Pope-pular
Jonathan Culubio uses a hair blower to air-dry a shirt he just stamped with a Pope Francis design.
(CDN PHOTO/CARINE ASUTILLA)
Vendors who used to sell Sinulog souvenir shirts along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City are now also selling Pope Francis shirts.
“We didn’t consider making papal visit souvenirs because they said that the Pope is not coming here in Cebu. Despite that, a lot of our customers look for Pope Francis shirts. They prefer to wear these shirts than those with Sinulog designs,” Ritchie Patic, a vendor, said in Bisayan.
Artist Jonathan Culubio said he used the pope’s pictures that he downloaded from the Internet for his shirt designs.
“For now we are printing shirts in silk screens, because this is easier to make. In the coming days, we will be printing more designs in different printing styles like hot pressed, digital printing, embossed, among others,” Culubio said.
Pope Francis shirts sold like hotcakes as soon as they started displaying them.
“I have been looking for a Pope Francis shirt, I couldn’t find one, until I saw this booth. I will wear this in January, I want to see him in person, if he will not come to Cebu, I will still thank him for visiting our country,” said Rolando Patag, who bought T-shirts as Christmas gifts and he even bought one for himself.
The T-shirts’ prices range from P160 and P220 depending on the size and design.
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