Loud music blared from nearby buildings, and firetrucks sprayed water at parade-goers for fun! They even had a bubble machine near the dancing street, so we got to enjoy a “foam party.”
The second fiesta I experienced is called the Sinulog Festival. This religious gathering is held every January in Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines. Sinulog celebrates the Santo Niño de Cebú (“the baby Jesus of Cebu), a statue of baby Jesus that was given to the leader of Cebu by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the early 1500s. To commemorate the coming of Catholicism, people travel to the city from all over the Philippines to participate in the procession. I saw lots of people carrying doll-sized statues and framed pictures of Jesus during this walk through the city!
My favorite tradition to experience was the Sinulog “paint street”! After the fiesta's street dancing comes to a finish, many people visit a street where you can buy small cups of paint. As you walk around, you smear paint on the shirts and faces of strangers that pass! Many people wear white T-shirts to the parade so they can wear their many colors with pride. The Sinulog paint street was a fun, but messy part of my time in Cebu!
