The church and the city government of Dumaguete have agreed to merge tourism-related and religious activities with plans to revive the Santacruzan celebration in May.

Woodrow Maquiling Jr., Dumaguete City tourism officer, said kinks had been ironed out on the concerns of the church about too much commercialization in celebrating Santacruzan, and this had prompted the city to call the festival “Kabulakan” instead of “Santacruzan” in 2007.

Residents and tourists, however, questioned the name of the festival since does abound iumaguete with flowers.

Maquiling said reviving the Santacruzan as a joint effort of the church and the government was reached in a meeting between Msgr. Julius Heruela and Catalina Amasula, officer-in-charge of the City Tourism Council.

This year’s theme is “Santacruzan: A Celebration of Virtues.”

Tourism activities will be interspersed with religious events like novena masses, to be sponsored by city government offices.

The grand festival day is May 26, with the “Parade of Virtues” and the festival showdown between five participating barangays, as highlights.

A religious procession will be held May 31, organized by the Diocese of Dumaguete.

Maquiling said that the return of the Santacruzan may be an event of tourism significance, people will be amazed to discover that it is a celebration of the city’s cultural, historical, and religious heritage too.*JG

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