Monday, January 21, 2008 (Philippines)

From a competitive pack of 51 contingents, Lumad Basakanon (above) emerges first in the free interpretation category, while the Alcoy Siloy Festival leads the Sinulog-based category’s winners. (Sun.star photo/Amper Campaña) CEBU’S twin fiesta celebrations stretched over 14 hours with no major snags, and even the only thing organizers couldn’t control—bad weather—failed to drive the crowds away. No major alarms disrupted the religious and cultural activities, from Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal’s mass at 6 a.m. to the end of the Sinulog grand parade at 7:30 p.m. “It’s terrific, the Sinulog is world-class. The choreography, imagination and execution just gets better and better every year,” said Sen. Manuel Roxas II, who watched the entire parade from the grandstand, said the rest of the country can learn from the Cebu experience. [full story]