Yeebah!!! It's this time of the year again. Celebrated every 3rd Sunday of January, the SiNuLOG FeSTiVaL in Cebu City is considered to be the Mother of All Festivals in the Philippines. Woooahh! That's a lot to take in.
The Sinulog Festival has greatly evolved. During my childhood days I remember seeing the colorful parade without any hassle on the streets as well as going to the church, Basilica Minore del Sto . Nino, very smoothly. Now lots of things have changed.
From the novenas held at the church, the fluvial and solemn processions, and to the grand parade held on the streets in the heart of Cebu City, hundreds of devotees were now flocking inside and outside the church vicinity to attend mass, thousands of devotees were already participating in these processions giving their reverence to the child Sto. Nino and many contingents were actively joining the parade to showcase their talents in dancing in honor of the child Jesus. In addition, venues to showcase Cebuano talents such as in the field of photography and singing/choral competitions were held giving more life to the celebration with the live bands and the street parties.
THE FESTIVAL
The birth of Sinulog in Cebu City was historical. If you will revisit the history books it would date to the time when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan came to the shores of Cebu on April 1521 and planted a cross to claim the land for Spain. He then gave a gift to the reigning King of the island, Rajah Humabon and wife Queen Juana, an image of the Sto Nino. After 44 years another conquistador headed by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came to the island, sent fireballs to the town burning every hut. When they searched the area, a soldier named Juan Camus found the image of Sto. Nino inside a box made of wood intact. And that was were it all started and as they say the rest is history.
The street dancing is the 2nd highlight of the Festivity. The 1st is of course the religious side of Sinulog honoring the child Jesus. The grand parade indeed helped made the festivity known to the world which made the country, Cebu in particular, generate lots of income.
The Sinulog dance is a simple one and I believe all Cebuanos knows how to dance it. It consists of two steps forward and one step backward, danced in repetition with the sound of the drums. Today, the dance has evolved. Three categories were made for contingents to join: the Sinulog-based, the Street dance, and the Free interpretation.
The colorful costumes of the participants made the grand parade more lively and pleasing to the eyes. The parade started at 9am and I was there at around 10am and the crowd was starting to build up. It was a rainy Sinulog festival but that didn't stop the dancers to perform their best and the folks most especially to watch the wonderful parade.
The Festival Queen is said to be the center of the Sinulog parade. They were very much respected and looked up to. In fact, they were the ones holding the sacred image of the child Jesus. Hours of practice were devoted for them to perfect the dance ensuring not to let the image slip off their hands. If that happens, it would be a total disaster.
The Sinulog parade was full of wonderful sights. Even the band as well as the props men wore colorful costumes to signify the uniformity of one participating group. A lot of characters could also be seen as part of the parade which added excitement to the watch-goers.
Competitions for giants or "Higantes" category were included for those creative individuals. I love seeing these Higantes coz they remind me of my colorful Sinulog childhood days.
Anyone could join this category and the price of winning this was also worth it.
"Float" category was also included. More often business establishments join this category to not just participate in the parade but also a means to promote their merchandise to the people which for me was a clever idea to let everyone see your product.
Famous actors/actresses in the country didn't missed the chance to participate in the parade. Riding in their respective floats, these "stars" brought cheers, smiles, and excitement to the audience. Manila is miles away from my hometown Cebu and to see them in person, these talented and gorgeous stars just made my day. The following artists that I saw on the parade were Richard Yap, Hero Angeles, John Lloyd Cruz, Kim Chiu, Jodi Sta Maria, Maja Salvador, and Marian Rivera. Waving their tiny hands to the masses created shouts of joy and anticipation to the people and dragging more crowd to the streets. Even from afar, you would already know that a float with "stars" were coming basing on the tone and frequency of screams of the crowd.
It was an enjoyable experience for me. As a true-blooded Cebuano, I am proud of what my City has become. Our faith in Sto Nino remained strong despite all odds. This is our heritage. This is Cebuano culture.
Ciao!!
Sinulog 2014 Celebration continues...
Playgroup Singapore sinulog festival is the one of the most expensive festival in philiPPINES":
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