Balikbayans arrive for Sinulog fest

They’re back again for the Sinulog.

About 70  balikbayans who arrived yesterday from Seattle and Las Vegas in the United States  were greeted at the Mactan airport by the beat of Sinulog dancers organized by the  Cebu City Tourism Council.

Welcome greetings from  friends and relatives  filled the lobby of the international arrival area.

Some of the passengers joined the dancers on spot.

One of them was Eric Colina, a disc jockey  and photographer from Las Vegas,  who carried the Sto. Niño image in his arms.

Colina, who has been living in the U.S. for 17 years, told Cebu Daily News that it was his second time to visit Cebu for the Sinulog.

Nanette Cabrera from Los Angeles, California, said she visits Cebu every year for the Sinulog.

A retired nurse who’s lived  lives in the U.S. for  35 years, Cabrera was with her Filipino husband, Jesse.

Aside from the Sinulog, Cabrera came for a reunion with former workmates at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Lawyer Nadia Jurani from Las Vegas said she flies to Cebu every year for the Sinulog.

Jurani, who came with her husband Romeo, said she will be among the judges and sponsors of this year’s search for Sinulog Festival Queen.

“We want to help Cebu. We donate every year,” said Jurani,  a certified public accountant and lawyer, who’ s lived in the US for more than 30 years.

The couple will also take time after the Sinulog to join a countryside tour with the Cebu provincial government’s  Suroy Suroy sa Sugbo Heritage Trail.

A bigger group of 100 balikbayans will arrive tomorrow in two flights at 8:15 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. in the Mactan airport, mostly from California.

They will be welcomed by the Balik Cebu committee, led by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, and the Department of Tourism with a rondalla, leis and a Sinulog dance contingent.  /CORRESPONDENT RHEA RUTH V. ROSELL