VIVA Pit Senyor! Upat na lang katulog, Sinulog na! Ug garbo nakong nahinabi ang “man of the hour”, ang executive director sa Sinulog Foundation, Inc. atol sa ilang launching nga may temang “Celebrate Cebu! Celebrate Sinulog!” niadtong Biyernes, Enero 8, taliwa sa mga nagkadaiyang matahum nga talan-awon ug makapakiay nga tukar sa Sinulog nga nagtimaan sa pagbukas sa pinaka-grandeng Festival sa Sugbo kundi man gani sa tibuok Asya. Ricardo “Ricky” Ballesteros, Ssssuper Ka!
Unsay bag-o karon sa Sinulog?
Karong tuiga duna tay First Sinulog DJ Mixing Competition. Una ning higayon ug daghan kaayong nangapil. Mga professional DJ ug mga DJ sa radyo ug mga freelance DJ. Naay mga handicapped nga nasud sa 40 finalists gikan sa 70 nga nagpa-audition. Every night dunay elimination sa Fuente Osmena ug ang daily winner maoy mo-compete sa grand finals that is going to happen on the Sinulog Day. This is one of the biggest in the Philippines in terms of prizes. The grand winner will receive P30,000, 20,000 for the second prize and P10,000 for the third. Duna sad tay Sinulog Dance Crew that is one of the most awaited dance contest sa Cebu. Naa na gani nangapil taga-Mindanao, Dumaguete ug Negros. Ang atong winner last year, ang Don Juan, akong gida sa Korea ug applauded kaayo sila didto. Katong mga Korean festival organizer ug mismo ilang mayor moanhi dinhi karong Sabado, Jan. 16, just to witness Sinulog. And of course, we have the yearly Sinulog Festival Queen, the Sinulog Chorale competition that is now on its fourth year, the photography contest, the Sinulog short film festival, music video ug daghan pa. Ang mga talent sa mga Cebuano na-enhance through Sinulog.
Tinuod ibalhin na sunod tuig ang Sinulog sa SRP (South Road Properties)?
Kana kon ma-implement sunod tuig ang BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), apektado gyud ang rota. Actually, ang chairman sa BRT nga si Atty. Rafael Yap ang ni-announce ana in one of the meetings. And I think ang pinakagwapo nga lugar for events like Sinulog so far is the SRP because of the bigger space. Ang problema lang kay wa pa tay building didto, wala pay mga kahoy nga kapasilongan, init kaayo nga sa tanan. Even when we had our marathon there init gyud kaayo. Siguro in the coming years. Kay sa Rio de Janeiro gani straight line ra man sila. Unya ilang contest gabii. I think the ideal place is somewhere in Seaside and the Calungsod area.
So, ang grand parade ug ang sayaw sa Abellana mawala na?
Wala pa na. Ato pa nang planuhan gyud, gitun-an pa na sa Sinulog Foundation. But so far ang venue nga maka-accommodate og ingon ani nga crowd is only SRP.
Unsay tan-aw nimo sa crowd sa Sinulog?
Growing siya every year. Ang perennial problem lang nato is crowd control. But I always look at the positive side. Meaning daghan gyud ganahan manan-aw.
Asa diay ka sa una sa wala pa ka nahimong executive director?
Nagsugod ko sa City Sports Commission isip executive director ni Dodong Aquino, kinsa maoy chairman niadto sa Sports Commission ug executive director sa Sinulog Foundation. So, everytime nga naay events ang Sinulog, iyang i-involve ang mga staff and I was the emcee before. I was the emcee I think for 10 years. There was a time when they’re looking for an executive director, ang ilang gikuha si Ma’am Dolly Suzara, who has been in the Sinulog Foundation since 1980s, to replace Dodong. Di man mosugot si Ma’am Dolly. So nangayo silag recommendation. Akoy gi-recommend. Pagsulti nako nga dili sad ko modawat, ako sad gipasa ni Ma’am Dolly. So nagpasahay ming duha. She told Renato Osmena, who was the president of the Sinulog Foundation before and Mayor Mike Rama nga kon dili kuno ko kuhaon dili sad siya mosugot.
Ikapila na ron nimo nga tuig isip executive director sa Sinulog?
Since 2002 man ko. Ako silang giingnan, “I’ll try for one year.” The rest is history, naa gihapon. And the good thing is I’m surrounded by very creative and talented people, very cooperative Cebuano. We have the Sinulog board of trustees and of course, the City Government of Cebu. Mangutana sila pirme “unsay sikreto sa Sinulog?” I think it’s the Cebuanos. We are united and we always set aside politics when it comes to Sinulog. Sinulog gave us a name and at the same time, culture. Even today sa launching nato dili akoy nagbuhat ana. Kay I had meetings with different choreographers in various college universities ug nag-contribute tanan og ideas even sa atong finals. Duna say mangutana “after Sinulog mag-unsa man mo?” We conduct evaluation, we conduct workshops, we invite speakers to improve costuming, productions, to enhance dance vocabulary, the musicality… ang mga tawo man gud they always look for something new.
Unsa pa’y damgo nimo sa Sinulog?
I want Sinulog to be at par with international standards. I read one of the blogs in “Bombshare” the other year I think, and it says “Sinulog is one of the 22 festivals you should see before you die.” Sa ilang list, No. 8 ang Sinulog. Ang damgo pa gyud nako nga mapareha ang Sinulog sa Rio de Janeiro. As of now, we’re getting near di ba? In terms of production and talents, grabe ang Cebu. I’ve been to other festivals in different places way makalupig sa Cebu in terms of gidaghanon sa tawo, production, sayaw, music.
How does Sinulog affect your personal life?
Sa sinugdanan, kapoy siya. Pero very inspiring labi pa makita nimo ang resulta tungod sa pagtinabangay sa tanan. I’m a very private person but di man malikayan gud kay Sinulog is more on public relations and PR. We have to sell and promote Sinulog to all walks of life.
Taga-Cebu gyud inyong kaliwat?
My mama is from Bacolod. Papa nako is from Iloilo. But I was born and raised in Cebu. Akong papa man gud sundawo before nga na- assign dire. My family is into sports. I play badminton, my brother is into football. After I graduated Political Science sa University of the Visayas, first nakong job was into sports organizing. I was with the Sports and Youth Development Commission. Until I found my niche along the way.