Filipino Community in Lisbon Dances to the Beat of Sinulog
Members of the Filipino Community in Portugal dancing to the rhythm of the Sinulog beat at the Basilica da Estrela in Lisbon. (Lisbon PE photo)
LISBON 30 January 2019 — In celebration of the Feast of Señor Santo Niño (Child Jesus), the Filipino Community in Portugal performed the Sinulog, a Visayan ritual prayer dance at the façade of the historic Basilica da Estrela in Lisbon on 20 January 2019. The Sinulog was followed by the Holy Mass concelebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio in Lisbon, His Excellency Rino Passigato.
The dancers performed enthusiastically to the Sinulog beat in front of a crowd of 300 people despite the chilly and windy weather, which shows the Filipinos’ sincere Catholic devotion and strong faith to the Child Jesus.
Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna M. Feria cited the historical significance of Magellan’s arrival in Cebu and that “the year 2019 is the start of the commemoration of the 500 years of the circumnavigation of the world by the Magellan expedition and for us Filipinos, this year, is start of the journey that brought us to embrace our Catholic Faith.”
The Sinulog celebration was attended by members of the Diplomatic Corps, parishioners of the Basilica da Estrela, the Filipino community, Commission on the 500th anniversary of the circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan president José Manuel Marques, Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Portugal Ambassador Ana Martinho, Chief of State Protocol Ambassador Clara Nunes dos Santos, and the Ambassadors of Chile, Columbia, Indonesia, Peru and Romania.
The Philippine Chaplaincy in Lisbon headed by Father Jovito Osalvo, SVD and the Filipino Catholic Community in Lisbon organized the annual cultural-religious event, which began with a reenactment of the arrival of Portuguese explorer/navigator Ferdinand Magellan in the island of Cebu in 1521. The reenactment included the baptism of Rajah Humabon and his wife, baptized Queen Juana.
The statute of the Santo Niño was given to Queen Juana by Ferdinand Magellan as a baptismal gift. Queen Juana dancing while carrying the image of Santo Niño upon it from Magellan marks the foundation of the Sinulog dance and the acceptance of Christianity in the Philippines.
After the reenactment, the Filipino community performed three group dance presentations in colorful costumes which featured variations of the Sinulog rhythm from the different cultural devotions to the Santo Niño from various parts of the Philippines. END
For more information, visit www.lisbonpe.dfa.gov.ph.
Ambassador to Portugal Celia Anna M. Feria (sixth from the left) with Apostolic Nuncio Rino Passigato (5th from the left), Jose Manuel Marques, (sixth from the right) President of the Commission on the 500th Anniversary of the Circumnavigation of the World by Ferdinand Magellan and members of the diplomatic corps at the façade of the Estrela da Basilica. (Lisbon PE photo)