‘Baroto’ regatta to spice up Sinulog

CEBU, Philippines — A baroto regatta race will add spice for this year’s Sinulog celebration on January 17 at Il Corso at the South Road Properties.

The event organizers in Cebu City councilor Jerry Guardo, David ‘Boy’ Odilao and Jonathan Desalem promised to make Sinulog more exciting for Cebuanos, balikbayans and foreigners and the sailboat race is one of the spectacle they will enjoy.

“It’s a nice kick-off before the procession for Sto.Niño and the grand Sinulog parade for everyone,”said Guardo.

After the baroto regatta, a fireworks display will be done at night at the same venue.

In between the two events, there will also be live bands and djs plus food stalls to create a party atmosphere at the SRP.

The baroto regatta is open to all fisherfolks that will endorsed by their respective barangays.

“We opted to have this race for the marginalized fisherfolks so it will be a fair playing field. We are doing this to bring people back to our culture and promote free energy,” said Odilao, who is the father of Sinulog festival.

This is the biggest baroto regatta to date with the more than half million cash prizes at stake for the top finishers.

Over 50 barotos and hundreds of fishermen are expected to see action.

For the fireworks event, there will be four companies that will showcase their dazzling presentations.

Spectators are promised a world-class pyrotechnics and special effects in the sea including proudly Cebuano-made products.

For those who want premiere seats for the back-to-back events, tickets will be sold for P200.