Getting Ready For Viva! Pit Señor This January 2013

Road repairs start this Saturday along 1.9 kilometers of Ouano Avenue at the Mandaue Reclamation Area and is expected to cause traffic through the holiday season. One lane will be closed at a time for asphalting to minimize disruption along the stretch which starts after the Cebu Port Authority until the intersection of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). Ouano avenue is a vital road connecting Cebu city to Mandaue city, and is a favored route going to the Mactan airport. Venray Construction, the private contractor, said they would work 24/7 to finish earlier than scheduled by January before the Sinulog festival as requested by public works officials.

Engineer Jose Renee Niole said he was confident of meeting the Sinulog deadline since this was was an asphalting job that doesn’t require a curing period. It would take only one to three hours after an asphalt overlay is applied for the road to be passable, he said. Niole asked for understanding and patience from the public for the temporary inconvenience. The project has a 270-day contract period that ends on July 13, 2013. Rachel Lumapas, project engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 said traffic would be manageable since both sides of the road have four lanes. Repair work will involve both sides of the 29-meter-wide avenue. Work will start in front of the CPA until 13 meters after the intersection of the CICC. The contractor would work on the inner lanes first, followed by the second lanes, third and the outer lanes last. Lumapas said he would ask for more Mandaue City traffic enforcers in the area especially during the the Nov. 30 thanksgiving Mass of Saint Pedro Calungsod at the South Road Properties when thousands of pilgrims and visitors are expected to come to Cebu City./Correspondent Fe Marie Dumaboc -inquirer.net

Festival queen crowned tonight

At least 11 beauties will be vying for tonight’s Sinulog Festival Queen title, touted as the grandest in the pageant’s six-year history.

A lass from Negros Occidental, 17-year-old Kim Villacampo, was adjudged Best in Runway during a preliminary runway modeling contest where the 11 early registrants strut the runway in their official getups.

However, the fashion show has no bearing on the main event tonight, said Junjet Primor, one of the pageant’s organizers.

Villacampo, dressed in a bright red gown patterned after a cabbage rose with gold highlights, butterfly adornments and a headdress of artificial flowers, easily outshone her rivals.

The gown, however, was made of inexpensive materials, she said.

“Dili mahibaw-an nga plastic ra diay ni sa sud-an (You can’t tell that it’s just the kind of plastic bags that you put food in),” said Villacampo, pointing to the petticoat under her gown.

She represented San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, whose contingent is one of four out-of-town groups whose lead dancers signed up for the Sinulog Festival Queen competition. The main contest will be held tonight, 7:30 p.m., at the Cebu City Sports Center.

For the 30th Sinulog anniversary, the contest will be on a grander scale to seek out a modern-day Hara Amihan.

A total of 15 contestants are expected to sign up. Last year, there were 23.

The Sinulog Festival Queen pageant tonight will have three parts.

First, each contestant will walk on stage after introducing herself. Then she performs a dance along with a limited number of members from her Sinulog contingents. Finally, the lead dancer has to dress up in her official contingent gown and dance alone, carrying the image of the Sto. Niño.

Each contestant will be judged based on her total appearance (50 percent), group dance performance (30 percent), and her solo performance (20 percent).

The Sinulog Festival Queen pageant aims to pay homage to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebu’s 16th century ruler Rajah Humabon.

Filipino-American bishop to visit for festival

ST. BENEDICT — The popular Filipino devotion honoring Santo Niño — the holy child Jesus — is coming to Mount Angel Seminary.
Filipino seminarians are extending an invitation to all Catholics to join the festivities on Saturday, Jan. 16.
Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis of Los Angeles will be the principal presider at an 11 a.m. Mass. He is the first Filipino American ordained to the episcopacy in the United States.
Festivities will include a blessing of Santo Niño statues and a Sinulog festival. Sinulog, a dance ritual, commemorates the origin of the Cebuano people and their acceptance of Christianity. Traditionally, it’s a street parade filled with bright-colored costumes and loud beats of drums and native gongs. This year’s Sinulog festival will be hosted by Sinulog Portland under the direction of Rudy del Rosario.
To culminate the festivities there will be a reception with Filipino food, traditional Filipino dances and entertainment.
On Sunday, Jan. 17, Filipino seminarians will accompany Bishop Solis as he visits St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. Later in the day, he will visit the National Sanctuary of our Sorrowful Mother, better known as the Grotto, and pray at the Dambana, the first Filipino shrine in the Archdiocese of Portland.
The evening will conclude with solemn vespers at the Grotto with the seminarians and Filipino lay leaders from throughout the archdiocese.

Thousands join start of 9-day novena mass for Sto. Niño

CEBU CITY – Thousands of religious devotees joined the early dawn procession on Thursday from the Fuente Osmeña Oval to the Basilica del Sto. Niño de Cebu, carrying images and statues of the Child Jesus in different forms and sizes, ushering the start of the traditional nine-day novena for the Feast of the Sto. Niño de Cebu.
Dubbed the “Walk With Jesus Procession,” the religious march gathered devotees from Cebu and beyond who traveled to the city to attend the procession.
“I have been doing this for the past 10 years. The Sto. Niño has been giving me and my family good health so I will be participating in the procession for as long as my body will allow,” said 68-year-old Crisanta Coronado, who traveled from Moalboal town, south of Cebu, to attend the procession.
Crisanta joined a huge throng of devotees, mostly with their families, including children in tow, in the procession that ended with the first novena mass at the Basilica.
The nine-day novena will culminate on the third Sunday of the month, January 17, which is the actual Feast of the Sto. Niño de Cebu.
Meanwhile, Cebu's tourism industry is expected to shine bright at the start of 2010 as the mad rush for hotel bookings in Cebu City began. All available accommodations in the city, leading up to the annual biggest event of the year in Cebu, the Sinulog Festival whose 30th anniversary is being celebrated this year, are expected to be fully booked.
Initiated in 1980, the Sinulog Festival manifests the devotion of the Cebuanos to its Patron Saint, Señor Sto. Niño through dance movements depicting the island province’s religious history including how its people were converted to Roman Catholicism.
In the past, Sinulog Mardi Gras participants were scant, but over the years, the numbers have grown as more and more people from outside Cebu come to take part in the Sinulog parade.
The Sinulog Mardi Gras has evolved from a simple event to being a major tourism crowd drawer currently.
The festival has also become a particularly popular religious event among Sto. Niño devotees, some of whom come to Cebu from as far as Mindanao and Luzon to pay their respects to the Child Jesus, or the Sto. Niño. Also, the Sinulog festivities have become a major motive for balikbayans to come home and celebrate with their loved ones.
This coming Friday, the 2010 Sinulog Festival will kick off at 2:00 p.m. with a Sinulog retrospective photo exhibit to be put up simultaneously at SM City Cebu, Ayala Center and at the Mactan Cebu International Airport. This will be followed by a solemn mass at 3:00 p.m. at the Basilica del Sto. Niño.
At 7:00 p.m., a parade will be conducted from the Basilica del Sto. Niño to the Cebu City Sports Center followed by the opening and launching program at Fuente Osmeña at 7:30 p.m.
Succeeding days will have activities that include the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan, Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Dakbayan, cultural shows, concerts and street party bands at Fuente Osmeña, Ms. Cebu 2010 pageant, Cebu Pop Festival, Walk With Mary, Misa de Translacion motorcade, Sinulog Festival Queen 2010 Competition and Balik Cebu Welcome Party for Balikbayans

Sinulog festival to open IN KABANKALAN

The opening of the week-long 34th Sinulog 2010 celebration in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental will be held 5 p.m. today at the city public plaza, a Kabankalan City press release said.
It will be highlighted by a concelebrated Novena mass at the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, blessing of the images of Sto. Niño during the Holy Mass, and procession of these images with five tribes and the KCC Sad-Sad dancers.
There will also be a presentation of the candidates for the Search for Hara Sang Negros by Rey Cordero, chairman, committee on the search for Hara sang Negros, followed by a ceremonial face daubing with soot by the chairman of Kabankalan Sinulog Foundation Inc., the press release said.
The festival will be declared open by Mayor Pedro Zayco.

Lanao Norte gears up for Sinulog 2010

Iligan City (5 January) -- In a bid to finally capture the elusive championship in the biggest cultural stage of the Philippines-Cebu's Sinulog Festival, the provincial government of Lanao del Norte is again sending its own contingent in the much anticipated cultural competition.

"This is the fulfillment to our promise to last year's winning group in the Municipal Festival contest during our Golden Araw Anniversary. And with their spectacular win, we are sending this year the Kapatagan National High School to the Sinulog to be our contingent," explained Governor Khalid Dimaporo.

This is the second time that the provincial government is sending an official contingent in the Free Interpretation category where Lanao del Norte placed 4th over-all in a category that saw 25 groups compete.

Last year, Lanao del Norte was also able to grab the coveted title of Best in Costume despite being a first-timer in the festival.

"We are very thankful for the all-out support of Governor Dimaporo. We are inspired to reach for the top prize this time and bring home the trophy here in Lanao del Norte," said Tourism Officer Minda Regis.

This year, the province's Sinulog contingent is composed of 95 dancers, 50 propsmen, 30 instrumentalists and 24 support group personnel. Lanao del Norte will also be sending 2 candidates in the prestigious Sinulog Queen Pageant, namely Emilyn Opada of Maranding, Lala and Lota Correos of Tubod.

"This is another chance for us to showcase to the whole world that Lanao del Norte is indeed a beautiful and peaceful province where people live in unity and harmony with one another," said Information Officer Lyndon Calica.

The Lanao Norte group will depart for Cebu on January 12 for early rehearsals, while the actual Sinulog competitions will be on January 17.

Four National Team Boxers Featured in “Bakbakan sa Sinulog” undercard

Four members of the Philippine amateur boxing training pool will be showcased in the upcoming big boxing event dubbed as “Bakbakan Sa Sinulog!” this January 14 at the Waterfront Hotel.

The fight card is headlined by Milan “Melinyo” Melindo who will challenge WBC Youth Intercontinental Flyweight Champion Anthony Villareal of the USA and AJ Banal who will face Mexican veteran “Cecilio “Boga” Santos.

The amateur fights will feature Adonis Cabalquinto vs. Jimmy Vallares and women’s team members Karina Jane Recaido vs Iris Magno. Karina Jane is the daughter of 1996 Olympian Elias Recaido.

This is part of SMART Communications continuing support of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) training program. Pato Gregorio, Head of SMART Sports Marketing and Special Projects highlighted the accomplishments of our national team in recent tournaments like the Asian Indoor Games and Laos SEA Games. His company has been instrumental in providing financial support during training and cash incentives to the gold medal winners.

The pool now has forty male and fifteen female amateur boxers. They are tapping the support of professional stables like the ALA Gym of Cebu to find more promising amateur talent to continue our quest for the country’s first Olympic gold. A 15 million peso incentive awaits the first Filipino to win an Olympic boxing gold medal.

The Bakbakan fight card will also feature rising ALA Gym stars James Bacon and Larry “Bonjovi” Canillas. Bacon (13-1-0,8 KO’s) will fight Thittichon Singwancha (12-3, 2KO ’s) and KO artist Canillas (11-1-0 with 10 KO’s) will face Pet Twin Gym (8-3-1, 6 KO’s).

This is a joint venture between giant communication SMART Sports and TV5 with ALA Promotions to launch its entry to the sports of professional boxing.

Top photo: ALA Gym President Michael Aldeguer (R) stresses a point as Smart's Patrick Gregorio listens as the duo discuss the upcoming Jan. 14 Sinulog boxing event with the Cebu media at the A Taste of Mandarin Restaurant in Cebu City. Photo by Dong Secuya.