Sinulog 2012: Viva Senor Santo Nino!

Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in the Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines. The festival commemorates the Cebuanos' pagan origin, and their acceptance of Christianity.

Sinulog - A Festival for the Filipino Family

Before the Spaniards have set foot on the Philippine soil, the Filipino people were worshipping Allah as their God while some are pagans worshipping objects from nature. On March 16, 1521, the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet under the flagship of Spain arrived on the shores of Sugbu and converted the early Cebuanos headed by their leader Rajah Humabon and his wife Juana. The wooden Santo Nino was said to be Magellan's gift to Juana for accepting Christianity. After that victory, Magellan tried to conquer the nearby island Mactan but then failed and ended up dead from the hands of the great Cebuano warrior Lapu-Lapu. Despite this event, Christianity has found its way through the hearts of the Filipino people and has spread throughout the Philippine archipelago. At present time, Roman Catholicism is the major religion of the Filipino people.

Santo Nino - The Child Jesus

Historians say that Sinulog was of pagan origin but now it has become a ritual in honor of the miraculous image of Senor Santo Nino. The Sinulog dance moves to the beat of the drums which resembles movement of water currents which is believed to be the etymology of the term Sinulog.

To be honest, this was my first time joining the parade and I really wished to have come earlier so that I could have found a perfect spot to take lots of nice pictures. Anyway, witness the color and vibrance of Sinulog:

A "Higante" Ferdinand Magellan

Lapu-Lapu: The Greatest Cebuano Warrior

Although I have only captured a few pictures from, let's say, my very first Sinulog (hope it would not be the last), it was really nice seeing people on the streets smiling and laughing, enjoying the parade with their loved ones despite the few-centimeters-to-the-person-beside-you. Damn! There were really lots of people there... From the skies, i think, you will see streams of people in viscous flow! Even if people knew ahead that it would be like this, they were still there and even moving and dancing to the beat of the drums. I guess, they can't really be stopped from having fun! Well, really, truly, IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Katniss, The Girl Who Was On Fire

Reality shows have been flocking the fours sides of our TV screens since time immemorial. But, what if, a twist is given off to make things more exciting and make it harder to win that coveted prize of wealth and fame?

And here comes The Hunger Games, it is a novel series written by Suzanne Collins. The series consists of three books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The first of which is to be adapted into a movie this March 2012 by the production outfit Lions Gate Entertainment. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: First Class) as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant) as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) as Gale Hawthorne.

So what's with The Hunger Games, well, it's like Big Brother fused with Battle Royale. To explain things further, it is an annual event in the fictional country of Panem wherein a boy and a girl tribute of ages 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts are set to fight, and did I say kill each other to win and survive. One more thing, it's televised all over the country and mainly caters the citizens of the Capitol for entertainment, how cruel can that be? The Hunger Games is somehow the way of the Capitol, the controlling arm of Panem, to remind the citizens of the 12 districts that they can never overthrow the Capitol from being in power. But everything changes in the 74th Hunger Games, when Katniss, a sixteen year-old girl from District 12, plays the game her way and rekindle the flame of rebellion in the hearts of the people of Panem.

Here's the countdown to The Hunger Games: