It was a “nose-to-nose” battle for the top spots in this year’s Sinulog Grand Parade, one of the five judges in the Free Interpretation category said yesterday.
“The quality of artistry this year was quite high. We observed a lot of innovations in choreography and stage craft. Kudos to the choreographers, we’ve seen maturity in the aesthetics,” said Chris Millado, artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Winners of this year’s Sinulog grand parade did an encore performance and later received their trophies and cash prizes at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).
Out-of-town contingents, some of which were unable to join last year after being devastated by typhoons like Yolanda, took home most of the prizes.
Tribu Buyogan of Abuyog, Leyte won the top prize for the free interpretation category while Kulturang Placereño of Placer, Masbate topped the Sinulog-based (SB) category. Each received a P1 million cash prize.
Awardees
Other winners in the free interpretation category are: 2nd place Tribu Lingganay or Alangalang, Leyte (P700,000), 3rd place Tribu Himag-ulaw of Placer, Masbate (P500,000), fourth place Tribu Katbalogan of Catbalogan City, Samar (P300,000) and fifth place Lumad Basakanon of Cebu City (P200,000).
Tribu Buyogan also won best in musicality (P100,000) while Tribu Lingganay won best in costume (P100,000).
Winners in the street dancing category are: 2nd place Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe (P700,000), 3rd place Kulturang Placereño (P500,000), 4th place Tribu Buyogan (P300,000) and 5th place Tribu Lingganay (P200,000).
For the Sinulog-based category, other winners are: 2nd place Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe of Tangub City (P700,000), third place Carcar City Division (P500,000), fourth place Tuburan National High School (P300,000) and fifth place Talisay City Central Elementary School (P200,000).
Carcar City also won best in musicality (P100,000) while the Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe won best in costume (P100,000).
In yesterday’s press conference, Millado said other contingents surpassed last year’s champions, the Lumad Basakanon, in this year’s Sinulog.
“The Lumad Basakanon are trendsetters. They have a certain brand and they introduce new steps. They keep on doing it. But the problem with trendsetters is others tend to follow them. And sometimes, the copycats are better,” Millado said.
The group’s choreographer Norman Navarro said they have accepted their defeat.
He said they’re happy to win in the street dancing category again, receiving the P1 million prize.
Millado said the innovations introduced by Kulturang Placereño of Masbate helped them retain their championship title.
Wowed
“It’s a good choice that they chose the hacienda life as a theme since the Sinulog is elegant and it engaged with the theme,” he said.
The group also wowed the judges by embedding LED lights in their umbrellas, flowers and other props.
It worked perfectly for their performance since they were the third to the last performer last Sunday.
Victor Cuenco, Kulturang Placereño choreographer, thanked the Sto. Niño for their victory this year.
He said they prepared for four months but typhoon Seniang affected their preparations.
“We had one week to practice. We finished rehearsals on January 5 instead of a week before Christmas,” he said. Thankfully, their props that were made in Cebu weren’t damaged, he added.
Offering
The lead dancer of the Kulturang Placereño contingent is Glaiza Jane Lanete, the wife of Mayor Joshur Judd Lanete II.
She was also joined by the department heads of the Masbate provincial government.
Mayor Lanete said that they will still join next year. “We didn’t expect this victory. We did not think for competition since this is an offering,” he said. Lanete said they spent at least P1.5 million for their presentation.
Ferniel Palang, the Cebuano choreographer of Tribu Buyogan, said they’ve been using the same Holy Child image for eight years.
“I couldn’t speak when I was informed that we won but I was really expecting the grand prize title,” he said.
Abuyog Mayor Octavio Trayo Jr. said their victory this year is their “destiny”.
For the coming years, the judges said the contingents and choreographers should continue to look for new and good concepts.
“They should keep on challenging themselves. Keep on looking for sources of stories. We don’t have to look beyond our shores for very rich and exciting sources of imagery, colors, texture, steps and sound,” Millado said.