RALEIGH – Members of the Filipino-Visayan community of North Carolina came together for the 10th annual Sinulog Festival Jan. 25 at the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.
Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama presided at Mass, shared a homily and blessed statues and images people brought to the cathedral. Father Chris Koehn, Father Randy Gonzales, C.I.C.M., Father Marcos Leon-Angulo and Father Jim Sabak, O.F.M. also joined the congregants for the celebration.
Hymns and prayers were sung in Visayan, beautifully invoking a devotion to faith and love for culture. Youth shared the prayers of the faithful, or intercessions, and musicians, singers and dancers shared their gifts.
The Mexican community, represented by Danza Guerreros San Luis Rey – Durham and Danza Ortiz, joined the Filipino devotees for the parade and the special program. Following Mass, guests were treated to a traditional Filipino lunch and dances. Several groups from North Carolina were present, including Sinulog dancers from Charlotte, Asheville, Sanford and the Filipino-Performing Artists of NC. Youth and Kids for Christ joined the Triangle-area hosts, Tribu Sinulog Dancers.
“It was a beautiful and joyful celebration,” said Mafie Adoro, who helped organize the occasion.
For nine days leading up to the event, Father Léon, pastor of Butner’s St. Bernadette Church and the group's spiritual director, led the pre-Sinulog festivities with a novena. Host families from the Cofradia de Santo Niño hosted each of those nights.
"It's an overwhelming experience of faith and traditions," he said. "I'm very blessed to see many people gathered together, with our shepherd Bishop Luis, under the protection of Santo Niño."
This annual celebration recalls the conversion of the Filipino people to Christianity. While the street festival in Cebu City started in 1980, Sinulog originated in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan presented Raja Jumabon and his wife, Juana, the image of the Child Jesus of Prague. The image became the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu after being miraculously saved from a fire. Since then, a ritual dance mimicking the ebb and flow of water has evolved. On Fridays, people come with their petitions and do the Sinulog two-step-forward-and-one-step back dance at the Santo Niño Basilica in Cebu City.
The strength of this community’s devotion to the Santo Niño de Cebu is made clear by how big the event has become in North Carolina. Started 10 years ago in a living room in Raleigh by a handful of families, the Sinulog NC Festival has welcomed well over 1,000 people from all over the state and beyond to spread the message of faith and an open heart.
NC Catholics contributed to the report.
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Photography by Greg Mintel.
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