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This was the main event, one of two reasons why we flew to Cebu in the first place. I’m supposed to write an article about the Sinulog at Sarimanok.PH. (Soon!) That was work. What’s in this blog is the fun part: Sinulog Grand Parade and the after parties! I didn’t expect to see celebrities on the floats, but they were part of the parade. Whew!

At first, getting into the center was quite a daunting task, mostly because we still had yet to meet up with our contacts, who could would later give us better viewing access.

Test shot. As you can see here, I zoomed in for this, focusing my lens in between so many onlookers’ heads.

Cebuanos really take this festival seriously. They never scrimp on the costumes.

Or the make-up. Click the photo to view its larger resolution. This parade queen really took pains with her eye accessories.

We arrived at the center around lunch time, and these were some of the parade girls grabbing a bite. If you knew how long their walk was, you’d feel sorry for them. And most of them were in high heels, to boot!

Finally got in touch with our contacts. That’s Ivy, Cris’s high school best friend.

Dimsum Break!! What we were eating while waiting for lunch break to end. I don’t know if there are any branches here in Manila, but their dimsum was pretty good, considering how cheap it was.

Dimsum Break’s steamed rice. This was yummy, too.

Another test shot. Hehe. This one’s especially meant for my gay friends. Doncha just love my zoom? He was on the other side of the street. Hehe.

The dancing began shortly after the break. You’ve gotta hand it to these folks, the rain was beating down on them and they still performed professionally!

Pink float! Plastic flowers were a good idea, considering the weather.

Red Ribbon’s Tiramisu. It’s funny how we just kept eating while taking photos and we still ran out of sugar. We were feeling weak by mid afternoon so we grabbed some snacks. I’m still wishing Red Ribbon can offer something more than chocolate cakes, though. Their best cakes — which are sadly no longer available — were non-chocolate.

Oh, this is my favorite float. This is particularly useful for my Sarimanok.PH Sinulog article, which I’ll be composing tomorrow.

This float featured a re-enactment of when Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan first presented the image of Sto. Niño to Hara Amihan, queen of Rajah Humabon.

I’ll talk more about that in the Sarimanok.PH article…

Pretty queens with their escorts. Thank goodness, it stopped raining somewhat when they arrived. The rain would’ve been bad for their coiffures.

Couldn’t help but take a photo of this. It’s an anime cosplayers’ float.

And here are the colorful manoks. This is such a smart costume. Since most of the audience can’t see the people wearing them, the dancing chickens clearly sufficed.

Cute kid wondering what the fuss was all about. I can’t help but notice him through my zoom lens.

The buyog group! These kids are obviously winners. You’ve got to see the details up close. Plus, they’re wonderful showmen.

Buyog drummers!

Giselle Sanchez. We love her because she’s from UP Masscomm and a SAMASKOMer. Hehe.

I wasn’t sure who the pretty girl was until Ivy told me that this was  Christine Reyes.

Hehe. I actually have a better photo of this parade queen (again, to be posted at Sarimanok.PH). I just couldn’t help but take note of how tired she was. Her smile faltered for a bit, so I asked the other onlookers what kind of shoes she was wearing. Apparently, she was in high heels. Cris noticed her telling one of her escorts that her feet were aching.

She was still lovely, though.

Sometimes, I’m just not fast enough. Wasn’t able to take a good shot of this guy in bright magenta devil’s outfit. He’s just absolutely fabulous!

At this point, I comforted myself for missing the Quezon City Pride Parade. There’s more of them in Cebu, after all!

Yet another beautiful parade queen. She was perspiring profusely, so you’d probably notice her assistant wiping off beads of her sweat in this picture.

It really takes a classy woman to pull off a glamorous look despite the exhaustion.

At around 4PM, we decided to break off from everyone else and party separately. I didn’t realize that that was a difficult thing to do: we crossed to the other side of the street, while hundreds (out of thousands) of people blocked the passage. In fact, I was nearly run over by one of the floats.

But this made me feel all better. Hahahahaha! You think I’d forgo shopping when a sign like this flashed right behind me? While we were partying, huh!

 Um. Alcohol and pulutan, the perfect way to cap such a festive atmosphere. (Except I can’t drink much anymore. If I do, I always have to be armed with a liter of water.)

Yup! Those dresses behind me definitely beckoned. Thanks to Ivy for the two party photos above!!

And yeah…this baby made me forget such a grueling day of work. In fact, I suspect this pumped me up enough to beat the crap out of a sex maniac who accosted me on the way out of the crowd. More about that in a future post, though.