Sinulog Festival

3rd Sunday of January (Cebu City)

People shout “Viva Pit Señor”. The Sinulog is Cebu City’s most popular and grandest festival. It is celebrated
every 3rd Sunday of January in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño. Foreign and local tourists flock to Cebu City for this
celebration and join in the procession and the grand mardi gras. The Sinulog is a dance-prayer expressing
devotion to the Holy Child. it is a popular belief among Cebuanos that this dance-prayer is the most effective
way of getting favors from the Sto. Niño. This festival is world-renowned and the most extravagant festival in
Cebu. The Sinulog festival is celebrated in honor of the holy child Senior Santo Niño. The highlights of this
festivities are the street dancing where merrymakers dance to the beat of the pit senor drums.

Tagbo Festival
19th of January (Poro, Camotes Island)
It is celebrated every January in honor of patron Sto. Niño de Poro. Beloved memoir of a living past, Tagbo is the
cornerstone from which this great municipality has sprung. Rich in cultural heritage and deep in spiritual values,
Tagbo is a very significant event precluding the birth of a town very dear to the hearts of her sons and
daughters.

Bodbod Festival
10th Of February (Catmon)
The town of Catmon is famous for its tasty “bodbod” and thus is the focus of the festival. The street dancing
competition is participated by the different barangays has its dance movements, the movement of making the
bodbod with the costumes in bodbod concept.

Kadaugan sa Mactan
22nd – 27th of April (Lapu-Lapu City)
A weeklong commemoration of the historic battle of Mactan between the Spanish Conquistador Fernando
Magallanes and Mactan Chieftain Lapu-Lapu. The festival features various activities highlighted by the series of
musical productions culminating with the famous battle, food street, and live band entertainment.

Kabayo Festival
February – Movable (Mandaue City)
Organized by the Cebu Equine Owners, Breeders and Sportsmen Association (CEOBSA), the Kabayo festival is
supported by the DOT. The festival promotes sports tourism, ecotourism and agri-industrial tourism awareness
in the country. The highlights include the parade of horses, horse racing competition and the best decorated
“tartanillas” or horse-drawn carriages and features a bazaar and flea market.

Sarok Festival
14th of February (Consolacion)
The festival is part of the town’s commemoration of their founding anniversary. It is a mardi gras parade and
street dancing along the main thoroughfares with participants using a creative design of “sarok”, a native hat
used by the farmers to protect them from the heat of the sun.
Soli-soli Festival
18th March (San Francisco, Camotes Island)
named after the soli-soli plant which abounds around the lake Danao which is used for mat, bags and hat
weaving and other handicrafts. its freestyle street dancing competition uses soli-soli plant as its dominant
material. The festival adds color to the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

Tostado Festival
3rd Sunday of April (Santander)
The festival focuses on the town’s famous delicacy, the “tostado”. The street dancing which is the highlight of
the festivity uses the different movements of making tostado in the dance participated in by the different
barangays.

Haladaya Festival
Easter Sunday (Daan Bantayan)
Starts on Easter Sunday and ends with a street dancing on the seventh day after Easter. Haladaya means “Halad
Kang Datu Day”, the leader of the first Malayan settlers in Daan Bantayan. Highlights include the fluvial parade
where patron saints of the different barangays will be placed in decorated bancas or motorized outrigger boats
and paraded in the sea.

Kabanhawan Festival
Easter Sunday (Minglanilla)
Showcases the “Sugat” in which the town is known for many years since. The street dancing depicts the joy felt
by the believers when Christ is resurrected. The celebration is grander since it will be followed by a day-long
game and entertainment that highlights the endowment of Minglanilla’s history, trade, and arts.

Mantawi Festival
7th of May (Mandaue City)
A showcase of the city’s historical heritage and identity promoting the city as an industrial and tourist hub, that
involves the Spanish regime through street dancing, dioramas, floats, food festival, trade fair and sports event.

Tartanilla Festival
12th of June (Cebu City)
The Tartanilla Festival is Cebu City’s way of preserving the tartanilla (horse-drawn carriage) heritage by reviving
the oldest mode of transportation to ply some of the city’s streets. The festival coincides with the city’s
celebration of the country’s Independence Day starting from June 1 to 12. gaily decorated tartanillas driven by
kutseros ply the streets of some of the city’s barangays and compete for several awards.

Camotes Cassava Festival

2nd week of June (Tudela, Camotes Island)
A yearly celebration of a bountiful harvest where farmers display their various cassava-based products, share
their varied technical experiences in producing and processing cassava products. Among the activities are the
Best Booth Contest, Poster-making Contest, search for new cassava food products, cultural night and the search
for Miss Camotes Tourism.
Palawod Festival
Last week of June (Bantayan, Bantayan Island)
Palawod is the fishermen’s daily toil, their means of livelihood, their life, and pride. The street dancing captures
and preserves the Bantayanon’s unique traditional fishing rituals inherent to the island through dancing, music
and the visual arts.

Semana Santa sa Bantayan

12th of June (Cebu City)
Holy Thursday and Good Friday (Bantayan, Bantayan Island) Also known as “Pasko sa Kasakit” Celebrated in
Holy Thursday and Good Friday. This is celebrated in the observance of the Holy Week on Bantayan Island with
the procession and merrymaking.

Kinsan Festival
June – Movable (Aloguinsan)
Kinsan is the name of the town’s favorite fish that abounds in the town’s coastal area every June. It is relatively
big fish, with a foot-long kinsan, weighing about three kilos considered small.

Kuyayang Festival
June – Movable (Bogo City)
Kuyayang refers to the dance movements conveying courtship and love characterized by the Bagohanon’s
cariñoso character. Kuyayang mardi gras as a cultural tourism festival manifests the cultural heritage of Bogo as
a place and avenue for cultural conservancy program of the city.

Caballo Festival
25th of July (Compostela)
A street dancing competition that honor’s the town’s patron saint, Señor Santiago de Apostol. History retells of
a war between Christians and Muslims where the townsfolk saw and was saved by a miraculous apparition of a
man riding a horse and later became known as the town’s patron saint.

Dinagat Bakasi festival

2nd week of August (Cordova)
It is a unique reinvention of the Dinagat Festival. The exotic eel locally known as “bakasi” is peculiar and
abundant in Cordova. The dance replicates the gliding movement of the bakasi.

Bonga festival
9th of August (Sibonga)
Celebrated in honor of the town’s patron saint, Our Lady of Pilar and Santa Filomena. Among its highlights is the
street dancing and ritual/showdown competition. “Bunga” is a Cebuano word which means fruit in English. This
festival is a thanksgiving for all the blessings and graces the Sibongahalnons have received for the abundant
fruits found in their town.
Siloy Festival
Last Saturday of August (Alcoy)
The festival promotes the Mag-abo forest with its famous Black Shama or Siloy, the town’s scenic white sand
beaches, and dive spots and in honor of the town’s patroness Saint Rose of Lima.

Kabuhian Festival
3rd Sunday of September (Ronda)
Celebrated during the town’s fiesta that features activities like trade fair, livelihood forum and a street dancing
competition participated in by the different barangays with the dance movements depicting the various
livelihood program of the town.

Karansa Festival
3rd Sunday of September (Danao City)
The Karansa is a dance expressing one’s joy and happiness performed in four basic steps: The kiay, karag, kurug
and kurahay that jibes with the Karansa official beat. It is celebrated during the city’s annual fiesta in honor of
their patron saint, Sto. Tomas de Villanueva.

Sinanggiyaw Festival
4th of October (Dumanjug)
Sinanggi-yaw is taken from two old Cebuano words, Sinanggi meaning abundance of harvested agricultural
products of the local farmers and Sayaw meaning dance. Through street dancing and field presentation.
Performers is focused on three aspects: planting, harvesting and thanksgiving.

Inasal (Halad) Festival

14th – 15th of October (Talisay City)
A showcase of Talisay City’s historical heritage and identity promoting the city as an aqua and tourist hub,
through street dancing as a thanksgiving offering to the city’s patroness, Sta. Teresa de Avila. Sports fest,
parade of the great personages as higantes, food festival featuring the famous “inasal” or lechon, Talisay’s roast
pig being the undisputable best – golden brown, crackling crispy skin, tasty meat from secret stuffed herbs.

Kabkaban Festival
4th week of November (Carcar City)
The festival is in conjunction with the first of St. Catherine of Alexandria, the town’s patron saint. It is a cultural
catalog of the town’s historical past. Among the highlights of the festival which was named after Carcar’s old
name Kabkab which is a kind of fern, is the street dancing and parade.

Kawayan Festival
2nd of December (Alegria)
“Kawayan” is the vernacular term for bamboo and is the major source of livelihood/income in Alegria. The
street dancing competition is based on the kawayan and is slated during the town’s fiesta in honor of Saint
Francis Javier.
Sadsad Festival
8th of December (Oslob)
In celebration of the town’s annual fiesta, “sadsad” is a form of merrymaking and thanksgiving for the blessings
received for the past year from the town’s patroness, the Immaculate Conception.

Pasyon sa Mandaue
Good Friday to Easter Sunday (Mandaue City)
This is a re-enactment of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Fiesta sa Mandaue
May 8 – Week Long Festival (Mandaue City)
This is a week-long fiesta celebration. The festival will starts May 8. The fiesta is celebrated in honor of
Mandaue’s Patron Saint, St. Joseph.

SINULOG

Held every third Sunday of January, the Sinulog Festival is one of the most popular festivals in the country.
Sinulog, which consists of street parades and parties all over the city, is the center attraction of the celebration
in honor of the Santo Niño, the Child Jesus, the symbol of Christianity in the Philippines.

One of the main highlights of the festival is the grand street parade which lasts for 9 to 12 hours. There is also
the Sinulog dance competition where contingents are dressed in bright colored costumes and dance to the
rhythm of trumpets and percussion. Participants for the dance competition come from different towns and cities
in Cebu and even across the whole country.

The first time this festival was ever held was in the year 1980. The Cebu City government was inspired by the
Ati-Atihan Festival in Aklan. They wanted to have a festival that honors the Santo Niño and focus on the
historical aspects of the celebration. That is when the Sinulog dance was made.

The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dávid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry
of Sports. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating
of drums.

The Sinulog festival was then made into a yearly event from then on.

Millions of people participated in Cebu City last Sunday to celebrate the Sinulog Festival, one of the
most famous festivals in the Philippines. It was attended, not only by Filipinos, but people coming
from different parts of the globe also went to witness the celebration. The magnificence of the festival
made Filipinos, as well as our fellow Asians, refer to it as the “Mother of all Festivals”. From the
colorful and well-made costumes of the dancers, to the beautiful dances and to the music brought by
the drums, trumpets, and the native gongs, the Sinulog Festival never ceases to amaze its audience.

For 32 years, the Sinulog Festival is a traditional celebration in Cebu City held every third Sunday of
January to honor the Santo Niño (Child Jesus). Basically, the festival is done by a dance ritual, in
which it tells the story of the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity. The
word “Sinulog” means “graceful dance”, wherein it all started in 1980 with a simple dance that
represents the “sulog” (or current) of a river in Cebu.

With the celebration’s evolution, the Sinulog Festival has become a month long tradition in Cebu. The
most-awaited feature, nevertheless, is the Sinulog Grand Parade which was held on the 15th day of
January. “One Beat, One Dance, One Vision. Cebu – City of Culture” was the theme adopted for the
2012 Sinulog Festival.

As the festival becomes more and more famous each year, tourists would never want to miss the
opportunity to watch it and became more and more commercialized. The festival now, not only
consists of costumes and dances, but also contests, such as art exhibits, beauty pageants, photo
contests, and singing and dancing contests. Participants may also join the festival’s activities, such as
concerts, cultural shows, fireworks display, fun runs, and street fairs. For the past 18 years, it has
made the Filipinos residing in New Zealand celebrate their own version each year, a proof on how big
of an influence the festival is. It has also been recognized as the “City of Culture” by the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The 2012 Sinulog festival embraced the perks of technology, as it was broadcasted live in a major
television and, for all the people in the world to see, it was also streamed online.

With the overwhelming amount of people who wish to witness the traditional celebration and the
beauty of the culture it depicts, this grand festival remains as Cebu’s proudest attraction, along with
the beautiful beaches and historical places.

The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January
in Cebu City, and is the centre of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the Philippines.
The festival is considered to be first of most popular festivals in the Philippines, with every celebration of the festival
routinely attracting around 1 to 2 million people from all over the Philippines every year.[1] Aside from the religious
aspect of the festival, Sinulog is also famous for its street parties, usually happening at night before and at the night
of the main festival.[2]
The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which roughly means "like Water current movement;" it
describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one
step backward, done to the sound of drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog-base, Free-Interpretation, and
street dancing. Candle vendors at the Basilica continue to perform the traditional version of the dance when lighting
a candle for the customer, usually accompanied by songs in the native language
Sinulog is the ritual prayer-dance honoring Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. An image of the Child Jesus is said
to be the baptismal gift the Portuguese conquistador Ferdinand Magellan gave Hara Amihan (Humanay) of Zebu
(now Cebu) in April 1521. The image, believed to be miraculous, is housed at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in
downtown Cebu City.
The Sinulog dance moves are basically two steps forward and one step backward as the dancer sways to a distinct
rhythm of drums. This movement resembles the current (Sulog) of what was known as Cebu’s Pahina River.
According to historical accounts, the Cebu natives already danced the Sinulog in honor of their animist idols long
before the arrival of Magellan who led a Spanish expedition on April 7, 1521. Magellan did not live long after he
introduced Christianity. He died in a failed assault on nearby Mactan island at the hands of a local chieftain named
Lapu-Lapu.
Survivors of Magellan's expedition left behind the image to be discovered 44 years later.
The expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi bombarded the native settlement when they arrived on April 28,
1565. In one of the burning huts, one of Legazpi's men, Juan Camus, discovered the image of the Santo Niño inside
a wooden box beside other idols. This time however, Legazpi discovered that the natives already dance the Sinulog
honoring the Santo Niño.[3]
Today the Sinulog commemorates the Filipino people's acceptance of Christianity (specifically, Roman Catholicism),
and their rejection of their former animist beliefs (worship of nature and sustainable utilization of resources). The first
of these conversions happened in 1521 on the island of Cebu, when Indianized-Sanskritized ruler Rajah
Humabon and his queen Amihan (Humamay) were baptized along with their subjects, becoming Carlos and Juana
of Cebu.
On March 16, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived and planted the cross on the shores of
Cebu, claiming the territory for Spain. He presented the image of the Child Jesus to the Rajah Humabon. Hara
Humamay (or Amihan in some versions) was later named, Queen Juana after Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with
the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and
the presentation of the Santo Niño to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding
the Santo Niño in her arms and using it to bless her people who were often afflicted with sickness believed to be
caused by demons and other evil spirits.
The Sinulog dance steps are believed to originate from Rajah Humabon's adviser, Baladhay. It was during
Humabon's grief when Baladhay fell sick. Humabon ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a room where the
Santo Niño was enthroned, along with the other pagan gods of the native Cebuanos. After a few days passed,
Baladhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with utmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to why
was he was awake and shouting. Pointing to the image of the Santo Niño, Baladhay explained that he had found on
top of him a small child trying to wake him and tickling him with the midrib of the coconut. Greatly astonished, he
scared the child away by shouting. The little child got up and started making fun of Baladhay. In turn, Baladhay
danced with the little child and explained that he was dancing the movements of the river. To this day, the two-steps
forward, one-step backward movement is still used by Santo Niño devotees who believe that it was the Santo Niño's
choice to have Baladhay dance.
Since the 16th century, there is great devotion to the Santo Niño in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the
Visayas. Pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church
to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog
Festival and eventually gave incentives also to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980,
organized by Dávid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade
was composed of students dressed in Knitted Filipiniana costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums.
The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several
influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad
Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event
from then on.
In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized involving not just Cebu but also
representatives from other provinces in the Philippines . Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-
Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has
been said, represents the link the country's embrace of Christian faith.
2010-2014 Peace and Order during Sinulog celebration was an issue for years. Gangs and fraternity wars were
rampant during night times. The organization of AITF under the leadership of PCI Franz Georsua became the key to
a peaceful and more meaningful celebration after controlling most of the street crimes during the said event.
The Devotee City was also created from the open space surrounding Compania Maritima building since 2016.[4][5][6] It
was designated for pilgrims from far-flung towns and provinces who may not have a place to stay but would still
want to be part of the Sinulog celebration.[7]

MANILA, Philippines – Cebuanos are set to celebrate the 36th year of Sinulog, one of the grandest festivals in
the Philippines.

Various activities are scheduled throughout the week leading to the main events on January 16 and 17 in Cebu.

Usually attracting more than a million attendees annually, Sinulog has long cemented its spot as one of the
biggest festivals in the Philippines.

Beyond the street parties, Sinulog aims to connect the country's rich pagan history with its Christian traditions.
Here are some information on Cebu's Sinulog:

1. The first Santo Niño was a baptismal gift by Ferdinand Magellan.

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu (then called Zebu) on April 1521. One of his goals
was to introduce Christianity to the inhabitants of the island.

Cebu’s Rajah Humabon, along with his wife Hara Amihan and subjects, were baptized and converted to the
Christian faith by Father Pedro Valderama, the expedition’s priest.

Magellan then gave an image of the Child Jesus to Amihan – christened as Juana to honor the Charles I's
mother – as a baptismal gift, according to the journal of Antonio Pigafetta.

The same image can now be found at the Basilica Menore de Santo Niño in Cebu.

2. The Sinulog dance is said to originate from the adviser of Rajah Humabon.

The word "Sinulog" was derived from the Cebuano adverb "sulog" which roughly translates to "like water
current movement."

The dance steps used in the ritual are believed to be from Rajah Humabon’s adviser, Baladhay, who was
allegedly cured from sickness by Santo Niño.

According to historical accounts, Baladhay, then ill, was found to be shouting and dancing shortly after he was
placed in an area where the Santo Niño and other pagan gods were displayed. He said the image of the Santo
Niño was trying to awaken him.

Baladhay's dance movements resembled the back-and-forth movement of the water current.

Devotees still use the two-steps forward, one-step backward movement in the belief that it is upon the Santo
Niño's instructions.

However, there are other accounts which state that the natives have been doing the Sinulog dance before the
arrival of the Spaniards.

3. The first Sinulog parade was held only in 1980.

The first Sinulog parade was organized by David Odilao Jr, Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports and
Youth Development (MYSD), in 1980.

Physical education teachers and their students from at least 7 schools and universities spearheaded the street
dance parade from the Plaza Independencia. It was after the parade that the idea of a huge festival was brought
up.

The first Sinulog festival was held in 1981 with the involvement of different Cebuano sectors.
The founding organizers, according to its official website, decided to depict the connection of the "country's
pagan past and Christian present" in the parade to distinguish Sinulog from other festivals.

4. Sinulog is one of the most attended festivals in the Philippines.

From being a small gathering of Cebuano residents to celebrate its rich history, Sinulog has become a famous
festival which draws people from different places not just in the Philippines but also around the world.

The number of people flocking to the Queen City of the South for Sinulog have reached over a million in recent
years.

In 2015, an estimated 1.8 million people sjoined the procession for the festival despite coinciding with Pope
Francis’ visit in Manila.

This year, organizers are expecting the number to increase as the International Eucharistic Congress will be held
in Cebu days after Sinulog.

5. Rowdy street parties have become a problem in recent years.

Along with the solemn mass held to honor the image of the Child Jesus, Sinulog is also known for the various
street parties held in the country's second-biggest metropolitan area.

However, some residents and devotees of the Santo Niño are worried that the parties may affect the tradition of
Sinulog. In 2015, incidents concerning the public celebrations were reported and circulated in social media.

To address the problems, organizers have banned street parties along the major routes of the parade to "maintain
the sanctity of the occasion” in this year’s Sinulog.

Smoking and littering are also going to be prohibited in public during the week-long celebration.

Organizers also advised spectators to not indulge in excessive alcohol drinking "to avoid public disturbances."
Those deemed to have violated this will be dealt with by the police.

Despite the perennial headache of crowd control with the huge number of attendees, organizers said that it is
just the "dark side of the moon" of the country's "biggest and grandest cultural festival." – Rappler.com

The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines with a very rich history.
The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño, or the
child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is
not a saint, but God). It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their
acceptance of Christianity.
The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in
bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually
lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are
also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a Sinulog sa
Kabataan, which is performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the Grand Parade.
Aside from the colorful and festive dancing, there is also the SME trade fair where Sinulog features Cebu export
quality products and people around the world flock on the treasures that are Cebu.
Recently, the cultural event has been commercialized as a tourist attraction and instead of traditional street-
dancing from locals, Sinulog also came to mean a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the
country. The Sinulog Contest is traditionally held in the Cebu City Sports Complex, where most of Cebu’s major
provincial events are held.