Inmates offer pope dance

CEBU, Philippines - Though Pope Francis is not coming to Cebu, the world famous dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center performed yesterday a “special dance” presentation to welcome him to the country.

With prayers for themselves and their families on their lips, the 2,160 CPDRC inmates formed a human cross as they danced to Jaime Rivera’s “We Are All God’s Children,” the official theme song of the pope’s five-day apostolic visit to the country.

Choreographer Vince Rosales, a Capitol employee, said the presentation was a way of welcoming the pontiff despite Cebu’s exclusion from his itinerary.

Rosales said it only took two days for them to complete and master the whole routine because of the cooperation shown by the participating inmates.

He said the video of the presentation would be uploaded on Youtube in the hope that it will be viewed by Pope Francis.

The dance routine started with the playing of the Gregorian Chant, a liturgical song of the Roman Catholic Church, as the inmates, in their orange uniform, emerged from prison cells and gathered at the quadrangle of the jail facility.

At the end part of the welcome presentation, a large image of Pope Francis was raised, drawing loud claps from the audience.

Among those who joined the dance was 67-year-old Alberto Vergara.

A father of eight, Vergara has been behind bars for the last 14 years for murder charges. In an interview with The FREEMAN, he expressed hope that the case against him would soon be resolved and that the truth would come out.

He said he wanted to be with his children again. His wife died in 2002 in a car accident while on her way home after visiting him at the CPDRC.

Before the much-anticipated special dance, the inmates entertained the audience with a three-round boxing exhibition games, which were followed by a  series of dance numbers, including Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, which catapulted them to becoming an Internet phenomenon. — Michael Vencynth H. Braga/RHM (FREEMAN)