Partial road closure on Thursday for Kaplag Festival’s Sinulog dance parade

One might think it’s Sinulog Festival all over again as we know it, but it’s not. It is Sinulog street dancing, an expression of reverence to Cebu’s patron, the Señor Sto. Niño, minus the commercialization associated with the annual feast held every January.

Around 300 to 400 dancers from five contingents will dance the Sinulog on Thursday from Fuente Osmeña Boulevard to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, starting at 3 p.m., as part of the 450th Kaplag Festival celebration.

The Kaplag Festival celebrates the discovery of the image of the Sto. Niño 40 years after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was defeated on Mactan Island on April 27, 1521, and to commemorate the arrival in Cebu of Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565.

During Thursday’s street dance, the road from Osmeña Boulevard to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño will be partially closed starting at 1 p.m., the Cebu City Transportation Office announced yesterday.

CCTO operations chief Joy Tumulak said the right portion of the road facing downtown Cebu will reopen immediately after the dancers have passed by.

The request for road closure was made by Ricky Ballesteros, the executive director of the Sinulog Foundation Inc., in a letter earlier sent to CCTO Executive Director Rey Gealon.

“Atong giawhag ang mga tawo nga kon wa silay tuyo ani nga mga dalan, ila lang ning likayan (We are asking the people to avoid these streets if they have no businesses to transacts in these areas),” Tumulak said.

He said the other streets that will be closed to vehicles are D. Jakosalem St., from Osmeña Boulevard to M.C. Briones Street; Magallañes Street from D. Jakosalem to Plaridel Street and P. Burgos, from Legazpi to Magallañes Street.

Tumulak said the CCTO will deploy about 40 personnel to man the streets affected by the road closure.