THE Cebu City Government will start its preparation for the grandest Sinulog festivity in the city to commemorate 500 years since the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that the king of Spain, where Magellan came from before he started his journey to the archipelago, and Pope Francis are expected to grace the event.
Osmeña said the king has expressed interest in coming to Cebu because the latter had plans to visit all the places Magellan visited before he was killed in the battle of Mactan to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his exploration.
The church, on the other hand, will invite the pope.
Osmeña said that instead of holding the cultural event in January, the Sinulog will be held on March 16, 2021, exactly 500 years after Magellan sighted the eastern coast of Samar.
His arrival to Cebu signals the start of Christianity in the country.
Magellan brought with him the image of the Sto. Niño.
The religious aspect of the celebration will still proceed in January.
“We have to focus 90 percent of our preparation on that day instead of the normal Sinulog,” Osmeña said.
The mayor said the whole city will be mobilized and will be made to participate during the preparation and celebration proper.
As their initial preparation, Osmeña said the City will be cleaned and will adopt a theme for the celebration.
The City will have a special program to remove all the graffiti and paint the walls red and yellow, the Sinulog colors.
The City will also grow the Sinulog flower and distribute it to households and other establishments so they can display it.
“We’re going to establish a major nursery in SRP (South Road Properties) or in the mountains where we will plant the Sinulog flower so that on that occasion, all of Cebu will have the plants; one theme in the entire city,” he said.
Osmeña said the preparation will start as early as now because it will be a major celebration for the entire Cebu.