Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Varied dance steps key to win
Ginging A. Campaña

MORE dance steps, unique accessories and fewer props made them stand out among the 28 contingents for the free interpretation category of the Sinulog grand parade, two winning choreographers of Tribu Mangkokopras said.

Cebuano choreographer Emelio Pascual, for his part, helped Tribu Sinanduloy of Tangub City bring them “all the way to the top” among Sinulog-based dancers in the last four years.

Dennis Navarro of Tribu Mangkokopras said Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), which used to sponsor Basak San Nicolas contingents in the past Sinulog grand parade, backed out three weeks before the parade this year.

“That’s what exactly pressured us because they backed out at the time when we didn’t yet have our costumes, accessories and our props. We had to ask the barangay for P300,000 for everything,” Dennis, younger brother of Norman told reporters yesterday.

Except for a few schoolchildren, most of the Basa-kanons dancers were out-of-school youths, Dennis said.
Over 30,000 people gathered at the Cebu City Sports Center yesterday to witness the awarding ceremonies led by the Sinulog
Foundation Inc. and the City Government.

Sinulog Foundation executive director Ricky Ballesteros said the crowd at the sports complex surpassed the number of spectators last Sunday.

Apparently pleased by the cleanliness of the city as early as 5 a.m. yesterday, Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced that all 500 street cleaners, garbage collectors and drivers will get one sack of rice each for a job well done.

Councilor Edwin Jagmoc, former councilor George Rama and Department of Public Services chief Dionisio Gualiza led the street cleaners last Sunday night.

“They started cleaning around 9 p.m. but were only able to penetrate the streets at 2 a.m. because of the thick crowd. They completed their task at 5 a.m.,” Jagmoc said.

Unlike in the previous years’ awarding ceremonies when all schools and universities in the city presented a playground demonstration, yesterday’s rites opened with the launching of Cebu as the festival island.

Selected students from colleges and universities showcased the various town festivals in the province.

Winners of the different categories in the Sinulog grand parade all got their trophies and cash prizes.

Out-of town contingents like Iligan City and the Barangay Cangmating of Sibulan, Negros Oriental were also awarded.
Motorcycle travels

The Navarro brothers had to travel for weeks on a habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) to the mountains of Cogon, Naga town to research on the lives of the mangongopras (coconut gatherers) and buy bagakay sticks and baskets for their headdress and accessories.

Tangub City, in its eighth year of participating in the yearly festival as an out-of-town contingent, portrayed the pre-war carnival in the country as influenced by the Americans.

“Despite all the changes through the years, one thing remains—the devotion of the Filipinos to the Sto. Niño,” said Pascual.
Pascual explained that they used “wall mirrors as props to include the audience in their performance because without the people, there is no Sinulog.”

“It was a literal and figurative interpretation for a time of reflection. The mirrors reflect the image of the audience,” he added.
Tangub spent close to P3 million for this year’s silver anniversary presentation of the Sinulog. The amount already includes transportation, food, props, costumes, accessories and miscellaneous expenses for their more than two months’ preparation.

Iligan City’s Tribu Ilaganon placed second in the free interpretation category while Barangay Cangmating’s Yagyag Festival finished first in the street dancing category.

Yagyag Festival is a barangay-based annual celebration of the people’s livelihood in Sibulan, which is held every last Sunday of April.

The dancers used crabs made of synthetic materials as their main props and accessories as they danced to “unique” beat of the drums.

“Yagyag means the spawning of the area where most crabs lay their eggs every last quarter of the year,” Cangmating Barangay chief Edwin Parajado explained.

Sibulan town, he said, is known for its “linubihang kagang or edible crabs cooked in coconut milk and alalasan or the Singaporean vinegar.”

Mayor Osmeña thanked the public yesterday for being the most behaved audience in most fiestas in the Philippines.

“Pasensya na kamo there are only a few champions but we’re all champions in our hearts. They told me ‘Congratulations.’ But I told them I didn’t do anything. It’s the thousands of organizers. Let’s give a big hand to Vice Mayor Michael Rama and Ricky Ballesteros,” he said.

The mayor also assured the public that “we will have a better Sinulog every year.”

The Sinulog Foundation and the City Government also awarded various pillars of the Sinulog festival in the last 25 years like David Odilao, Renato Osmeña, Juan “Dodong” Aquino, Myhc Gonzales and other important personalities and institutions.

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