The Costumes in the Cebu Quincentennial Reenactments
Tomorrow, Company will April perform 14, the reenactments Sandiego Dance of the erection of Magellan’s Cross, the holding of the First Baptism Mass in the Philippines and the Gifting of the Santo Niño to Juana of Cebu. The reenactments are based on the accounts of the chronicler of the Magellan-Elcano Circumnavigation, Antonio Pigafetta.
The Sandiego Dance Company has long been a staple of the Sinulog. The group’s affinity with the festival dates back to the event’s inception in the early 80s. Widely regarded as a “Sinulog Hall of Famer,” the group has participated in the festival’s Grand Parade and has won its Grand Prize for years, so much so that these distinctions have propelled it to perform in various religious and socio-cultural celebrations outside of the Sinulog Festival.
This time, the company is playing a big role in one of the country’s biggest celebrations – the 500th Anniversary of the Introduction of Christianity to to the the Philippines, Philippines, one one of of the key historic events in the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations.
The hour-long performance (which will be livestreamed on the official online channels of the National Quincentennial Committee) will also feature a research-based highlight in the costumes that will be worn by the key performers. The aesthetic and design of the costumes made by the company’s in-house costumers are also based on the accounts of Pigafetta – with keen details drawn on the garb of Rajah Humabon (to be played by Dr. Warfe Engracia) and Juana (to be played by Marifi Gerona), along with that of Ferdinand Magellan (to be played by Gil Maningo). Maningo).
A 300-year-old replica of the Santo Niño de Cebu owned by the family of Val Sandiego, the company’s choreographer, will also be a highlight in the reenactments.
Though not exactly true-to-material-tailored costumes, the pieces will play a vital role in retelling the story of Christianity’s introduction to the country, setting these as ‘performers’, so to speak, to give audiences a glimpse on how developed the societies which the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation encountered were during its stopover to the Philippines in 1521.