Editor’s note: Sinulog is a celebration that traditionally takes place in Cebu City in the Philippines. It occurs on the third Sunday of January and honors the Santo Niño, or child Jesus.
It was a blustery morning on Saturday, Jan. 24. Wind chills were in the single digits. Sleet, ice and snow were predicted for the weekend. But the wintery mix waited till the late evening, and it was all systems go for our Sinulog festival!
Unlike previous years, we held our pre-Mass dancing indoors, in the grand entryway of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral. Our dance group, the Tribu NC dancers, was joined by the dazzling feathered dancers of Danza Guerros of Durham. The drumbeats that are central to both these Mexican and Cebuano-Filipino traditions spoke of our devotion and offering to Mother Mary and to the Child Jesus.
On this 11th year, the Sinulog and de facto spiritual advisor of our group, Father Marcos Leon-Angulo, was joined in the sanctuary by Father Randy Gonzales, C.I.C.M. and Father Mike Lecias, a U.S. Army chaplain at Ft. Bragg.
Father Mike is a fellow Cebuano, and he said it was a great honor to be invited by the Filipino Community in Raleigh to concelebrate at the Sinulog Festival Mass.
He added, “The vibrancy of faith manifested in the community is a great testament that the mission of Christ … the arrival of the image of the Holy Child in 1521 in the Philippines calls everyone to continue to share that mission to all parts of the world, and this is very evident the way the Filipinos celebrated it in Raleigh.”
Mass was celebrated in three languages: English, Cebuano, which is the language spoken in Cebu where the Sinulog originates, and Tagalog, the main language spoken in the capital of the Philippines.
Singing most of the songs in Cebuano was special and connected deeply with native speakers like me. I held back tears as I sang the Our Father in Cebuano. It is a rare gift to sing this prayer in Cebuano, even among Filipinos, as most Filipinos default to Tagalog. We thank the choir Gasa sa Gugma, which translates to “Gift of Love” in English, for sharing their angelic voices.
Following the Eucharistic celebration, the fiesta continued to the activities center. The Danza Guerros of Durham led the procession from the cathedral to the gym. For the first time, the festival featured an array of Filipino cuisines from food trucks and vendors. A purple vegetable called taro shone that day, with many vendors serving a variety of themed food items like bread, cake, ice cream and matcha. After a scrumptious lunch, the day’s presentation started. Performers included the Tribu NC dancers in white and yellow costumes created by Gasa sa Gugma and choreographed by Jaira Legarde, the Sanford Performing Artists, the Filipino-American Performing Artists, and our Mexican-American friends, Danza Guerros of Durham.
Despite the bitter cold, the warmth of love and community filtered through the day. We are overjoyed that we can share this special celebration of the Sto. Nino de Cebu to the greater Raleigh community.
Photos
Photos by Joseph Belano, Jasper Yap and Frederick Daria
