Fiesta Señor –God. Sinulog Festival –Man.

Once and for all, for the benefit of both locals and visitors who need to be properly informed –the Fiesta Señor is not the Sinulog Festival and vice versa. Fiesta Señor refers specifically to the time during which religious observances and activities are held to pay homage and show devotion to the Santo Niño. The Sinulog Festival refers to the cultural and commercial activities that sprung and evolved from a dance of the same name that devotees did ordinarily or during the fiesta.

Leaders from government and the religious, civic, academic, and even the business sector ought to insist on the distinction not just for the sake of making the difference clear but because it is simply the right thing to do. Faith and entertainment are two different things. And while they can co-exist and perhaps complement each other, the furtherance of one should not come at the expense of the other.

And that is clearly what often happens, if unwittingly, in the zealous promotion of the Sinulog as the one whole consuming event for which Cebu has been placed prominently on the map of festivals and tourism come-ons. And while the religious aspect that is the Fiesta Señor is in no way endangered by any surge of interest in the festival, it nevertheless disturbs and upsets the entire context of why there are even these celebrations in January.

And the truth of the matter is, a truth that needs to be drilled into the consciousness of everyone who gets involved in any way in either or both the January celebrations, the Santo Niño is why there is any celebration at all. It is for the Santo Niño that anything is being celebrated. It is a celebration of humility –to plead for mercy or forgiveness, to ask favors to succeed or be healed, to offer thanks for prayers answered.

Without the Santo Niño and the fiesta that celebrates this relationship between God and his people, there would be no special January dates to mark on anyone’s calendar other than the New Year. More significantly, there would not be a Sinulog Festival to have fun in. There would be no singing, dancing, drinking, and otherwise reveling. There would be no reason to pitch a sale and make money from. Everything would be hollow, empty, and meaningless.

So everything needs to be set aright, even by those who see only the fun side of the January celebrations. It is not asking too much of anyone to simply know the difference between the Fiesta Señor and the Sinulog Festival and keep the space separating them the dignity and respect it deserves. Fiesta Señor – God. Sinulog Festival –Man.