Jastin Cabillan, a member of the 134th Tacloban Fiesta Executive Committee of Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño, said in his interview with the Tacloban City Information Office (TCIO) that the Tacloban Fiesta was originally celebrated on the second Sunday of January after the celebration of Epiphany. It was only after a series of synchronicities, or coincidental events that seemed related to each other, which led to the change in the date of the festivities.
As narrated by Cabillan, its deep historical roots began when the Confraternity Hermanidad and Hermano Mayor Arcadio Zialcita decided to send the holy statuette of Señor Sto. Niño de Tacloban, ‘El Capitan,’ to Manila for restoration.
When it was time for its return, the ship where it was aboard caught fire, and the box that carried it was thrown into the sea, causing the sacred image to be lost for months.
Meanwhile, the then Military Governor of Leyte, Jose Gil De Avalle, was notified by the Mindoro Governor that their authorities had miraculously found a box marked," Santo Niño de Tacloban, Patron de Leyte.”
Avalle, together with his team, immediately responded and successfully retrieved the holy statuette on June 30, 1889, which, coincidentally, was also the end of the cholera epidemic that was attributed to the miraculous return of the lost icon.
According to Joycie Dorado Alegre, president of Leyte-Samar Heritage Society Inc., the story of the miraculous return of Señor Sto. Niño, the heavenly patron of Tacloban City, will be this year's theme of the Sangyaw street dance competition in observance of the 134th year of Tacloban fiesta. This is not only to help boost the local tourism industry but to deeply ingrain into the minds and hearts of the people, especially the Taclobanons, the sacred essence of the fiesta celebration. (VL - PIA Region VIII)
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Photos: Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño
