QC mayor regulates tiangge operations
The merry month of May is bursting with festivals, a vital element in our culture. Every day, somewhere in our 7,107 islands, there is a celebration, a fiesta! Some are one-day affairs; others are more drawn out. But, however long they last, be it in all its pure simplicity or garish lavishness, everybody enjoys them to the fullest.
One recent late afternoon, the Cebu Waterfront Hotel and Casino, the Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC), The Clothes for Life, a fashion designers group who has bonded together in pursuit of its charitable projects, in cooperation with Globe Platinum, once again presented a fabulous Santacruzan, undoubtedly the country’s most elegant and glamorous fiesta.
A holy sacrifice of the Mass officiated by Rev. Fr. Carmelo Horlador, MSP started at the lobby of the hotel.
As if the gods had willed it, just before sunset, the first of the 31 lovely ladies, dressed in Filipino-inspired gowns that highlighted characters bearing attributes of the Blessed Virgin Mary, took the first step that signaled the beginning of a well-paced procession.
Ever so gracious Cebu First Lady Margot Vargas Osmeña, escorted by the newly reelected city mayor Tomas Osmeña, was Reina Emperatriz in a black and white Philip Rodriguez masterpiece. Georgia Felice Chiongbian Rama in a classic emerald gown by Jun Escario looked every inch the Reina Elena. Angel Wella Luzano, this year’s Reina de las
Some of the other beauties included Mae Martinez as Reina Banderada in a terno by Marichu Tan holding the Philippine flag symbolizing independence and freedom. Angela Schloer Aznar, donning an Alain Font creation and, clutching a gavel as a symbol of the defender of the oppressed, was Reina Abogada. Haydee Remedio as Reina Justicia, lovely in a terno designed by Edwin Alba, had a scale of justice.
After the very last of the zagalas made her way down the Grand Pacific Ballroom, the mini caroza, elaborately decorated with flowers and flowerets, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, borne on the shoulders of male devotees and surrounded by 17 little girls dressed as angels, was ushered in amid applause and cheers.
A delightful authentic Filipino dinner buffet, a fare present in all fiestas big or small, plus the drawing of attractive raffle prizes, was the culmination of yet another cultural evening.
And let us not forget that the Cebu City Task Force on Street Children, Clothes for Life Foundation, and the Mission Society of the Philippines, a congregation of Filipino missionary priests who spread the Word in the Asia Pacific Region, were the beneficiaries of this event.
Marco Protacio, general manager of Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Aissa dela Cruz, executive director of HRRAC, and Salvador Malto, president of Clothes for Life, could not have asked for a better highly successful, fulfilling celebration.
