Wednesday, January 16, 2008 ‘It’s grand parade not mardi gras’
UNLIKE the festivals in New Orleans in the United States and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Sinulog remains mainly a religious event anchored on the Santo Niño and should not be called a Mardi Gras.
Sinulog organizers want the activity on Sunday to be called the Sinulog grand parade, which will have some 50 contingents offering their prayer dance in honor of the Holy Child.
This is what sets the festival apart from other popular festivals in foreign countries, Sinulog Foundation Inc. Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros said.
“Although Sinulog is also known as a festival, the religiosity of the activity is still there. When you compare it to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans or in Brazil, it’s different because it’s a choreographed dance parade and street dancing where the Sto. Niño is the focus,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Organizers laid down requirements for the dances, costumes and props, unlike those in the Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro “where anything goes,” he said.
If dancers can perform in lewd costumes, drink beer and behave loudly during the parade, Sinulog dancers are restricted in their costumes, steps and movements.
Also, they can only dance to a certain beat that is distinct to Sinulog.
Besides, the Mardi Gras is time-specific and is held only during Lent.
Mardi Gras, or French for “Fat Tuesday”, is the day before Ash Wednesday and is celebrated in some cities abroad to mark the beginning of the Lent season.
It is also the single-day culmination of the carnival season in some countries.
Other cities famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include Venice in Italy and Mobile in Alabama in the US.
SFI Project Director Dolores Suzara said that even in the free interpretation category, performers are still required to follow certain rules to make sure that the religiosity of the event remains.
Even the audience and Sinulog revelers are more behaved than those attending the Mardi Gras abroad since drinking and gambling are prohibited in the parade, she said. (LCR)
