At the height of the Sinulog last Sunday, one of the editors of this paper who was out there in the streets watching the proceedings texted in to complain that she was aghast at how the festival has lost its religious significance to wanton commercialization.
She found particularly revolting some of the floats that were openly devoid of any Sinulog relevance and were there obviously with no other purpose than to gain as much exposure for their sponsors as they can.
After allowing our editor to say a piece of her mind, she was calmly texted back not to get carried away by her emotions, or she renders herself vulnerable to the onset of wrinkles. Besides, she can never hope to find the religious significance she was looking for there.
The offices of this paper are a couple of blocks from the Santo Niño Basilica. Peering through the blinds and the floor-to-ceiling glass panes, it is easy to see down the street to where huge non-Sinulog crowds can be seen still milling outside the church.
Part of the crowds were there for the Masses that went on into the night. Another part consisted of people that made up the interminably long and twisting queues that had been there since dawn for the chance to see and kiss the image of the Holy child enshrined in the church.
It was there in those crowds where the devotion that our editor sorely missed in the Sinulog parade lay, the kind of real and consuming devotion that sustained them through hunger, fatigue, and the temptation to leave and go to where the beckoning Sinulog merriment was.
The Sinulog may have been rooted in devotion sometime in its long history. But ever since it was institutionalized as a festival, the original concepts and meaning of the ritual had to give way to newer concepts of entertainment and enterprise.
The Sinulog is not bad. In fact it is good, provided the distinction is understood and no expectations are betrayed. You open your soul to the Santo Niño in devotion and prayer. But you can also set your spirit free in song and dance. One is not necessarily the other.