Cebu Philippines - Queen City of the South Essay Example for Free

Cebu Philippines Queen City of the South Essay Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines and the main center of industry, commerce, trade and education in the central and southern parts of the archipelago. Cebu-City Cebu-City is also called as the Queen City of the South and has become one of the great tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is the capital and the main city of the island of Cebu and one of the oldest cities of the country Cebu, aside from being a growing city also provides a great quality of life and relaxed atmosphere within a tropical paradise. The people of Cebu The people living in Cebu speak Cebuano but can also speak Tagalog and English. So its easy for you to communicate with them. Cebus people are open minded towards foreigners, hospitable, patient and very friendly. Tourism Holidaymakers come from all over the world to enjoy the long stretches of white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters. The beach resorts of Cebu are unrivaled in the world. Nature Unlike the barren mountainous part of the island, the coastal zones are extraordinarily fertile. Maize, coconuts, bananas und a lot of other fruits grow here, as do the world famos Philippine mangoes. Luxurious vegetation which could not be more tropical anywhere, and countles rivers and lakes form the bizarre, dreamy, sublime landscape of the island. Fiesta Sinulog St. Nino de Cebu Festival Philippines The big annual attraction in Cebu City is the Sinulog Festival,held every third Sunday in January. The Sinulog is Cebus biggest and showiest fiesta in honor of the Infant Jesus or Seà ±or Santo Nià ±o. To the sound of the drums the dance moves two steps forward and one step backward. The 9-day fiesta celebration of sinulog in honor of Santo Nino starts on a Saturday followed by the grand street parade on the next day. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Hotels in Cebu ara usually full during sinulog. Before His grand day the image of the Child Jasus will be leaving His home in the Basilica del Santo Nino and will be stay with His foster father in the St. Joseph Parish in Mandaue City for a day and a night. After these stay with His father, He will be voyaging the way to His mother in Lapu-Lapu. In a glas case decorated with blossoming flowers the Holy Child Jesus will be carried by a spanish galleon toward His destination. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Every barrio and barangay trains its school children for months. And the boys on these days? Its not easy for them to come in the picture. Origin | Page 1 of 3 Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Nino. The dance moves to the sound of the drums and this resembles the current (Sinulog) of what was then known as Cebus Pahina River. Thus, in Cebuano, they say its Sinulog. More than just the meaning of the word is the significance of the dance. Historians now say that Sinulog, which is of pagan origin, is the link between the countrys pagan past and its Christian present. Lets trace its history. Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in honor of their wooden idols and anitos. Then Magellan came and introduced Christianity. He gave the Santo Nino (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebus Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about 800 of their subjects. Unfortunately, however, shortly after the conversion, Magellan went into a reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of Mactan, Rajah Lapulapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the encounter. That was on April 27, 1521. The remnants of Magellans men were however able to return to Spain to report the incident and the possibility of conquest. It took 44 years before a new group came and started the formal Christianization of the islands. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565. His ships bombarded the village and in one of the burning huts, one of his soldiers named Juan Camus found inside a wooden box the image of the Santo Nino lying side by side with native idols. Historians now say that during the 44 years between the coming of Magellan and Legaspi, the natives continued to dance the Sinulog. This time however, they danced it no longer to worship their native idols but a sign of reverence to the Santo Nino which is now enshrined at the San Agustin Church ( renamed Basilica Minore del Santo Nino). Of course, through the years since 1521, the dance was a small ritual danced by a few in front of wooden idols or before the Santo Nino. In fact, at the Santo Nino Church where the image is consecrated, only the candle vendors could be seen dancing the Sinulog and making offerings. During the Santo Nino fiesta which falls on the third Sunday of January, children dressed moro-moro costumes also dance the Sinulog. This was really no big event for Cebu City. In 1980, however, David S. Odilao Jr., then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development (MYSD), organized the first ever Sinulog parade. He invited the physical education teachers for a meeting to discuss the organization of a Sinulog street dance parade. Nang Titang Diola of Mabolo was invited to give a demonstration at the Cebu Doctors College. The steps were analyzed and further enhanced by steps used by the candle vendors who performed in front of the church– The Basilica del Sto. Nià ±o. With seven schools and universities, the physical education teachers spearheaded the first Sinulog Street Dance Parade. With financial support from then MYSD Regional Director David Odilao and Department of Education Culture and Sports, the schools were given an era to represent the history of Cebu from the primitive times to the present. Member schools of the Cebu Physical Education Association the University of San Carlos, Southwestern University, University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of Cebu, University of Southern Philippines, Cebu Institute of Technology and Cebu Doctors University. The street dance parade started from the Plaza Independencia and caught the imagination of the City of Cebu, which then thought of making the Sinulog a festival that would rival other festivals being held yearly in the country. Thus, under the direction of Cebu City Mayor Florentino S. Solon and through the help of Manuel S. Satorre Jr., the late Juan B. Aquino Jr., also late Xavier Ledesma, Robert Grimalt and Antonio R. Aseniero Jr., Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Hstorical Committee under Kagawad Jesus B. Garcia Jr. through Garcias committee, the Sinulog organization came into being. The first task of the organizing committee was how to conceptualize the festival and make it a big event. The committee then came up with the idea of having a Sinulog logo that would identify the event yearly if it were to be institutionalized. The group didnt however want to use the Santo Nino image itself because this would have been a sacrilege. And it had to look for something that would identify the project. This was the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, which is quite visible as they are being embossed in the benches, architecture and banners of the old San Agustin Church. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino bears a two-headed hawk, the mark of the House of Hapsburg (Hamburg) in Europe which then ruled most of the known world from the 15th century to 20th century. Spain was under the Hapsburg dynasty when it sent the expeditions out across the globe to spread the Faith and expand the influence of the dynastic house to be unknown lands beyond the oceans. The royal origin of the Hapsburg started with the ruling family on Austria in 1276 and for centuries until the 20th century the house rule most of the kingdoms in Europe. The Hapsburg established the Holy Roman Empire in 14552 and it was at the height of their power under Charles 1 of Spain (who was also Holy Roman Emperor Known as Charles V1) the first expedition under Ferdinand Magellan which discovered the Philippines for Spain was sent initially to look for the Spice Island. His son, Philip 11 who ruled Spain for 42 years from 1556, sent Legaspi the second expedition under Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. In fact, the Hapsburg rulers continued to hold power until 1700 not only in Spain but also in the colonies under the Spanish regime while the Austrian line of the Hapsburg dynasty also ruled Central Europe until about the same time. Thus, the Hapsburg emblem, now the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, was influential in many kingdoms in that time. The two-headed hawk emblem was in some of the banners brought by Magellans men to Cebu settlement in 1521. The same emblem was carried all the way from that time, through the Legaspi expedition of 44 years after Magellan and the others that would come to the country in those days such as Loaisa, Saavedra and the Villalobos expeditions. The emblem of the two-headed hawk at the peak of the power of the Hapsburg dynasty represented the twin purpose of the House, which was to stand as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. With the background, the Sinulog committee used a native warriors shield on whose face is imprinted the coat of arms of the House of Hapsburg that now represents the Sinulog logo as interpreted by Ms Olive Templa, who coincidentally is a Cebuana. The native shield figure symbolizes the countrys continued resistance to colonization. It speaks of the Filipinos readiness to defend the country from all forms of foreign incursion and to resist any move that may endanger the countrys self-determination. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino on the face of the shield on the other hand, traditionally symbolizes the countrys acceptance of Christianity as European rulers brought it to the settlements in 1521. Sinulog 81 was then organized. Practically all sectors in the Cebuano community got involved. To distinguish the festival from the popular Ati-atihan Festival in Aklan, the organizers decided to use the parade to depict the history of the Sinulog which, as had been said, is the dance, which links the countrys pagan past and Christian present. Seven floats were created to depict seven different periods of history. Dancers wearing costumes depicting the periods followed each float. They all danced the same beat. The Sinulog parade started at 1 P.M. at the Cebu Provincial Capitol and ended about past midnight at the Fort San Pedro-Plaza Independencia area. And the show continued until the wee hours of the morning. To the credit of the Sinulog Foundation prime movers, particularly Executive Director Juan Dodong Aquino, Jr. the Sinulog Festival always jazzes up every year or so with new features, all meant to invite wider participation. Theres always something in there for everyone, be he a participant or spectator, be she a verbalist or visualist, an artist or symbolist. Government agencies, the private sector, commercial and industrial establishments, academic institutions and barangays can pit their skills in making float, the paper mache higantes on route arches, on-site decors, fluvial contests and photography. Organizations could also compete in discovering pulchritude via the Miss Sinulog 88 now known as Ms. Cebu which was eventually taken as an annual project of the Cebu City Tourism Commission. The quality of participation definitely gets better year after year. In 1983, the Sinulog project was still relatively new. Naturally, it had its complement of dents and scrapes, among which were participants on floats and on the streets wearing highly inappropriate and outspoken costumes. Wisened by that, the judges thereafter fine-tuned the qualifications to avert any form of irreverence. Irrelevance, too, was pre-empted. In the first five years the contingents also included guests who, as the afternoon drew and grew, reveled too much after having one too many. Also kibitizers weaved themselves through, sometimes against, the flow, smearing black paint on the spectators. The former have been weeded out of the parade, and the latter are thinning out in number. An improvised detention cell right smack by the roadside has been an effective deterrent. n the early years, Sinulog the ritual and the beat was a total strangers to young and new participants. Too often, it was mistaken for Aklans Ati-Atihan, complete with painted faces and war-like, martial beat. Too often, therefore, many a would-be winner, while beautiful in execution and precision, eventually got sidelined by such criteria as relevance and over-all impact. To prevent repetitions of such sorry instances, Sinulog workshops and demonstrations have been conducted annually thru the help of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission Culure and the Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Folk Dacne Society. Greatly instrumental in this activity is Ms.Dolores Suzara, another mainstay Sinulog judge, and P.E. instructor/choreographer. The incidences of misplaced contingents have definitely waned since then. For the first five years, judging was a test of true grit lasting 20 hours. So that the contest could begin, judges had to be up with the birds. And so that the results could officially sign for the next days news, the judges had to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning, bird or no bird. But all judges complained not. They, too, paid homage to the Santo Nià ±o in ways requested of us. The entry of TMXs Engr. Rogelio Q. Lim and naturally, technology introduced system and speed in results identification breathe better. In 1988, the plum prize for first prize winners in the parade participation was only P12,000.00. In the year 2005, it has risen to P500,000. Grand total is close to P8,000,000.00. Contest participants used to be purely from Cebu City. For about two decades now, the Festival has brought forth dramatic performances (and eventual winners) from all over the country, such as Surigao City, San Carlos City, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Sur, Camiguin, Iligan City , Tangub City , Tacloban, Ilo-ilo, Paranaque City, Naga City, Masbate, Sultan Kudarat , Iligan, Butuan among others. Prior to 1986, spectators came from Cebu City and province. Since the Balik-Cebu program in 1986, however, creating direct Cebu-San Francisco flights, the festival has packed in a million pilgrims and thousands of overseas visitors. With the present set up of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. introduced new contest categories such as the search for the Festival Queen (Sinulog lead dancer), the Puppeteers category, Visual Merchandising Contest (malls and department stores), Photo Contest , the Sinulog Short Film Festivals, the See Cebu on Carousel , huge lighted billboards which features various tourism and historical sites in Cebu displayed along the Carousel parade route. . The Foundation also commissioned artists to come up with a distinct Sinulog music, to date, the Foundation has produced varied Sinulog music, from the traditional beat, to techno funky beat and the overture of Sinulog (music provided by the Philippine Peace Philharmonic orchestra). For the past three years, since 2006, the Sinulog Grand parade can now be seen live in international audiences thru live TV broadcast and Webcast, reaching out as far as US mainland, Australia , some parts in Europe and some parts in Asia. Website, sinulog.ph has also been updated regularly and promotional videos uploaded in Youtube and internet. At present the word Sinulog and the logo is now patented and registered in the Intellectual Property Office, the first ever granted to a Festival. Crowd control has been the Sinulog organizers perennial headache. Varied, tried and tested, the approach and strategies have so far been elusive, however. And yet, this could be the dark side of the moon, the light side being that as the crowd swells year after year by millions, the Sinulog parade and activities became bigger and better. This made Sinulog the countrys biggest and grandest cultural festival. What began as a revival of an old dance brought government, business establishments, schools, pilgrims, artists and private individual together like never before. The attempt to enhance cultural awareness gave the Cebuanos a shared passion, a collective identity. In the end the Sinulog did give Cebu a culure. And a name. Pit Senyor! The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines and Balingasag, Misamis Oriental[1] The festival commemorates the Filipino peoples pagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism. The main feature is a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Nià ±o. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex. Festival The Sinulog celebration lasts for nine days, culminating on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the Fluvial Procession is held at dawn with a statue of the Santo Nià ±o carried on a pump boat from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing (that is, the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of the city, which last for hours due to large crowd participating in the event. Background | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| 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. 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. The Sinulog dance steps are believed to originate from Rajah Humabons adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabons grief when Baladhay was driven sick. Humabon ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a room where the Santo Nià ±o 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 awake and shouting. Pointing to the image of the Santo Nià ±o, 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 Nià ±o devotees who believe that it was the Santo Nià ±os choice to have Baladhay dance. History | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| On April 15, 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, the Santo Nià ±o, as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. Hara Amihan was later named, Queen Juana in honor of Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also baptized to the Roman Catholic Church. At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana danced with joy bearing this image of the child Jesus. With the other natives following her example, this moment was regarded as the first Sinulog. This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and the presentation of the Santo Nià ±o to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding the Santo Nià ±o in her arms and using it to bless her people who are often afflicted by sickness caused by demons and other evil spirits. Arrival of Là ³pez de Legazpi | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Magellan died on April 27, 1521 on the shores of Mactan, the remnants of his men returned to Spain. The Spanish explorer Miguel Là ³pez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565 and occupied the villages ruled by Rajah Tupas. In one of the huts of the burning village, one of Là ³pez de Legazpis soldiers named Juan Camus found a wooden box containing the statue of the Santo Nià ±o lying amongst several other native idols. Historians later said that during the 44 years between the arrival of Magellan and Là ³pez de Legazpi, the natives of Cebu continued to dance the Sinulog but no longer to worship their anitos (god) but to show their reverence to the Santo Nià ±o. The Augustinian friars that accompanied Là ³pez de Legazpi in his expedition proclaimed the statue performed miracles and built a church on the site where it was found. The church was called San Agustin Church, later renamed to Basilica Minore del Santo Nià ±o. Letter to the King of Spain | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Juan Camus found the Santo Nià ±o in the burning village, Là ³pez de Legazpi was said to have included the incident in his report, entitled Relation of Voyage to the Philippine Islands: Your Excellency should know that on that day when we entered this village (Cebu City), one of the soldiers went into a large and well-built house of an indio where he found an image of the Child Jesus (whose most holy name I pray may be universally worshipped). This was kept in its cradle, all gilded, just as if it were brought from Spain: and only the little cross, which is generally placed upon the globe in his hands, was lacking. The image was well kept in that house, and many flowers were found before it, and no one knows for what object or purpose. The soldier bowed down before it with all reverence and wonder, and brought the image to the place where the other soldiers were. I pray to the Holy Name of his image, which we found here, to help us and to grant us victory, in order that these lost people who are ignorant of the precious and rich treasure, which was in their possession, may come to knowledge to him Today | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Nià ±o has grown and has taken root 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 to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dà ¡vid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro 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 countrys embrace of Christian faith. Sinulog coat of arms | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| The Cebu City Historical Committee, which was responsible for the conceptualization of the Sinulog as a provincial event, decided to adopt a logo for the Sinulog to identify it as an institutionalized yearly event. They turned to the coat of arms of the Santo Nià ±o which consisted of a two-headed hawk that was the mark of the ruling House of Habsburg in Europe. The emblem represented the twin purpose of the Habsburg dynasty as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. At the time when Spain sent expeditions to the Philippines, they were under the Habsburg dynasty. The Sinulog committee then incorporated the two-headed eagle to a native warriors shield. The native shield is supposed to symbolize the Philippines resistance to colonization while the Santo Nià ±os coat of arms printed on its face represented the countrys acceptance of Roman Catholicism.