Mandaue ready for "Traslacion"

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City is all is set for the annual "Traslacion," the practice of taking the Señor Sto. Niño image to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City from Cebu City two days before the city celebrates the Sinulog festival.

The Holy Child together with the Lady of Guadalupe will  arrive in Mandaue at around 9 a.m. and will be met by devotees at barangay Subangdaku, and a procession will proceed to the St. Joseph Shrine where a mass will be held at 9:30 am.

After the Mass, a vigil will be held until dawn and during this time devotees would take the opportunity to kiss both the images of the Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A Mass will be held at 4:30 a.m. after which the holy images will be TAKEN to the Ouano Wharf through a procession.

The images would be taken to the home of devotee Ernesto Ouano before the images are taken on board a galleon.

The holy images will then be brought back to Cebu city through a fluvial parade as a reenactment to show how the holy image of Sto.Niño got to Cebu.

Lawyer Pat Acabodillo, Mayor Jonas Cortes representative to the Sinulog celebration this year said devotees who wish to join the fluvial parade said the Coastguard is now starting to give accreditations to sea vehicles whose owners have indicated their intention to join the fluvial parade.

In line with the Traslacion 2011, the Mandaue City government also launched this year its Traslacion Photo competition which is open to all professional, amateur, and would-be photographers who are residents of the city.

The subject of the photo contest this year is "Traslacion, Tagbo sa Sagrada Pamilya sa Mandaue."

All entries should adopt the theme "Paghiusa sa Katawhan, pag-amoma sa Kalikopan ug pagsanay sa binhing   Kristohanon.

Winning photos must also depict the three characters of the Holy family.

Prizes for the contest is P5,000 for the third prize, P7,000 for the second prize, and P10,000 for the grand prize.

Winning photos will be displayed from January 26-31 in time for the Cebuano Heritage Month at the Parkmall located at the Reclamation Area.

Other highlights of the Traslacion sa Mandaue include Opening of Mandaue Heritage Exhibit at Parkmall on January 8, Dance showdown at Plaza Square on January 10, Bulilit Idol at Plaza Square, Balikbayan Night/Grand Baile at the Mandaue City Sports Complex on January 13, Mandaue's Got Talent at the Plaza Square on January 14, and street dancing at the Plaza` square on January 14. (FREEMAN NEWS)