Rene H. Martel
Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THE 2009 Sinulog grand parade became a first-time participant’s triumph and another contingent’s chance to regain what it lost.

Tangub City, Misamis Occidental’s Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe promised to bounce back after failing to capture its fourth straight Sinulog-based crown last year.

Yesterday, it did not only take the grand prize in the category, it also copped its fourth consecutive street dancing competition’s top prize for a total reward of P1 million.

It bested 14 other contingents, including last year’s grand prize winner Siloy sa Alcoy, which settled for fourth place honors this year.

Sinanduloy’s performance started with bancas “exiting” from under the arch of a stone bridge, followed by a market day scene with makeshift structures with thatched roofs serving as fish vendors’ stalls.

A bigger motorized banca bearing the image of the Sto. Niño then came next, simulating a fluvial parade where the dancers on the “beach” acted as devotees cheering the Holy Child.

With the male dancers garbed in the traditional barong and the female dancers wearing white Filipiniana dresses accentuated with flower decorations, Sinanduloy danced the Sinulog steps.

“We never did this kind of concept before. The floral offering, and making use of the costumers as one of the props, but they paid off,” said Tangub City Mayor Jennifer Wee Tan.

The female dancers wore multiple skirts of different colors and at one time showed the other colors to create a mosaic of the Sto. Niño image.

“We wanted to send a message that this is the kulturang Sugboanon. Balik-lantaw ba, through the stricter form of the Sinulog dance,” Tan said.

Josefina Guillen, board of judges chairperson of the Sinulog-based category contest, said Sinanduloy rendered a “refreshing” kind of presentation.

“It was not the usual production. If you look at the contingents, there is a sort of uniformity. But Sinanduloy showed something new, and when there is something new it always excites the audience,” she said.

Guillen is the president of the Philippine Folk Dance Society and director for dance of the performing arts department of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

But, she said, Sinanduloy also did very well in other aspects of their production, including the appropriate use of costumes, mastery of steps and overall choreography.

She said that though it was a close fight, Tangub stood above Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Memorial National High School (NHS), which settled for second place, in terms of musicality and projection.

In the Free Interpretation (FI) category, Tribu Buyoganon of Abuyog, Leyte got the grand prize, frustrating defending champion Lumad Basakanon, which took second
honors, and last year’s second place winner Municipality of Carmen, which took third place this year.

Buyoganon’s presentation started with dancers as “bees” in a beehive that two boys hit with a slingshot.

The bees went after the boys, one of whom got stung several times and was lying unconscious and twitching on the ground before he was healed through the intercession of the Holy Child.

The contingent used a thick forest and the blazing yellow and red colors of a sunset as backdrop, five-petal flowers that showed the face of the Sto. Niño when flipped, and twirling violet flowers that wowed the applauding crowd.

Buyoganon’s costume and hand props were predominantly orange in color, which even include the party poppers that spewed out orange-colored confetti.

Cultural Center of the Philippines President Nestor Jardin, FI category board of judges chairman, said they found Buyoganon’s presentation “exciting and engaging.”

“We felt like we were there with the contingent because of the scene interpretation and choreography. Unlike the others where we just sit back and wait for them to finish,” he said.

He said they were “looking for something more” from second place winner and defending champion Lumad Basakanon of Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City, which they did not see.

Jardin said that while nothing can beat Basak’s precision and performance, it failed to make a more refreshing presentation, as it got restricted by its style.

Lanao del Norte (fourth place) and Karatong Festival of Dulag, Leyte (fifth place) completed the FI category winners; while Silaw Culture and Arts of Carcar City NHS (third place) and Pakol Festival of Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental (fifth place) joined the winners’ circle in the Sinulog-based category.

Aside from trophies, first place winners (both SB and FI) will receive P500,000 each; second placers, P400,000; third, P300,000; fourth, P200,000 and fifth, P100,000.
Choreographers of winning contingents get P30,000 (first); P20,000 (second); P15,000 (third); P10,000, fourth; and P5,000 (fifth).

The best in street dancing gets P500,000 (first); P300,000 (second) and P100,000 (third).

All winners will be formally recognized during the awarding ceremony and repeat performance at the Cebu City Sports Center at 1 p.m. today.

Tickets, sold at P50 each, are available at the gate.

For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here.

(January 19, 2009 issue)
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