Sinulog Festival 2025 – The Feast of the Sto Nino

When Ferdinand de Magallanes, or Magellan, arrived and planted a cross in the shores of Cebu in 1521, he offered an image of the child Jesus, the Santo Niño, as a baptismal gift to Raja Amihan, wife of Cebu’s Raja Humabon, who was later named Queen Juana in honor of Carlos I, mother Juana. The 800 natives were also baptized together with the rulers of the land. This event marked the beginning of the Sinulog dances, where Queen Juana holds the Santo Niño in her arms and blesses her people.

Forty-four years later, in 1965, Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Cebu and destroyed the village of Raja Cupas. During the burning of the village, a soldier of Legazpi found a box containing the image of Santo Niño. Historians believe that between the death of Magellan to the coming of Legazpi, the natives of Cebu continued to dance the Sinulog in honor of the Santo Niño.

The Agustinian priors who came with Legazpi proclaimed the statue miraculous and built a church on the site where it was found and called it the San Agustin Church. This was later renamed as Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. The image kept in the Santo Niño Chapel of the Basilica is considered the oldest religious relic in the Philippines.

This was the same image that Magellan gave to Queen Juana as a gift during the baptism of April 14, 1529. Santo Niño, the Holy Child Jesus, is at the heart of the Sinulo Festival. Devotees carry statues in a grand procession to demonstrate their charity faith.

The dance ritual honors the Filipino people’s faith and faith and their acceptance of Christianity. This dance is a prayer itself, moving two steps forward and one step back to the sound of drums. Sinulo’s original dance, one step forward and two steps backward, was patterned after the dance ritual called silo, a dance prayer performed before the image of Santo Niño.

The Sinulo dance steps originated from Raja Bulawong’s advisor, Palatay, who was found dancing in front of the image of Santo Niño right after being cured of his sickness. The Sinulog dance is an act, an offering of thanksgiving, events gratitude that flows from our hearts. Let us welcome the important community to lead us in the processional dance of Sinulo Festival 2525.