TRIBU Lumad Basakanon of Barangay Basak San Nicolas has yet to decide on whether it will participate in the upcoming Sinulog sa Carmen on January 22, 2023.
Barangay Captain Norman Navarro told SunStar Cebu Wednesday, January 18, that the entire contingent will have a meeting Wednesday evening to discuss if they will push through in joining the festival considering that there are changes to the contest guidelines.
Navarro said the Sinulog sa Carmen grand ritual showdown only allocates five minutes per contingent to perform on stage and the time will start once the music will begin.
This is different with the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City in which the time allocation will only start once the contingent will make the first dance move, he added.
"Diri sa Sinulog sa City, mag start ang time inig sugod sa first move sa dancer until nga mo step down ang dancer sa ramp. Ang ilaha kay music ang ilang gi basehan," said Navarro.
With this, Navarro said they will discuss with the choreographers and dancers if they can apply changes to their performance to avoid score deduction should they decide to join on Sunday.
This is also not the first time that Lumad Basakanon will be joining the Sinulog the Carmen since it always receives an invitation from the town's officials to participate, Navarro said.
Navarro said Mayor Michael Rama offered his full support for the barangay's participation despite what happened during the Sinulog Festival on January 15 wherein 10 contingents withdrew their participation, including the Carmen contingent.
"Supportive kaayo siya (Rama). Ingon man gani siya nako nga 'atoa gyud ibutang sa atong banner nga Cebu City supports Sinulog sa Carmen'... akoa siyang gi pormal nga pananghid," said Navarro. (IRT)