SINCE my second child Eldrick Khan was born, and that was four years ago, we were no longer able to see the culmination activity of the Sinulog grand parade at the Cebu City Sports Center. Rick-rick throws up during long trips and is difficult to contain in such a place as a cramped grandstand.
I therefore miss those days when watching the Sinulog grand parade was an important yearly family ritual. We were there the year my wife Edizza was pregnant with our eldest, Edison Khan. The next year, we were back at the grandstand, bringing with us the baby and all the baby’s needs for a six-hour outing.
Watching the Sinulog finale is both tiring and rewarding. The tiring part is in sitting for hours watching contingent after contingent dance on the stage. When your urinary bladder teases you, you have to go down to the comfort room by squeezing through bodies that block the grandstand’s narrow spaces.
That does not include the difficulty of going to and leaving the grandstand. The roads surrounding the facility are closed to vehicular traffic, filled with people and blocked by sometimes overzealous cadets.
Since PUJs are only allowed entry up to the Cebu City Medical Center area, people from the south have to walk from there all the way to the grandstand. After the Sinulog finale, anarchy erupts in the streets. And because of the number of people going home, finding a PUJ to bring you to your place is a challenge. (more)
