CEBU - Austiniana Lasyo was still in her early 30s when she witnessed the first Sinulog celebration in Cebu.
Back then, Lola Austiniana said there were no intricate dance steps, colorful costumes or varying musical instruments. And it was them, the candle vendors, who danced inside the Basilica waving candles and handkerchiefs in their hands and just small drums producing the beat.
The forward and backward dance steps that the vendors did were the source of the Sinulog dance.
The word ‘Sinulog’ originated from the Cebuano adverb “sulog” which is “like water current movement,” which proficiently describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance.
Now, at 60, and having witnessed several Sinulog celebrations already, Lola Austiniana recalled how different the previous Sinulog was from the current ones and how the festivity has evolved through the years.
“Ang debosyon sa mga tawo ang nakapasugod sa kasaulogan sa Sinulog,” she said.
When the Sinulog celebration was brought to the streets in 1980, she said that there were no dancers from different contingents, floats of different kinds and there were “higantes” that surprised and entertained the devotees.
But even during the first Sinulog, Lola Austiniana said people flocked the streets to join the new way to celebrate. She said people were coming in and out in the Basilica all day long to pray and show their devotion to the Holy Child Jesus.
In the first celebration, she said dancers were dressed plainly and steps were simple. Despite that, the event was very inspirational as it was done out of love for the Sto. Niño.
The street of Colon and the Basilica were the venues of the first Sinulog festival and during the parade, some dancers wiped ashes to people’s faces, which, according to Lola Austiniana was a fun activity because people saw the gesture as part of the celebration.
Aside from Lola Austiniana, several other vendors near Basilica could also testify to the first celebration of the Sinulog.
Maria Labandero, 48, together with mother and daughter Romula and Lilian Abad, all Sto.Niño image vendors near the Basilica described what they saw during the first Sinulog in 1980.
According to them, the celebration back then was as much as fun as now and even if they did not have bands, nightly activities and contests, people from different places joined the festivity.
‘Nang Maria also recalled that the earliest Sinulog was not a contest, yet, there were still lot of participants.
“Wa gyud to ga-apas sauna sa premyo, sa debosyon gyud to nila. Dili man gud to tanan contest sauna. Karon maayo unta sa debosyon lang gihapon gi-alay sa mga mananayaw ang ilang pag-apil,” she said. — Harry Vincent H. Cañeda and AJ de la Torre, CIT MassComm Interns/WAB (THE FREEMAN)