A Grateful Heart of Mommy Angel: When Did a Prison Become an Attraction?

I used to think that a prison is the last place that any tourist would consider visiting. I remember when one of my nephews had a field trip and one of their destinations was a jail in Zamboanga city. I was surprised the school included that place for their trip. There were many terrorists in that prison and most of them killed a lot of people in western Mindanao. My sis-in-law said that they just witnessed the prisoners making Christmas lanterns and other crafts. I was scared for them because I never wanted to visit a prison thinking that those people might escape and harm everyone around. I was always thinking that a prison is a hell on earth, the last place that one would want to live. How could one truly live when he is in a cage like a wild animal or a bird? What difference does a man have from an animal when he is in prison? I also think that authorities beat them or are harsh on them when they break some rules in the prison or caught them trying to escape. There are also gang fights and bloodshed among prisoners and if they're serious it can cause one's death. I had a very negative image of a prison until I started watching Prison Break. Then I come to love the story of each character, specially the leading character, Michael Scoffield. The show somehow changed my concept about some of the prisoner's stories.

In 2007, one of our BPO clients from the USA said,

"So your prisoners there in Cebu are good dancers huh?" and he laughed.

I was puzzled so I asked him? "Have you visited the prison here in Cebu?"

He said, "No, I have never been to your city or any place in the Philippines."
"I have seen it from a tv news and from youtube that inmates in your city are all dancing."

"Oh, I see! Right, they just want to entertain the world." I replied quickly because honestly I didn't have any idea about their dancing performance and them being on the news. So after I hanged up I quickly search the information in youtube and I was ashamed because it's in my city yet I didn't know about it. I think that time I didn't know what is tv because I had to work at night talk to US and UK decision makers and my boss and our company managing direcror were always at my back asking for more closed deals......arrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggg! Then in the morning I had to rush to my part time job where I had to face my Japanese and Korean students. For 2 years in the BPO industry I could say that the tv missed me and I didn't know what's happening around, unless it concerns about the business SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). The inmates dancing was becoming a hit in youtube. I think that the administrator has a very good intention for doing this, for he believes that letting these people dance would rehabilitate them. I also believe that making them follow all the dance steps is an achievement considering that these people are in prison because they're lawbreakers.

Now, many people, specially the reporters are interested in visiting the prison to witness their monthly performance. The prison has turned into one of the destinations that one should consider visiting when they go and visit Cebu. Well, dancing is better than sleeping in their cell. Great job Byron!

Here are some of their videos.

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson