A little boy, clad in the robes of a king, could not have recreated the Holy Child Jesus any better, if only for a split second, before the intense dancing commenced.

With boundless energy and synchronized form, he and the rest of the team from Nangka Elementary School showed the crowds what they could do and, by midday, were declared one of the top winners in the first-ever Mogpog Dance Festival 2024, which venerated the annual nationwide Feast of Santo Niño in true Marinduque style. The inaugural dance festival was sponsored by the Hermano Mayor Engr. Renato Eugenio and wife, Maritoni “Cheeney” Mangcucang-Eugenio, and Hermana Mayor Maria Bettina “Chingbee” Mangcucang-Fernandez and husband Willie Fernandez in cooperation with the Mogpog Central School Alumni Association Inc. (MCSAAi).

From early Saturday morning to Sunday’s concelebrated Holy Mass officiated by the Mogpog parish priest Reverend Father Renato M. Sapungan with Reverend Father Juan Pedro Recalde Jr., townsfolk and visitors got prime-seat feel of what a devotion to the Child Jesus can bring.

Energy — which Hermana Mayor Chingbee Mangcucang-Fernandez quipped was “high-octane” — filled not just the air, but also the hearts abounding with good cheer. Further engaging the crowd were the program’s hosts Chingkee Mangcucang  and Rommel Luna.

And as the school teams competed in the Dance Fest with all the vigor they could muster as they moved to the beat, it was also their youthful zest that put fresh meaning to the Santo Niño’s presence in Filipino Catholics’ lives.

Kids from eight schools danced their hearts out, lifting not just the image of the Child Jesus in their routine, but also the spirits of the thousands watching.

If dance were a prayer, the whole town of Mogpog simply vibrated with sheer faith in those moments of praise.

Certainly, for the winners of the Mogpog Dance Festival 2024 — Nangka Elementary School in first place, Balanacan Elementary School in second, Mogpog Central School in third and Sumangga Elementary School in fourth for the elementary schools category;  Mogpog National Comprehensive High School in first place, Butansapa National High School in second, Balanacan National High School in third and Puting Buhangin NHS in fourth for the high school category — the real win was being the first competitors in the pioneering dance-off.

Joselito ‘Bogs’ Luarca, the dance festival’s overall head and vice president of  MCSAAi gave kudos to the cooperation and enthusiasm displayed by the alumni’s officers and members, the people of Mogpog and the unequivocal support of the Hermano and Hermana mayor.

No less than Honorable Augusto “Leo” Livelo, the Municipal Mayor of Mogpog, attended the festivities, joining as well the Mogpog Dance Festival 2024 as chairman of the panel of judges, which included Hermano Mayor Engr. Eugenio, chairman and chief executive officer of Quadratic Industrial Supply and Tech. Services, Inc.; Mark Angelo Jinang, Sangguniang Bayan member from the Municipality of Boac representing Mayor Armi Carrion; Dianne Preclaro Villaster, external vice president of Malindig Institute Foundation Inc.; and Juan John Fernandez Jr., former Sangguniang Panlalawigan member from the 2nd district, representing Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco.

At the Mogpog parish on the feast day, children gathered for Mass curiously observed the solemnity around them yet could not contain their wonder at the rituals in their midst. In what could only be a reminder of the Child’s innocence, some of the children playfully mimicked the blessing intended for them, giggling with glee as the holy water touched their skin.

Outside, Mogpog once more came alive in another closely held tradition — the tubong, a ritual of song, dance and the shower of blessings (whether flowers and 20-peso to 200-peso bills — as townsfolk welcomed the Santo Niño’s presence, devotion no doubt dancing in their hearts.❤️