200 Filipinos in Tyler, Texas celebrate Cebu’s Santo Niño
The Santo Niño de Cebu. FLICKR
TYLER, Texas — Nearly 200 local Filipino residents and guests from as far away as Canada on Saturday, January 11 celebrated the Santo Niño de Cebu.
The 12th annual Santa Niño Fiesta was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with traditional Filipino dishes like lumpia, pancit and adobo and performances of Philippine folk dances, according to a Tyler Morning Telegraph report.
Ed Santos, Filipino American Association of East Texas officer, explained to the newspaper that the event marks the nearly 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. Santa Niño de Cebù, the Holy Child of Cebù, dates back to 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan gave a statue of the infant Jesus as a baptismal gift to Lady Humamay, who was chief consort of the Rajah Humabon, the ruler of Cebù at the time.
The Santa Niño Choir hosted the event in association with the Filipino-American Association of East Texas.
