for educational purposes only.