Merrymaking filled the streets of Cebu City as the Queen City of the South celebrates the feast of the Holy Child Jesus, Señor Sto. Niño. Today’s Grand Sinulog Parade, featuring floats and contingents of street dancers garbed in colorful costumes, culminates the 10-day religious festival. —PHOTOS BY JUNJIE MENDOZA/CEBU DAILY NEWS
CEBU CITY—The Sinulog Grand Parade Sunday is expected to be “short and sweet.”
Organizers said 107 contingents have signed for the grand parade, seven less than last year’s participants.
“But that does not mean that the celebration would be less festive,” said Ricky Ballesteros, executive director of the Sinulog Foundation Inc.
Ballesteros said spectators would still be wowed by performances from perennial winners from the Land of Beauty and Bounty contingent from Lanao del Norte province that won in the 2016 Free Interpretation (FI) category. Also joining are Tribu Katbalaugan that placed second in last year’s FI and Tangub City Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe that won third place in last year’s Sinulog Based (SB) category.
Performers from Tribu Sinanduloy promised to give it their best in a bid to regain their SB championship title before finally retiring from the competition.
“We have been participating in the Sinulog for almost 20 years. You better watch closely. This will be our last participation in the Sinulog. Next year, we will come back in Cebu in another way. We will offer dances to the basilica and go around. But not in the streets,” Tangub City Mayor Philip Tan said.
“Our coming here in Cebu is a pilgrimage. We will stop for a while because we want to upgrade [our skills]. We will return. But instead of joining the parade, we will be more in malls, doing shows, looking for hotels,” he said.
Crowd control
Tan also raised concern on crowd control issues hounding past parades, which, he said, had affected their pilgrimage and dances to Señor Sto. Niño.
Since it first started joining in 1994, the group has collected 11 championships.
Today’s event is the culmination of the 10-day festivities to celebrate the feast of the Holy Child Jesus. Participants include 23 dancing contingents (12 in the SB category and 11 in the FI), 42 floats, 24 higantes and 18 puppeteers.
Organizers have shortened the route by a kilometer. While dancing would still follow the carousel 6-km route, actual dancing would now be limited to a road length of only 5 km.
The 1-km stretch of the New Imus Road will be used as assembly area for participants.
Dancers would perform along General Maxilom Avenue, Fuente Osmeña area and Osmeña Boulevard before making their way to Cebu City Sports Center’s (CCSC) grandstand stage for final judging.
Ballesteros said the change was made to ensure that all performers reach the CCSC grandstand before the 5 p.m. grand finale that would be followed by the announcement of winners at 6 p.m.
Organizers have decided to do away with the annual 10-minute fireworks display that would normally close the year’s Grand Parade since shopping malls in the city would hold their own fireworks display.
Revelers are reminded against drinking along the parade route, else they get arrested and detained.