THE Dumaguete City Government’s tourism office has moved the celebration of its Sandurot Festival from November to an earlier date, in September, as a stand-alone festival.
“Sandurot is derived from the Visayan word ‘pakig-sandurot’ that commemorates Dumaguete’s rich history of interacting and welcoming different peoples and foreign culture, be it Chinese, Japanese, even during the pre-hispanic period,” said Dems Rey Demecillo, Dumaguete City information officer, in a media release Thursday.
“It is a festival that celebrates the diverse and hospitable community that is Dumaguete today,” Demecillo added.
Sandurot is part of the Roman Catholic’s fiesta celebration in honor of the city’s patroness St. Catherine de Alexandria every November.
But Dumaguete City Tourism Officer Jacqueline Antonio said moving Sandurot to another date is logistically and operationally justified, as the City must have ample time to prepare contingents from schools and barangays for the showdown and street dance competitions.
The winners will then represent the city to the provincial’s Buglasan Festival of Festivals or the Masskara Festival in Bacolod City, both held every October.
After Buglasan, the Sandurot contingent is expected to compete in other festivals like Sinulog and possibly Ati-Atihan in Iloilo.
Antonio said that if Sandurot stays in November, major schools such as Negros Oriental State University and Foundation University could not participate, as they also have their own festivals.
Transferring the Sandurot fest to September does not require an ordinance or any legislative action and can be done upon the discretion of the city’s leadership, Veloso was quoted as saying.
The Sandurot contingent won a number of awards during the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City in January.
Click here to see the list of Sinulog 2017 winners. (PNA)