Colors in Motion: Sinulog Festival 2014

Stuffed with heavy breakfast of chicken adobo, pancit, escabeche, and rice at default, with a Lowepro bag strapped to my back and a Sinulog Festival ID hung from my neck for the very first time as a photo contest participant, I was in perpetual motion along Mango Avenue. I couldn't settle for inertia, and so did the rest. Hurried footsteps of onlookers, all headed to the roadsides and to skywalks, now shoulder to shoulder, and the mounting beats of drums and sounds of trumpets from the rope-barricaded Mardi Gras route already set the atmosphere in festive mood. A euphoric mask was on everybody's face, with some having paint all over. 

The fever had been switched on ever since earlier days on, pulsing our temples until it lasted. We screamed "Pit Señor!" 

It was a cold morning, thirty minutes past eight, and I was mindful of maneuvering my camera, capturing, at high speed, more than 30 graceful and colorful contingents from all over the country perform their dances or rituals to the rhythm of Sinulog, in honor of the Santo Niño de Cebu (Holy Child of Cebu), plus the towering higantes and puppets, and decorated floats. It had been drizzling from time to time - during lunchtime along Jones Avenue, late in the afternoon, and close to the end at around 7PM, but the spirits of performers, devotees, and those all-out-for-the-revelry alone never had dwindled, as they kept their adrenaline at the same heightened levels. Some may have been fried and burned under the sweltering heat, sandwiched between the thickening crowd from left and right, but they didn't seem to mind at all. Selfies with the contingents were in vogue. It was a beautiful chaos.

The festival culminated in a spectacular fireworks display at the Cebu City Sports Complex.

Despite failing to submit my photos, due to my hectic schedule as an OFW on vacation (I went to Boracay and Palawan two days after), the thought of experiencing Sinulog first-hand was more than enough for an amateur photographer like me. Wow, it was like having the best seat the whole day at the theatre! 

Sinulog Festival is an annual cultural event in Cebu City, which is touted to be the country's biggest and the grandest, and is celebrated every third Sunday of January.

 

Gecko Lizard

Despite the limitations of his parents' bed, the kid forces himself upon them. It isn't an intrusion of privacy. For them, it isn't too small anyway to accommodate their kid who has grown up tremendously, looking lengthy, and, perhaps, plumpy too. They welcome nothing but those childish yearnings they missed, however nonsensical and annoying they seem, and those narratives of his long journeys. Overwhelmed and rested, the kid sleeps soundly back to his little world, while never forgetting the gecko lizard peeping through the window. It is a rare moment of him being at home, at last.

Image: Cebu City, Philippines

Simala Shrine: Miraculous and Majestic (Cebu)

People from all walks of life come out in droves to Simala Shrine in Lindogon, Sibonga, not just to pray for divine intervention, give thanks for their blessings, or revisit their faith but to see what is clearly an architectural wonder in Cebu south. It is built on the side of a hill with a design reminiscent of European cathedrals. The shrine, even though evidently under construction when I went there last May this year, is magnificence for the eye -- just a perfect house for the Miraculous Mother Mary of Simala which is run by the Marian monks.

As you queue up to see the statue of the Miraculous, you get to read all over the bulletins overwhelming testimonials from people who have been cured or miraculously survived serious illnesses and those who have successfully hurdled (dreaded) national licensure examinations. Some of them left their crutches, wheelchairs, and school nameplates. They are beyond grateful for having been given a second chance at life or for all the guidance leading to their victory. I was told, out of gratitude, many have donated generous amounts to the shrine. That in itself speaks volumes about strong faith.