Liberty Bonafe, one of the dancers of Catbalogan contingent, checks on her costume for Sunday’s street dancing. They are occupying a classroom of Cebu City Central School for the weekend. (CDN PHOTO/APPLE TA-AS)
REMEMBER the huge gekko costumes of Catbalogon City dancers in the Sinulog last year?
The contingent from the capital city of Samar is back to perform in Sunday’s Grand Parde.
Tribu Catbalogan is out to promote its Manaragat (fishing village) Festival.
Expect large impressive props again and LED lights, said Ador Hurtado, contingent coordinator.
“It will be the same storytelling with more intensity from the dancers,” he said.
Last year, Catbalogan won fourth place in the free interpretation category.
With a P5 million budget, the contingent has 97 dancers including the festival queen and 270 props men.
Last year, three dancers and one choir member were killed in a landslide.
Their Sinulog performance on Sunday will be offered in their memory.
On their way to Cebu this year, another landslide in one of the towns along their route from Catbalogan to Ormoc City delayed their bus trip and they almost missed their boat ride.
Despite their fatigue from long hours of travel, the group is still excited about the prospect of winning the grand prize.
“This is my way of praising the Santo Niño and thanking Him for all the blessings I’ve received,” said 19-year-old Liberty Bonafe, a third year education student of Catbalogan Samar National School.
Tribu Catbalogan arrived in Cebu City last Monday and are staying at at the Cebu City Central School.
Bed sheets were distributed to serve as sleeping mats in the vacant rooms assigned to them on the fifth floor of the public school.
Bonafe said sometimes they had to carry pails of water from the ground floor because of weak water pressure.
But they are not complaining. The rigors of an out-of-town performance are part of their offering to the Sto. Niño.
Every day since their arrival, choreographers would call them to 8 a.m. practice session at the grandstand of the sports center.
She’s not Catholic but it’s Bonafe’s second year to offer her dance.
“While we are dancing, I also have my wishes,” she said.
The college student said she hopes to graduate a year from now and to make her parents proud by finishing with honors.