CEBU, Philippines - It’s that time of the year again, when Cebuanos and the millions of visitors local and foreign, dance to the beat of Sinulog in honour of the Holy Child Jesus or Señor Sto. Niño. Attracting tourists from all parts of the globe, thanks to the almost hourly international flights, Cebu once again play host to the revelry that is beyond compare.
On a brief traipse in history, the word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sinulog which roughly means “like water current movement;†it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog-base, or Free-Interpretation. The Sinulog dance steps are believed to originate from Rajah Humabon’s adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabon’s grief when Baladhay was sick. Humabon ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a room where the Santo Niño was enthroned, along with the other pagan gods of the native Cebuanos. After a few days, Baladhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with utmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to why he was awake and shouting. Pointing to the image of the Santo Niño, Baladhay explained that he had found on top of him a small child trying to wake him and tickling him with the midrib of the coconut. Greatly astonished, he scared the child away by shouting. The little child got up and started making fun of Baladhay. In turn, Baladhay danced with the little child and explained that he was dancing the movements of the river. To this day, the two-steps forward, one-step backward movement is still used by Santo Niño devotees who believe that it was the Santo Niño’s choice to have Baladhay dance.
One of the main features is a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño.
Thus in honour of the Sto. Niño, director and choreographer Engr. Junjet Primor along with the Sinulog Foundation headed by Mr. Ricky Ballesteros prepare the annual Best of Cebu, the pride of Cebu (Mga Garbo sa Sugbo) featuring fashion collection of Cary Santiago, Miss Cebu 2013 winners and acclaimed Cebuanos in the field of music and dance in an extravaganza staged at high noon on Sinulog Day, January 20, 2013 at the Grand Sinulog Stage of the Cebu City Sports Complex and live via cable tv beamed from Cebu to the world! Get your tickets now! Pit Señor! (FREEMAN)