TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Mayor Cristina Romualdez led the Tacloban City government in conferring the Sangyaw Awards to Taclobanons and city-bred groups in recognition of their exemplary achievements in culture and the arts, here and abroad.
The awards were given during the 10th Sangyaw Awards Night at Robinson’s Place on Tuesday, in honor of people, groups, and artists who promote culture and the arts of the “warays,” and in making Tacloban proud of their achievements.
The city government, in partnership with its cultural arm, Sangyaw Foundation Inc., conferred posthumous awards to Maestro Melvin Corpin and Alejandro Montejo, as well as to Sangyaw past presidents Ramon Santiago and Dr. Maria Elvie Casal.
Special Citation Award was also conferred to Juliet Gomez Romualdez for being a patroness of the arts.
Sangyaw Awards were also conferred to the following: K-Box and singer-composer Kendel Esperas, for providing a venue for artists; Ransak Productions Inkfest, for tattoo art; Leyte Dance Theater and Leyte Kalipayan Dance Company, for portraying culture and arts through dances; Spoke Poetry, for Visayan poetry; Zero Gravity and I Love Tacloban Band, for music performance; Nestor Dolina for photography; Kasikasi Art Associatoin for mural paintings, Peter’s Chord and the Pineda Siblings (Rachelle, Reina, and Rainer) for inspiring youth in musical instruments.
Other Sangyaw Awards trophies were also given to Nick Guarino for visual art design, his brother Daniel Guarino for concept design art; Sangyaw Festival’s Miss Tacloban 2017 Chelsea Fernandez for winning the Miss Aliwan Festival Queen 2017; Oliver Mendoza for ballet; Randolph Longjas for winning best director in the Metro Manila Film Festival; author Voltaire Oyzon for his Waraynon dictionary and literature; and Francisca “Babes” Custodio for broadcasting.
The Sangyaw Awards are given yearly, since the time of then mayor Alfred Romualdez, and continued to this time by Mayor Cristina Romualdez, as part of the month-long celebration of the Tacloban City fiesta on June 30, in honor of the patron saint, Señor Sto. Niño de Tacloban.
Meanwhile in the Ginoong Sangyaw 2018, the first pageant for young men for Sangyaw Festival, was won by 25-year-old Cris Bernales, a 5’9” native of Catbalogan City in Samar, who already won 2nd runnerup in the Mr. Manaragat 2017 and the Ginoong Dalaguete (Cebu) 2017.
Bernales, an information technology professional, bested 14 other candidates to win the Ginoong Sangyaw 2018 crown as well as five special awards and three other major awards.
The 1st runner-up honors went to Leonel Lopez Cuyo (as Ginoong Turismo), 2nd runner-up was Denver Sim (as Ginoong Kalikasan), 3rd runner-up was Joseph Ruel Geneston, and 4th runner-up was Clint Tyrone Capon.
Mayor Cristina said the Ginoong Sangyaw was designed to inspire young gentlemen in this part of Eastern Visayas to do advocacy works on the environment.