My Share of Sinulog @ 30

Sinulog just keeps on getting better and better every year. I was fully booked Saturday and Sunday, activities and invitations came pouring in as early as the Monday before the big day and as I plotted my to-do's for the weekend, I said yes to almost all invitations leaving myself just a few hours for sleep. I didn’t care, I mean Sinulog comes only once a year, and I'm not getting any younger. THIS is the perfect age to be a party machine.

Anyways, I didn’t get to attend the Grand Procession because the weather was crazy and I had fever. At around 8 I met my friend Rey from GMA and we had dinner at SM. The traffic was crazy, and getting a cab almost impossible. We rode the jeepney instead and thankfully we reached Montebello.

I had the chance to party with Adong's friends from Iligan, they were really cool. Numero Doce was cut-throat island as expected. We waited outside for about half an hour. I stayed there for about 2 hours, and by 3am I decided to go home. I had fever again.

I went home chilling and praying for the fever to go away in time for the Sinulog Grand Parade the next day. I couldn’t miss this one because this year, we are given the special opportunity to carry Tribu Mazda's banner for their sponsored contingent from Tayud National High School.

Sinulog day came and I woke up late for the 11 AM call time. Carla and I met at around 2 PM, parked at Ayala and walked took the access road leading to Mango.

The whole area was filled with people, and we cahnged routes twice because we got caught at numerous dead-ends. I was wearing a white shirt, and a native fedora hat, and along the way, I realized I lost my hat. I loved that hat.

It took us about another hour to pass through that street where National Bookstore is located. We stayed at a little safe corner because the crowd went really wild and I'm seeing possibilities of a stampede. I saw my friend Charisse at one of the booths there and we were able to pass through. While we were talking the Mango to Ramos route, rain started to pour down.

We jogged our way to Jones and met all the rest of our friends with the Mazda contingent.

The street parade was awesome. It was raining as we marched our way to the Grandstand carrying the banner for Mazda. My other hand was carrying our contingent's Festival Queen's head dress that weighed like 20 kilos for godsakes. There was point when it rained hard like twice that we had to redo our Festival Queen's hair and make-up all over again.

Retouch. Retouch. Retouch. :)

Entering the Grandstand was surreal. It was my first time and I had this really warm feeling as our contingent entered the gates. We were one of the most applauded contingents because we won the Sinulog Sa Kabataan competition held weeks prior to the main event. Thousands of people applauded as we entered the Grandstand.

All the contingents were good, and I bookmarked my favorites as I watched all their performances. I had my heart on the Masbate contingent coz they used the best color palate for their costumes, and their moves were flawless. Our contingent was really good, too. We waited until the last contingent and after assessing all the entries, we were positive we would be part of this year's elite 5.

The program was followed by performances of Pilita Corales and Dulce Amor, the Cebuana Divas, and then a really awesome fireworks display that lasted for about half an hour. That was one of the many memorable moments that I felt the pride of being a Cebuano.

Till next year's Sinulog bebehs...