Sinug at 3 p.m. today
The Turang Dance Troupe will perform once again the Sinug at the Casa Gorordo Museum grounds in Barangay Parian, Cebu City at 3 p.m. today, the day after the Sinulog grand parade.
For decades, the dance had been led by Estelita “Nang Titang” Diola, the Sinug’s “Keeper of the Beat,” before she passed away in 2013 at the age of 88.
Now, the tradition has been passed on to her descendants, with Nang Titang’s niece Carolina “Carol” Diola and Carol’s son Rommel Borja leading today’s Sinug dance ritual.
The Sinulog is one of the country’s biggest celebrations. But before it became huge, or the original Sinug, was a simple yet solemn ritual–a combination of dance and prayer offered to the Santo Niño.
The Sinug, though, is different from the more popular Sinulog dance in several aspects.
“The Sinug has a fixed format and unique beat different than that of the Sinulog dance step. It also doesn’t have a “reyna” or a female lead dancer. The image of the Child is instead placed in an altar in front of the dancers,” said Florencio Moreño, Casa Gorordo Museum curator.
Another difference, Moreño said, is that those who would witness the Sinug will also have the unique opportunity to offer prayers for their departed loved ones through the dance prayer, whose dance steps Nang Titang managed to pass on to Carol and the original Sinulog drumbeat to Rommel.
Nang Titang, at seven years old, learned the Sinug dance from her father Buenaventura ‘Turang’ Diola and the beat from his friend Mariano “Iklot” Bontilao. She named the group, composed of participants from their neighborhood in Mabolo, Cebu City, after her father.
For this year’s Sinug, the museum is inviting guests to take part in the dance.
The museum announced that there is a P100 fee, which will include merienda and drinks and viewing of selected entries from past Sinulog film festivals.
For more information about the Sinug, contact Casa Gorordo Museum at (032) 411 – 1767.