FOR Barangay Mabolo, winning the Sinulog sa Dakbayan 2026 was more than a festival triumph — it was a return of the beat to where it was first kept.
When Lambo Mabolo clinched the Sinulog sa Dakbayan title on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, the victory resonated deeply with a community long regarded as the cradle of the traditional sinug rhythm, the dance-prayer that laid the foundation of today’s Sinulog.
Mabolo is home to the legacy of Estelita “Nang Titang” Diola, revered as the keeper of the traditional sinug beat passed down through generations and preserved within the barangay.
Mabolo Barangay Captain Daniel Francis Arguedo said the win symbolized the barangay’s continuing role in safeguarding Sinulog’s roots, emphasizing that the victory was not merely about competition but about authenticity.
Arguedo said Mabolo has long been identified as the source of the Sinulog beat keepers, making the 2026 triumph a symbolic return to origins.
Preserved legacy
For Mabolo, preserving the Sinulog beat extends beyond the annual festival.
Arguedo said the barangay continues to support groups that faithfully follow the traditional sinug rhythm passed down from Nang Titang’s lineage, ensuring that the practice remains alive at the community level.
He recalled how children from Mabolo performed the sinug in Daanbantayan after a church there was damaged by the 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 30, 2025 — an example, he said, of how the tradition is practiced as a form of prayer and offering, not just performance.
“Naa gihapon, gi-maintain na siya. Mura na siya’g daygon sa Pasko — muadto og kada balay, mag-sinug,” Arguedo said.
He stressed that authenticity mattered more than spectacle.
“Useless ang imong all-out support, preparation, efforts tanan kung ang imong tawo dili mao,” he said, explaining that the barangay supported only groups that adhered to the traditional beat.
Relevant concept
Beyond honoring tradition, Lambo Mabolo’s Sinulog sa Dakbayan performance also carried a social message, tackling issues such as mendicancy, homelessness, illegal drugs and gambling.
Arguedo said the concept aligned with that of head choreographer Barry Luche, who framed the performance around the Señor Sto. Niño as Savior, allowing faith and social realities to converge on stage.
While Mabolo’s victory highlights Sinulog’s roots, veteran choreographer Jojin Pascual said the festival’s dance form has always balanced tradition with evolution.
Pascual, who has been involved in Sinulog performances for 36 years, said Sinulog-based dance has existed since 1980 and has consistently been anchored on its defining movement: two steps forward and one step backward.
Early Sinulog performances, he said, were largely school-based and uniform in interpretation, focusing strictly on the core step rather than elaborate choreography.
From 1980 until around 1990, all performances were considered Sinulog-based. The introduction of the Free Interpretation category in 1990 or 1991 marked a major shift, opening the festival to broader creative expressions.
Evolving styles
Pascual explained that the Sinulog-based dance is also known as Christian-based dance, deeply rooted in history, culture and religious devotion. These performances often depict the transformation from pagan beliefs to Catholicism, the miracles of the Santo Niño and the impact of the Sinulog devotion on people’s lives.
Free interpretation, on the other hand, is more spectacle-driven, incorporating modern, neo-ethnic, neo-classical, and jazz elements, though it still retains the traditional Sinulog step.
Despite the evolution of themes and styles over more than four decades, Pascual said judges continue to look for the traditional movement as the core requirement.
“The two steps forward and one step backward may be footwork, but choreographers are challenged to decide what to do with the rest of the body — the arms, the face, the head and the overall expression,” he said.
Mabolo’s Sinulog sa Dakbayan victory underscores how the festival continues to evolve without losing its foundation.
As Sinulog grows more elaborate on the grand stage, communities like Mabolo remain central to preserving its meaning, ensuring that the rhythm endures not only as performance, but as prayer, culture and collective memory. / CDF, ABC