Dinagyang, Ati-atihan festivals to join Kaplag

Fr. Harold Rentoria shows the image of the new Santo Niño Sugbuanon during a press conference for the 451st Kaplag celebration at Basilica Minore Del Santo Niño. With him are Ricky Ballesteros, Delan Robillos, Kaplag Konsyerto production manager Gloria Villarojo and Fr. Jonas Mejares.(CDN PHOTO/LITO M. TECSON)

Three of the country’s biggest festivals will converge in Cebu City in celebration of the 451st anniversary of the finding of the image of the Sto. Niño on April 28.

Fr. Harold Rentoria, executive director of the grand Kaplag celebrations, said they have invited representatives of the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City, and the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan to offer dance presentations in honor of the Child Jesus.

They will be joined by contingents from Carcar City, Apas National High School and the renowned Lumad Basakanon who will dance the Sinulog.

The festival will be held at Basilica del Sto. Niño’s pilgrim center after the 5:30 p.m. Kaplag Fiesta Mass to be presided over by Fr. Alejandro Moral, the prior general of the Augustinian fathers—the caretakers of the original image of the Sto. Niño and the centuries-old basilica.

“This is going to be historic because the three biggest festivals in the country gather in one place to honor the Sto. Niño,” said Rentoria in a press conference at the basilica’s Aula Magna yesterday.

Ricky Ballesteros, executive director of the Sinulog Foundation, said he’s planning to have a mini parade of all the contingents before the grand presentations at the basilica.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. This is big. And we want Cebuanos to see the concepts of other festivals,” he said.

The event will formally end the three-year grand celebration of the 450th anniversary of the discovery of the image of the Sto. Niño—the oldest religious icon and the symbol of Catholicism in the country.

Last year also marked two other milestones: the 450th anniversary of the Augustinian presence in the country, and the 50th anniversary of the church’s title as a minor basilica.

CONCERT

Aside from the dance presentations, the Augustinian fathers will also stage a concert at the New Cebu Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. on April 27.

The 450 Kaplag Konsyerto will feature Fr. Jonas Mejares, rector of the basilica, along with Cebuana singing divas Sheryn Regis, Eva Santos, Donna Cruz and Anna Fegi.

Also to perform during the concert are Filipina-American Kirby Asunto, the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño Grand Choir and the Primus Band which Fr. Mejares created when he served as dean of the Conservatory of Music of the University of San Agustin in Iloilo.

Ticket prices range from P100 to P500.

The concert might be Mejares’ last performance while rector of the basilica. He said the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) is set to convene next month to discuss the new assignment of priests.

OTHER EVENTS

In preparation for the Kaplag celebration, Triduum Masses will be held at the basilica from April 25 to 27. The Eucharistic celebrations at 5:30 p.m. will be presided over by bishops and will be followed by traditional Sinulog presentations.

A Kristo Niño exhibit will also run from April 17 to 30 at the Art Center of SM City Cebu. A photo exhibit in commemoration of the Kaplag celebrations will be on display from April 24 to 30 at the Mountain Wing Atrium of SM Seaside City.

The exhibits will be curated by the Art Gallery of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. At 10 a.m. of April 28, there will be an unveiling of the commemorative marker and the time capsule at the basilica in preparation of the 500th anniversary of the Kaplag in 2065.

“The finding of the image of the child Jesus marked the official start of Christianity in our country. But the Kaplag celebration is not just for Filipinos but for the world. We hope to reaffirm our faith and celebrate our love for the Sto. Niño,” Fr. Rentoria said.

“Kaplag” recalls the discovery of the Sto. Niño icon by Spanish soldier Juan Camus on April 28, 1565. He found the icon in the remains of  a burned nipa hut after Spanish forces set the village on fire.

Camus was part of the Spanish expedition led by Miguel López de Legazpi to reclaim the islands after Magellan’s expedition in 1521.

The original image of the Holy Child Jesus is housed in a glass-enclosed marble aedicula beside the main altar of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño./ with USJ-R Intern Margarette D. Managaytay