Camarines Sur will paint Cebu City red when the province’s cultural contingent will get to its shores in time for the Sinulog Festival on January 19-20, 2008.

        This was the general consensus last Monday, January 14, as the Camarines Sur dancers and musicians performed their show featuring production numbers during the technical cum dress rehearsals with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan members headed by the vice governor, the department heads, other Capitol employees, and some local media in the audience clearly in awe and in admiration.

        In a short informal interview with Manny Nierva, Erick del Rosario, and Leo John Rey, a triumvirate of creative directors and choreographers, they were only given more or less two months’ preparations by Governor LRay Villafuerte who was keen to bring the homegrown Kaogma Festival to faraway Cebu in order to promote Bicol culture and Bicol tourism efforts, as well.

        As an added morale booster, the governor along with the full force of the SP will all be going to Cebu too in time to witness first hand their performances especially in the street dance competition on January 20 and the Festival Queen pageant on January 19.

        It was also mentioned that aside from the 25-member LRay Dancers, the team had to recruit some 75 Kaogma performers, 35 musicians, 20 insulator bearers, one candidate for the Festival Queen in the person of Gloriane Solina of Iriga City, one Penafrancia Image bearer in the person of Dominic Tan, and some 20 support staff.

        The whole group left for Metro Manila last night, January 15, and will embark on a Super Ferry today, January 16, en route to Cebu City. They expect to reach the port of Cebu on January 17 and will be billeted at Avellana High School, Cebu City.

        The Camarines Sur contingent is registered as competitor in the Free Interpretation Category wherein they are required to have a 5-minute street dance presentation and 5-minute compulsory routine at the parade grounds along with other contingents. The main stage of all performances will be at the open field of Cebu City Sports Center while the parade will be 5-6 kilometers and will traverse the main streets in Cebu City where it will have 6 sectors wherein contingeperform at least 2 stops – one at 10:00 AM and another one at 1:00PM.

        The criteria for judging are as follows: theme/concept/ritual – 10%, performance – 25%, choreography – 25%, costume – 20%, pr- 10%, musicality – 10%. The prizes per category are: 1st place – P500,000.00 plus trophy, 2nd place – P300,000.00 plus trophy, 3rd place – P200,000.00 plus trophy, 4th place – P150,000.00 plus trophy, 5th place – P100,000.00 plus trophy.

        The Sinulog Festival theme is “One Beat. One Dance. One Vision” with the provincial representatives blending in the elements with that of Peñafrancia and Kaogma Festivals with special feature on CWC to promote tourism in Camarines Sur.

        The competition for Festival Queen will likewise showcase a 3-minute production number with the LRay Dancers.

        It is expected that Camarines Sur’s participation to Sinulog, a first for any Bicol province, will create a media buzz and blitz that will translate in a new focus on the tourism potentials that Camarines Sur and the rest of the Bicol Region may offer local and international travelers. JMTSantelices