Dancing Christmas tree, ‘lechon’ and Miss Earth for inmates

Dancing to the classic carol “Jingle Bells,” around 2,100 inmates of the  Cebu provincial jail entertained visitors, including family members who  watched their  open house performance on Christmas eve.

As a finale, the inmates rearranged themselves in the quadrangle and raised their palms, dipped in red and green food coloring, to form a giant Christmas tree.

“Malipayong Pasko, Cebu!” they yelled in unison.

Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell, wearing her glittering crown with a casual top and pants, greeted the inmates.

“I am personally amazed with your performances because I love to dance myself, and it takes dedication and hard work,” she said in Cebuano earlier.

Inmates, dressed in orange prison uniforms, also performed their viral dance hits  of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, “You’ve Got A Friend” and “They Don’t Care About Us” that had shot them to Internet fame in 2007.

Herrel and Mega Cebu youth ambassadors briefly joined the inmates in dancing the jingle of the Mega Cebu movement. They ended with a signature hand movement that describes their aspiration of well-planned urban growth as “Making waves!”

Earlier at 7:30 a.m., inmates fell in line depositing cellphones, electronic devices, sharpened metal objects and improvised  weapons on a long table, a voluntary surrender of contraband.

The prison gates opened to let in a stream of visitors, family members eager to spend Christmas with a loved one behind bars, including an overnight stay for conjugal visits.

The choreographed dance in the quadrangle is the inmates’ trademark performance. Public shows used to be held monthly during the previous term of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia, whose brother Byron, as Capitol security consultant, pioneered the group dancing as both exercise and a creative form of prison rehabilitation.

Their YouTube video of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” has more than 54 million views.

“We did the activity on Dec. 24 in order for our inmates to feel and celebrate Christmas even if they are in jail. Padayon ang ilang kinabuhi bisan ug naa sila diri (Life goes on for them even if they are here),” said Provincial Warden Romeo Manansala.

The jail has a total of 2,216 inmates. The elderly and those with physical disabilities are excused from dance exercises.

Vince Rosales, choreographer, said the inmates have come a long way from their first tutorials.

“The first time I stepped into this job, I really cried because I was not expecting to be teaching inmates. Most of them had never tried dancing, they all had left feet,” he said. “Now look at them.”

This year’s Christmas tree formation was their first time to attempt a world record as the largest human Christmas tree, but it fell short of Honduras December 1 record of 2,945 participants. Before that, Argentina held the global record.

Capitol jail consultant Marco Toral said they initially planned to present the performance to clinch the Guinness world record but weren’t able to contact the organization ahead of time. There’s also the cost of flying in adjudicators from Guinness, he said.

No matter, Christmas eve was still a rare celebration.

For lunch, inmates were treated to 60 roasted pigs or lechon, an early “noche buena” feast sponsored by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Gothong Southern, and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry with other benefactors.