Business Mirror
Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:28
CEBU CITY—Cebuanos remain upbeat on the Sinulog Festival despite the impact of the global financial crisis.
Hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists are expected to flock at the center of this central Philippine island this Sunday to witness what is arguably the country’s biggest festival.
Despite the anticipation and the fanfare, organizers said a religious festival like the Sinulog has not been immune from what is happening in the world today.
Sinulog Foundation Inc. executive director Ricardo Ballesteros said several big-ticket sponsors have backed out this year because of the financial crisis.
“We are really affected. It takes a long time for sponsors to commit and some sponsors have backed out,” he said.
Four big business-process outsour-cing companies that have facilities in Cebu and were the biggest sponsors last year are no longer part of the festival.
“We were told that they have to cut down on their marketing budget, which is understandable,” Ballesteros said.
Participants from out-of-town are also having a tough time after budgets for props and costumes have been cut. Others would have to skip the event, according to organizers.
Through inclement weather in the past weeks, Ballesteros said organizers have been preparing for the worst. Participants for the grand presentation inside Cebu City Sports Center—where over 30,000 spectators are expected—have practiced their routine.
“This is really going to be a very challenging year,” Ballesteros said.
The Sinulog traces its roots to the candle dancers around Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. The dancers offer candles and prayers to the miraculous image of the Child Jesus on behalf of clients and patrons. The Sinulog follows the rhythmic dance of women in a two-steps-forward, one-step-backward routine.
Compared with other festivals in honor of the Santo Niño, the standard Sinulog beat is graceful and rhythmic and more melodious than that of the Dinagyang and the Ati-Atihan which follow warlike drumbeats.
According to Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama, it is the combination of religion and pageantry that makes the Sinulog Festival special.
“The Sinulog is about the Santo Niño and the people. Without the people, there won’t be any Sinulog,” he said.
This year organizers are bracing for 2 million people to pack the 5-kilometer carousel route.
Ballesteros said after several big sponsors backed out, others came in. Telecom giants Globe and Smart and food-beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. still lead the list of the biggest donors, helping the foundation to reach its P15-million sponsorship target.
Plus the P8 million given by the city, organizers said they are now close to the P25-million budget for the entire event.
The city is also laying out a subsidy package to encourage out-of-towners to join. The city is offering a P100,000 subsidy for 10 of the best visiting contingents, a pittance considering some groups spend close to a P1 million to prepare for and join the festival.
Other groups that will take part this year are those from Sta. Catalina, Oriental Negros; Borongan, Samar; Sultan Kudarat; Tangub City, Misamis Oriental; and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental.
Hotels here have been fully booked since late November and flights during the Sinulog weekend are also booked, while the number of chartered flights courtesy of the Balik Cebu program is still bringing in hundreds of balikbayan and devotees of the Santo Niño.
“Days before the Sinulog you can’t expect any room available even in the resorts [in Mactan],” says Marco Protacio, the president of the Hotels Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu.
According to Ballesteros, the marketing power of the Sinulog is difficult to ignore.
“With the size of the crowd and the media, the Sinulog is the perfect avenue to market yourself and your brand,” Ballesteros said.
Rama said despite the product sponsorships and dances, Sinulog has remained true to its roots.
The religious side of the festivities centers on the Santo Niño and is equally astounding.
“While we expect the biggest crowd in the grand parade, we are also expecting the same for the religious procession,” Rama said. “The Sinulog has not lost its religiosity and that is very special.”
In fact, this year, the city has more than doubled the route of the procession of the Santo Niño, on the Saturday before the grand parade, to almost 5 km to accommodate devotees who pack the six-lane boulevards.
“Priests in the basilica [Minore del Santo Niño] always ask me and the police where do all the people come from because they keep on coming,” Rama said. “It shows that Cebuanos and the Filipinos keep to their faith.”
With close to 40 contingents, 10,000 volunteers and 20,000 grandstand tickets sold out, the Sinulog 2009 is ready, crisis or no crisis, rain or shine.
