Sinulog 2008 Winners

First place got half a million pesos
Lumad Basakanon of Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City
Second place
Tribu Sinanduloy of Tangub City, Misamis Occidental
Third place
Alcoy Siloy Festival also got half a million pesos (according to Sunstar

Among the first-time participants in the winners’ list were the Municipality of Carmen, Alikaraw Organization (Hilongos, Leyte), Tribu Iliganon (Iligan City), Pakol Festival
(Sta. Catalina, Oriental Negros, and Silaw Culture and Arts (Carcar Central National High School).

Carmen and Pakol Festival also took the best in costume award in their categories, while Alikaraw got the best in musicality award, which comes with a P50,000 cash prize.

The Cebu Provincial Government followed with a production led by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia as image-bearer of the Palawod dance troupe members of Bantayan town.

Both the City and Province contingents were guest performers.

After the grand finale, a 15-minute fireworks display that cost P300,000 followed, with rain still falling on everyone.

The Day Of Sinulog - Traffic And Everything

Absolutely nothing beats Sinulog traffic. I should know, I live right here smack in the middle of the city. To go out for any reason, would mean a good long walk of more than 3 blocks before you actually find a taxi or a jeepney. One of my boardmates actually said, the streets are flooded with people, if you can imagine that. I believe him too.

It has always been like this, it starts bright and early when contingents set off for Cebu City Sports Center when it opens at 6 a.m. and it'll just get worse three hours later as the grand parade starts at 9 a.m.



This year’s grand parade is the longest one with 137 entries (including 50 dance contingents), compared with last year’s 121 parade entries. Twelve out-of-town contingents from the Visayas, Mindanao and Bicol area are joining this year’s parade and street dancing competition. Most of the visitors are first-time participants vying for trophies and the grand prize cash of P500,000.

Imagine that! Half a million pesos to the winner - not a bad prize if I do say so myself. Also apparently to highlight the affair there will be a 10-minute Las Vegas-style production in the finale where Cebu City first lady Margot Osmeña will dance tonight.

Sinulog 2008 Weekend Activity Schedule

If you're interested to know what will happen over the weekend, here's a schedule of events for the Sinulog. There probably won't be much traffic as most of the uptown roads will be closed for the Grand parade but anyway just in case you're interested in participating or just want to stay clear of the crowds, here is the Sinulog 2008 schedule:

January 19 (Saturday)
6:00 a.m.	Fluvial Procession of the Miraculous Image of Sto. Niño
	4th Street Vibrations Bike Rally 2008
9:00 a.m.	Re-enactment of the Baptism of Queen Juana and Rajah Humabon Basilica del Sto. Niño
2:00 p.m.	Solemn Procession of the Miraculous Image of Sto. Niño
6:30 p.m.	Sinulog Festival Queen (Cebu City Sports Center)
7:00 p.m.	Street party at the Fuente Osmeña and Plaza Independencia
8:00 p.m.	Kasadya Nite Mardi Gras at the Ayala Center Cebu

January 20 (Sunday)	Sinulog Grand Parade
9:00 a.m.	Sinulog Grand Parade Carousel Kick Off
7:00 p.m.	Grand Fireworks (Cebu City Sports Center)
7:30 p.m.	Street party (Fuente Osmeña)
8:00 p.m.	Grand Fireworks (Ayala Football Grounds)

January 21 (Monday)
1:00 p.m.	Awarding Ceremonies (Cebu City Sports Center)

January 31 (Thursday)
1:00 p.m.	Awarding Ceremonies for the Photo Contest and Video Documentary Contest

February 1 - 10, 2008

Photo Exhibits "Winning Photos Sinulog '08" at SM City Cebu

Sinulog 2008 Route

Sinulog is just around the corner. On the 3rd Sunday of January, the streets will be filled with people for the celebration and Mardi Gras parade. Here's the Sinulog route for those who are interested:

Sinulog 2008 Coming! Here's an Event Sked

For those looking forward to Sinulog 2008, here's a schedule of coming events:

	Sinulog 2008 Bazaar December 1 - January 31, 2008		Sinulog Exhibits January 11, 2008
	Sinulog Nighthly Activities & Cultural Shows January 11-20, 2008		Religious and Cultural Activities January 11-20, 2008
	Sinulog Contest Categories January 12, 2008		Sinulog sa Kabataan January 12-13, 2008
	Ms. Cebu 2008 January 17, 2008		Devotee City January 18-20, 2008
	Fluvial Parade January 19, 2008		Solemn Procession January 19, 2008
	Sinulog 2008 Festival Queen January 19, 2008		Best of Cebu January 20, 2008
	Grand Parade Day January 20, 2008		Fireworks Display January 20, 2008

To view a more detailed schedule, click here or visit the official website - Sinulog.ph

World-class Young Filipina Singer On The Rise

Being a Filipino these days isn't so bad, with the peso improving against the dollar and children like Charice Pempengco giving Filipinos a better name other than domestic helper. Here are some details on her:

Just as 2007 came to a close, Charice Pempengco, the 14-year-old Filipino singer whose YouTube videos wowed audiences here and abroad, guested and sang in the American television show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" where she sang "And I am Telling You" from the musical Dreamgirls.

Pempengco was a former contestant on the ABS-CBN show "Little Big Star," a children's singing contest hosted by Sarah Geronimo. She placed 2nd in the show's Big Division (for 10-13 year old competitors), behind Sam Concepcion and Gian Barbarona. Lifted from an ABS-CBN article.

According to Inquirer.net, Charice impressed Ellen and the studio audience so much with her show-stopping performance that they gave her a standing ovation. Americans are among the more demonstrative people in the world, but standing ovations don't happen every day on live TV shows in the States, so Charice's performance was truly special.

What made it unusual wasn't only her amazing vocal range--indeed, the US has many (usually black) singers who can hit those high notes with prodigious skill and unerring accuracy. Birit or belting wasn't the only factor that made listeners' day when Charice performed on "Ellen."

We think that what blew their socks off was her unique combination of vocal power and petite youthfulness. That's a pretty rare mix to find on US TV, so it really was cause for admiration and celebration.