A Walk Around the Busy Downtown to Join the Fiesta Señor

In today's blog, I'm going to share with you about my walk around the busy downtown to join the feast day of Sto. Niño de Cebu!

_{Photos lay-outed and edited through Canva application.}

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THE FEAST DAY OF STO. NIŃO DE CEBU: BRIEF BACKGROUND

Before I'd start this amazing and incredible walk, I would tell you first a brief description and background of the celebration from the Facebook page of Roman Diocese of Antipolo: but this photo of the child Jesus was taken using my Vivo1919 camera.

The feast of Sto. Nińo de Cebu is a feast commemorating the holy image of the child Jesus, considered one of the oldest surviving Christian relics. The image which was a gift of Ferdinand Magellan to Rajah Humabon of Cebu in 1521, was found to have survived the destruction of Cebu during colonization. Since then, it was believed to be a miraculous image and a festival in honor of Sr. Sto. Nińo is held every third Sunday of January.

For most of Christian Filipinos especially Cebuanos, after the Christmas season and the New Year celebration, what we look forward to and are most excited about especially when January comes is the Feast Day of Sr. Sto. Niño and the Sinulog Festival.

The word “Sinulog” means “graceful dance”, wherein it all started in 1980 with a simple dance that represents the “sulog” (or current) of a river in Cebu. Source: asiasociety.org

_{This photo is not mine but taken from I AM A SINULOG DANCER Facebook page.}

But for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, this grand celebration had been suspended! Stringent implementation of health protocols was followed everywhere!

But in God's grace, when restrictions and prohibitions had been lifted, the grand feast is back! It means the solemn foot procession, the Sinulog grand parade, and different gatherings like concerts and meet and greet with celebrities are so back!

The thought of these makes everyone excited and I'm no exemption! So, I readied my backpack and some essentials, and off I went on my walk with a good friend of mine around the downtown to enjoy the feast day!

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THE WALK OF FAITH

Because of the Solemn Foot Procession, no public transport vehicles were allowed to take the route going downtown as all the roads were closed and blocked. We had to walk for about ten minutes from the mall where I got off the bus from my hometown to the main road where we came across a throng of devotees following Our Lady of La Consolation Carroza ( or carriage in English).

_{These devotees wave their hands as they sing the traditional Sto. Nino hymn, "Bato Balani sa Gugma" or "A Magnet of Love" in English.}

Walking further following the other devotees, I readily took a lot of shots along the way to share with you in this blog.

Participating in the procession were the nursing students of Velez College in Cebu bringing with them their school banner for identification.

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THE SECURITY

As we walked on, I noticed this line of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in their uniforms standing with arms locked together to stop any passerby who might attempt to block the flow of the parade.

In order to safeguard and protect the devotees from any untoward incidents while walking with the Holy Child Jesus, different groups of uniformed personnel were deployed and were visible around providing security along the route. I should say they did a good job in executing their security plan as well as maintaining peace and order in this very solemn activity.

What I have noticed with the procession this year is that in every corner of the road, they put a sound system playing the live coverage of the novena prayer so that all the devotees joining the parade could still follow the flow of the novena even if they're quite farther from the carrozas of Sr. Sto. Nińo, Our Lady of La Consolation, and St. Joseph.

When we passed by Tejero Elementary School and Tejero National High School, I found these very cute and lovely girls wearing their festival and Sto. Nińo costumes sit on top of this colorfully decorated platform right in front of the school.

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THE BUSY DOWNTOWN

As we were just about a few blocks to the pilgrim center or the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nińo, the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the country (Source), we were stopped by a group of security personnel and directed us to take the way to this large public park in Cebu City called, Plaza Independencia.

As we entered the place coming across a huge flow of people who also joined the solemn foot procession, this arc of lush vines which read, "Memory Lane" welcomed us. This place truly intends to invite visitors to create beautiful memories here for keeps!

As we headed to this open square, we could find many devotees resting at the grassy portion of the park with their family and friends.

_{These devotees take a breather and settle for a while around the obelisk standing at the center of the plaza.}

As we were also a bit tired and thirsty, we dropped by a food stall here to order some refreshments and snacks. These food stalls were only allowed to position here if there are big events in the city just as this feast day celebration.

_{The hungry devotees lined up to buy some street foods sold in these food stalls.}

As I looked around, I saw this tablet standing at the main entrance of the plaza which displayed the description and history of this large park.

According to this marker, Plaza Independencia is one of the most historically significant places in Cebu. Used to be called Plaza de Armas in the early 1600s, this public square was used as military training and parade grounds. With its expansion reaching the nearby properties, it was then, called Plaza Mayor until it was changed again to Plaza Maria Cristina in honor of the reigning queen. However, during the American Colonial period, its name was changed again to Plaza Libertad.

_{The photo of this tablet with scribbles was taken using my Vivo1919 camera.}

As we aimed to enter the pilgrim center, off we went to the basilica. It was just about a 3-minute walk from the park. On our way there, a lot of street foods attracted many devotees to fill their hungry stomach.

But what captured my craving for snacks was this rice cake called puto bumbong. Puto Bumbong is a favorite Filipino native delicacy during the Christmas season but I could see this, too, sold on the streets during fiesta celebrations, not just downtown but also in local places. I may have already tried eating puto bumbong but I am quite amazed at how this was made using this bamboo steamer.

For the recipe for this puto bumbong, please read it here.

Some local vendors also took this opportunity to sell festival souvenir items, flowers, balloons and other pieces of stuff.

As we reached the entrance, we encountered this very large crowd that couldn't drop a pin trying to set foot in the church. We were actually one of those entangled in this dense crowd for about 30 minutes! Whew!

Indeed a strong and rock-solid faith can withstand formidable obstacles along the path!

This amazing and incredible walk I had concluded with us together with other believers whether inside the pilgrim center, in Plaza Independecia, and in the different corners of the downtown area reached by the live coverage of the religious activity, saying out a loud cry "VIVA PIT SENYOR" while dancing the traditional Sinulog in prayer for all the family members and loved ones.

"Pit Señor! Kang Nanay kini! (in the local dialect means this is for my mother or grandmother in English!)
"Pit Señor! Kang Tatay kini (in local dialect means this is for my father or grandfather!)

“Pit Señor” is the short form of “Sangpit sa Señor,” a phrase in Cebuano that means, “to call, ask, and plead to the king.” Source: rappler.com

Even though we needed to walk far again to where we could get a bus back home, it was all worth it!

And this is all for today's blog my dear hive friends! Thank you for reading this far.

See you again in my next blog and God bless!