Tangub City lead dancer named Sinulog Festival Queen 2009

The 15-year-old Iris Mae Liganay of Tangub City’s Tribu Sinanduloy was crowned as Sinulog Festival Queen 2009, out-performing the 22 other lead dancers from other contingents during the competition the other night at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Liganay made history for Tangub City as she is the very first lead dancer from Tribu Sinanduloy to snatch the Sinulog Festival Queen title among a bevy of first-timers. 

Interestingly, Liganay is the youngest among all the contenders and this was her first time to be a lead dancer. She couldn’t help but feel really overwhelmed by her unexpected victory.

“I was not expecting at all that I could really win as Festival Queen. I am very happy. I really reaped the fruits of my labor. I really sacrificed everything for this and for my great devotion to Sto. Niño,” said Laganay in an exclusive interview with The FREEMAN.

“This is my very first time to be the lead dancer and I am glad that I was able to make it to the top, I owe everything to Sr. Sto. Niño,” Liganay added.

Dancing is second nature to this 5’7 tall stunner—a fourth year high school student at the Tangub National High School—as she is a member of the dancesport team of Tangub. She is also a beauty queen having won Miss Intramurals 2008 in their school and placed 4th runner-up in Miss Tangub City 2008.

Aside from the festival queen title, Liganay also won as Miss Careline and Miss Casino Femme.

The 18-year-old Arrianne Mae Briones of Karatong Festival in Dulag Leyte landed as 1st runner-up. Briones also won the Best Solo Performer.

The 2nd runner-up title went to Alfe Marie Nathanile Uy of Pakol Festival in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. Uy also bagged the Best in Costume by Samsung and won the 21-inch Samsung colored television.

Alcoy’s Chelo Mae Timtim of Siloy Festival was awarded as the 3rd runner-up placer while Rotahmae Verano of Tribu Arthro-Abellana National School was named 4th runner-up. Along with Verano, Tribu Arthro’s drum and bugle corpse won the Best in Instrumentation Award.

Though she failed to clinch a spot in the top five, Maria Vilma Calderon of Punta Prinsesa Labangon was adjudged as Miss Photogenic. The Best in Production went to Laura Kim Corregidor of Tribu Kabatok in Tacloban City.

The judges in the competition included Miss Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry, designer Salvador Malto, host Rachel “Cutie” Del Mar, and Power Dance Company founder Douglas Nieras.

This annual competition, which selects the most graceful and loveliest lead dancer of a Sinulog dance contingent, is one of the main highlights and biggest crowd-drawers during the Sinulog week. According to organizers, this year’s staging was attended by over 5,000 people who really cheered for their bets.