LET'S all be honest, a muddy Sinulog Festival at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 is going to suck.
Yet it surprises me that there are still people online who can gaslight themselves into thinking that everything is going to be fun and going to the event will be worth the shot.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama already made the decision of pushing through with the Sinulog at SRP.
Rama’s decision has been criticized, and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has announced the withdrawal of provincial contingents from the festival if Rama won’t change his mind.
It is fascinating how my generation, the late millennials and early Gen Zs, took to the internet their nasty observations of what is likely to be the muddiest Sinulog that Cebu will ever see.
Netizens have roasted or made fun of the SRP venue.
For one, netizens have portrayed the Sinulog venue’s mud like a playpen for carabaos or “kabaw.” They have posted photos of carabaos in a rice field side by side with the photos of the muddy SRP venue.
Now, if onions can grow in the SRP, then we should really plant some onions there. Maybe, we can help in supplying onions to our “onionly” beleaguered country.
For sure, the contingents that will push through will be stuck in the mud. Literally. No joke. It is inhumane to let the contingents suffer in the mud.
And lastly, if the mud is still thick on Sunday, we can build a mud castle.
Seriously now. I am hoping that Mayor Rama would see that at this point, the venue is not the best place for the return of the Sinulog.
But the mayor is still adamant on having SRP as the venue.
This year’s Sinulog will definitely be one of a kind. Whether it will be the good kind or the bad kind will depend on the organizers’ executing things on the Sinulog day.
I know it can be difficult when the entire island seems to be against the decision of one city, but if the Sinulog is successful at the SRP, then I believe every Cebuano will celebrate.
However, I cannot imagine the poor workers who have been working overtime in the rain just to achieve Rama’s decision.
The contingents who practiced in the mud do not deserve the inconvenience of doing so. The old venue—the Cebu City Sports Center—is still the best venue for now because of the bad weather.
People who purchased tickets or signed up for sponsorship deals definitely deserve a quality Sinulog festival.
I hope that the city government remembers that the Sinulog is for the people and Señor Sto. Niño.