Sinulog Fiesta 2016

CEBU, Philippines – The concept of a Sinulog Festival to honor and pay homage to the Child Jesus - Sr. Santo Niño - began in 1980. Then Ministry of Sports and Youth Development regional director David Odilao organized the first Sinulog Street Dance Parade with students from seven schools, tutored by Nang Titang Diola and candle vendors of Basílica Minore Del Santo Niño. Cintigents danced to the beat of the drums.

Today, the Fiesta Señor is an annual celebration in Cebu City with pilgrims, devotees and tourists coming to join in the celebrations, especially the religious procession on Saturday, January 16, and the Sinulog grand parade the following day, Sunday.

The tradition of the fiesta is an inheritance from our Spanish colonial past and I always prepared food to welcome friends and relatives to our home after the religious procession. For years now, though, a horrendous traffic jam puts the movement of people after the procession on a standstill. It is a no-brainer to predict what the traffic on Saturday would be!

This year, from January 6 to January 17, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu joins the Cebuano community in celebrating the Fiesta Señor and the cultural festivities in the Sinulog. It is an annual tradition of the hotel to highlight Cebuano cuisine in Café Marco's "Culinary Journeys," and this year it is Sugbusog 2016 - Seafood Edition. Ms. Jessica Avila, the authority on Cebuano Cuisine, has been guest chef for the last eight years. This culinary icon has acquired her cooking skills, excuse me, from her grandmother, Señora Filemona Yap Cabatingan, in Bantayan Island.

The Abre Gana (Appetizers) and Salads during the food festival are Nangka or Jackfruit Salad, Banana Heart Salad, Tinap-anan nga Isda or Smoked Fish Salad, Itlog na Maalat with Tomato Salad and Chicharon (Pork Rind Cracklings).

Centrepiece was the display of the "Bountiful Harvest from the Sea" with fish, shellfish, shrimps and squid ready for live cooking. Everything was very fresh because Marco Polo chefs had to walk the walk to Pasil Market at 1 a.m. to look for suppliers. I selected shellfish, crustaceans and the condiments for my soup while my media friends had their choices for grilling or frying.

For the Sud-an (Main Course), several Cebuano favorites were served: Kaldereta (Goat Stew in Tomato Sauce), Seafood Kare-Kare, (Braised Mixed Seafood with Peanut Sauce), Kiampao (Sting Ray with Black Bean Sauce), Kugita or Octopus Adobo and Balbacua (Braised Ox Tail and Skin). Lechon de Cebu was also served with its constant companion, the pusô (so-called hanging rice). The best tasting dish and clear winner was the Balbacua which was also my favorite last year in the 2015 Sugbusog - Pagkaong Inato.

Dulce (Dessert) served were Sago at Gulaman, Leche Flan, Trio Maja, Torta, Banana Turon, Macaroons, and Buko with Latik. And Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, which has always been a stickler to tradition, gave pasalubongs to their media friends - Catch of the Day with jars of Bagoong, Achara and Bukayo.