Julieta Duran didn’t mind the heat as she danced with other inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) before an audience composed of delegates to the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) yesterday.
“Para ni sa Ginoo, para ni sa mga tawo nga malingaw sab sila sa among gipakita (This is for the Lord, for the people who will witness our performance),” said the 59-year-old Duran, as she also dedicated her dance to her family.
Fifty-nine IEC delegates from 47 countries composed of bishops, priests, nuns and the laity witnessed the 45-minute dance performance of the CPDRC dancing inmates.
“It’s wonderful to see these men dancing for joy compared to the free men,” said Fr. Piero Marini, president of the IEC Pontifical Committee.
Fr. Rolando Santos, a Filipino bishop assigned in Papua New Guinea, agreed.
Performance
“I was very touched seeing them joyful and able to entertain even while they are detained,” he said.
Duran, a tombstone maker before she was jailed on drug charges, said she missed her two children. She said she was turning to God for direction in her life.
Another inmate, 38-year-old lead dancer Nelson Panucat, said he also offered his performance to the Lord for fulfilling his wish to see his children again.
Arrested on drug charges in 2005, Panucat said his four children no longer visit him.
A decade later, he said he saw his children again through the aid of a TV program and since then, he promised to join fellow inmates in dance activities.
Inspiring change
Panucat said he hopes his performance will inspire other inmates to reform and repent of their criminal past.
Fr. Santos said he hopes other jails would hold a similar program.
He said he is looking forward to visit the dancing inmates of the CPDRC next year and invite people to witness their dance number.
The 800 inmates wore a white CPDRC shirt paired with their orange uniform pants and performed dance numbers to songs like Van Halen’s “Jump”, Pharell Williams’ “Happy”, Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Really Care About Us”, Jaime Rivera’s “We Are All God’s Children” and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown.”
Right after the dance number, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma congratulated the inmates and asked them to continue to be hopeful and be a living inspiration of change.
“You maybe inside the walls of this rehabilitation pero (but) what is important is also inside your hearts. In your heart, dunay (there is) peace, in your heart dunay (there is) joy, in your heart, dunay Dios (there is the Lord), in your heart is Christ,” he said.