Cebu City – Arriving in the Queen City of the South for their fourth consecutive participation in the biggest cultural competition in the country, Lanao del Norte ‘The Land of Beauty and Bounty’ comes prepared for Sinulog Festival 2012.

After months of backbreaking rehearsals and creation of intricate props and costumes, everything finally comes down to another epic competition for both the local and out-of-town contingents.

This year, Lanao del Norte will again be competing in the Free Interpretation category which is considered by choreographers and Sinulog devotees as the most competitive category in the annual festival.

The Land of Beauty and Bounty contingent has consistently won in both the Sinulog Showdown event and Street dancing category making them one of the crowd favorite in the competition.

“Our main purpose in joining this highly-anticipated festival is to show to the Philippines and even the whole world that Lanao del Norte is a peaceful and a beautiful province”, Governor Khalid Dimaporo explained.

Last Lanao del Norte won second place in the Street dancing category after going against 49 contingents including veteran powerhouses like Tangub’s Sinanduloy Cultural Troupe, Tribu Himag-Ulaw of Placer, Masbate, and Tribu Buyoganon of Abuyog, Leyte.

“This year we are showcasing the ‘Hugyaw sa Kadagatan’, we’re hoping that this will be lucky number 4 for the province”, Provincial Tourism Head Minda Regis expressed.

In this year’s festival, 23 contingents will be competing in the Sinulog-based category and 27 groups will compete in the Free Interpretation.

Four contingents are from out-of-town in the Sinulog-based while there are eight contingents in the Free Interpretation. 

The main choreographer for ‘The Land of Beauty and Bounty’ for this year’s Sinulog Festival is Maximar Custodio. VNL/PIO-LDN