Sinulog!

Tourists come from all over the world, and people come from all over the Philippines, to attend Sinulog. The history of Sinulog reflects the unique history of the Philippines. We felt pretty blessed to already be here and to have friends who could be our guides. The festivities were nine days long, culminating in a grand parade, which we went to see. We traveled via jeepney close to the parade street, and walked the remainder of the way to the actual parade. Raja slept on me as we traveled, and woke up amidst throngs of people. We live in a city of 2 million people, so while crowds are nothing new, this was intense. The parade route was 5km long, and it was estimated that 2 million Cebuanos and visitors filled the area. The streets were teeming with people. Raja loves to people watch, so it was priceless to see his big eyes in his little face, wide as saucers and trying to take everything in. We were basically just swept along in a current of people. It says something about Filipino culture that even though we had two small children (and I'm the anxious-about-safety type), we weren't too concerned about getting trampled or anything like that. People just helped us along the way and made room for the kids. When Raja needed to breastfeed, a one-legged man gave up his stool for me to have a place to sit. People smiled and moved out of the way as Jaya danced in the street without paying any attention to who she was bumping into. Jaya even got to sit on a float.
The weather was overcast and high 70s. Around us, people wore long pants and long sleeves - and seemed cool and comfortable, while we dripped with sweat in short sleeves. We were relieved when it rained for a minute here and there and cooled us off.
There were all kinds of floats and dancers. There were gigantic papier-mache figures called higantes. Music was blaring, bass was thumping; there were painted faces, henna tattoos, and colorful costumes to see everywhere. Many parade goers wore feathered hats and headresses. People squealed and cheered as celebrities waved. Some clamored for souvenirs thrown from the floats. Vendors were hawking water bottles, trinkets, and food at every turn. We could see those who had traveled to Sinulog with little but a cardboard box to rest in. The distinctive and uniquely Cebuano Sinulog beat played everywhere, and you couldn't help but dance.
Raja was content to watch. Jaya wanted to see things up close. She wanted to know everything - "How does the big costume move if there's people inside and the people are small?" "Why that lady is wearing crazy clothes?" "Why is the dinosaur wearing rubber shoes?" "Why it's so crowded??"
As much as the kids (and we) loved it, we didn't want to overwhelm them and didn't stay too long. We hopped back on a jeepney and made our way home. We had our friends over for dinner and rehashed the day, and Jaya spent the evening practicing the dances she'd learned.

What an experience!

Here are some moments from our Sinulog adventure...there is a lot of footage we just couldn't get, but hopefully this gives you an inkling of what it was like.