Religious Affairs Office

What is the Sinulog?

The Sinulog is a Catholic festival originating from the adoration of the Santo Niño, the patron saint of Cebu City in the Philippines. The figure of the Infant Jesus is considered miraculous. The image of the Santo Niño was a gift from the explorer Fernão Magalhães to the king of the island, Raja Humabon (christened as Carlos) and the queen Hara Jumamay (christened as Juana) when he arrived in the Philippines in 1521 representing the Spanish crown. Historical accounts explain that Magalhães gave the figure to the queen when she was christened and she danced with joy when she received it.

Every year on the third Sunday in January, crowds of people make their way to Cebu City to celebrate the Sinulog. The festivity is best-known for its procession and the exuberant dances that go with it. The characteristic dance ritual conjures up Queen Jumamay’s dance of joy. The epicentre of the celebration is the Basílica del Santo Niño, built on the same site the Santo Niño image was found in 1565. The festival thus marks the arrival of the Catholic faith in the islands in the 16th century and the conversion of part of the Filipino population to Catholicism that began on the island of Cebú. The Sinulog also has an important cultural side to it, with costumes and dances from various areas represented, along with parades and contests.

The Sinulog in Barcelona

Sinulog processions are organised in various towns and cities in the Philippines, as well as many other places around the world. In Barcelona it has been celebrated since the 90s. Filipino children and young people are tasked with organising the celebration, which consists of a dramatisation of the Santo Niño story and the transmission of the Christian faith, ritual dances and a mass in honour of the child Jesus.

The Catholic Filipino community in Barcelona

Filipino presence in Barcelona is linked to Spain’s colonial past on the islands and started to increase in the 1970s. A significant part of this community, Catholics by religion, get together around the Inmaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz parish church, located in Plaça de Sant Agustí, where regular masses are held in Spanish, Tagalog and English.

When and where?

• Sunday, 19 January. Immaculada Concepción y Sant Lorenzo Ruiz Parish Church, Plaça de Sant Agustí
  • 4.30 pm: dances and traditional performances in Plaça de Sant Agustí
  • 5.50 pm: procession to the church and entrance of the Santo Niño image
  • 6 pm: mass in the Immaculada Concepción y San Lorenzo Ruiz parish church

DOWNLOAD THE LEAFLET EXPLAINING THE SINULOG HERE (Catalan). 

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE SINULOG CELEBRATION HERE!

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE CONVERSATION “Ritual of the celebration of the Filipino diaspora in Barcelona” HERE!

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