The North Carolina Visayan Community celebrated its Sinulog Festival at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Apex on Jan. 15, the Feast of Santo Nino de Cebu (the Holy Child Jesus of Cebu). The festival featured the presentation of the Sinulog dance and other cultural performances. Celebrated annually, it commemorates the acceptance of Christianity among native Filipinos.
Leading up to the Sinulog Festival is a nine-day Novena Mass, held each night in the home of a different host family. The Masses were also livestreamed so others could join online.
The festival day began with a procession of the image of Santo Nino de Cebu, immediately followed by Mass and adoration of Santo Nino de Cebu. Presiding at Mass was Father Marcos Leon-Angulo (Padre Leon), the group's spiritual director; Father Chris Koehn, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Church, was the homilist, and Monsignor Robert Staib concelebrated.
A “salu-salo,” a banquet of Filipino dishes, followed at St. Mary Magdalene School gymnasium. Cultural performances, which were presented during the meal, included the Sinulog Dance, a ritual prayer-dance to Santo Nino de Cebu during which the lead dancer (called “lakambini”) carries a small statue of Santo Nino. The festival ended with the community dancing together, carrying their own statues of Santo Nino.
The festival is open to the public, and the Visayan community hopes to have more attendees in the coming years.
History of the festival in the Diocese of Raleigh
The Sinulog Festival started in the Diocese of Raleigh in 2016. For the first two years, it was celebrated in a Visayan community member's home and was exclusively for members only; the nine-day novena to Santo Nino was likewise celebrated in different members' homes. In 2018, the organization rented a dance hall for its first public celebration. And 2019 was a pivotal year in which the community grew in number, and the first Mass as the highlight of the festival was held at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Apex. Father Marcos Leon-Angulo presided at that Mass and became the community’s spiritual adviser. The Mexican communities of Butner and Durham joined the festival that year and presented their cultural-religious performance.
The year 2020 saw a dramatic increase in attendees, with the same talented Mexican Community and an overwhelming number of other Filipino communities from Wendell, Asheville, High Point, Rocky Mount and Havelock. In 2021 and 2022, the Sinulog Festival was held at St. Mary Magdalene in Apex. The pandemic has not dampened the community members’ spirits; in fact, it has made them more resolute in giving their best for the success of the Sinulog Festival.
Who they are
The NC Visayan Community, which is considered to be the largest to host the Sinulog in NC, consists primarily of young, hard-working Filipinos and their families, who offer their time and talents to express their devotion to Santo Nino by welcoming the public to the annual Sinulog Festival. This devotion to Santo Nino is the unifying force of cooperation driving the success of the festival. Their sacrifices and efforts in the preparation are considered by community members as an offering of thanksgiving to Santo Nino.
The Visayan community is accustomed to adversity, having lived in the Philippines, which is frequently impacted by typhoons, earthquakes and other calamities. This has made them resilient, has instilled a strong sense of family and community, and above all has deepened their devotion and trust in Santo Nino. For whatever circumstances come their way, they remain joyful. This is reflected in the Sinulog Festival, a joyous and colorful celebration filled with pomp and circumstance, an abundance of food and impressive cultural performances.
As the Visayan community continues to celebrate the Sinulog Festival annually, members hope to promote awareness -- to both future generations of Filipino-Americans and to public spectators -- of the history and significance of the celebration and their cultural identity as Visayans in North Carolina.
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