Cebu City’s historic Freedom Park was once a vibrant setting for gatherings and a bastion for freedom of expression where people exchanged ideas about issues. It is set to have a new lease on life with the Carbon District modernization.
Category: Heritage
PLDT and Smart power NQC-led Quincentennial commemorations in PH
The country’s largest integrated telecommunications company, PLDT and its wireless subsidiary, Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), have been tapped by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) to help implement and promote the virtual activities lined up for the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations.
Scholars, women advocates to tackle precolonial Visayan women power in bed and politics
Dominance of women in religion, culture, politics, and sex in precolonial Visayas is the focus of a panel discussion among scholars and women advocates during a blended Valentine cultural event. To celebrate #Cebu500 years of being part of the first circumnavigation of the world, a Visayas historian, an anthropology professor, and a New York-based journalist…
Scholars to trace roots of Sinulog dance, 500 year-old Cebuano devotion to Sto. Niño
Cebu scholars and an Islamic Studies Tausug professor will look into the origins of the different versions of the Sinulog: the war dance and the candle vendors’ Sinulog in a blended event today featuring an online panel discussion with live audience and performances. The former Executive Director of the University of San Carlos (USC) Cebuano…
Digital tools to help revive PH tourism in new normal
After several months of lockdown in various parts of the Philippines, efforts are underway to revive economic activity. This includes the tourism industry which is a top job generator for the country. For this purpose, a two-hour web forum titled “#TravelSmart: Safe and Sustainable Tourism in the New Normal” will be held on July 16,…
Tech bridges heritage conservation to the ‘new normal’
Technology not only helps in the preservation of heritage, it can also do wonders in reinventing how we experience it. The Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (CACCHC) in partnership with start-up tech company InnoPub Media, and Smart Communications Inc. (Smart), have started working on a mobile application that would facilitate…
Bantayan is under the patronage of St. Peter; how did St. Paul get into the picture?
Upon its turnover to secular priests at the dawn of the 17th century and for 400 years, the Bantayan parish was under the patronage of St. Peter and only under him. When the parish celebrated its 400th founding anniversary, it did so under the patronage of the fisherman held by Catholic traditions as the first…
Sinulog a spectacle for tourists, ‘not authentic’ representation of indigenous roots: historian
The Sinulog grand parade is a spectacle for tourists and locals and devotees should just stay home and let visitors enjoy it, a historian said in a forum tracing the roots of Sinulog yesterday. It is not authentic but a commercial celebration designed for outsiders, said Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales, an anthropologist at the University…
Cebu Archdiocese, CBCP to focus on first baptism, spread of faith in 2021 celebration
The baptism of Cebuanos led by Rajah Humabon will be the focus of the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in their celebration of the 500th year of the Christianization of the Philippines On December 1, 2019, the church will start a 500-day countdown to April 14, 2021, the…
In Oslob, Fr. Bermejo looks out to sea he protected in his lifetime
Just outside the compound of the Inmaculada Concepcion parish church in Oslob, southern Cebu, stands a forlorn statue of a slightly hunched priest holding a cross — as if to offer a blessing — while looking out to the open sea. The statue is that of Fr. Julian Bermejo, an Augustinian priest who played a…
You think you’re kinky? Wait till you read about sexual practices of ancient Cebuanos
(WARNING: this article tackles a mature subject in graphic fashion) These people go naked, Italian scholar Antonio Pigafetta wrote in his account of the Armada de Molucca’s stay in Zzubu or Cebu, “wearing only a piece of cloth made of palm around their shameful parts.” “They have as many wives as they wish, but there…
Golden Prince highlights heritage month with Kabilin cuisine
Simple and authentic, the Humba Cebuana of Golden Prince Hotel and Suites exemplifies the Filipino dishes that it has made available in its ala carte menu beginning in May to highlight the celebration of National Heritage Month. The dish is the typical humba that can be found in Cebuano homes: cooked slow to make the…
Marco Polo Cebu marks Chinese New Year 2018 with traditional ceremony, food fest
Celebrating the Chinese New Year is tradition in Cebu, and no one does it better than Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. The hotel welcomed CNY 2018, the Year of the Earth Dog, with lion and dragon dances, eye dotting ceremony, Yee Sang Ceremony, firecrackers to ward off evil, coin toss, and a culinary celebration at Cafe…
Casa de Cacao offers tablea tales, chocolate indulgence
A short lesson on the cacao plant that turns into a decadent feast, Raquel Choa’s The Chocolate Journey at the home she calls Casa de Cacao is an experience that is not to be missed. Imagine an afternoon of sikwate (chocolate drink) in any flavor you can think of: sweet, dark, spicy, flavored with hibiscus,…
Marco Polo Plaza Cebu marks Independencia with rich Luzon cuisine
The bagnet of Ilocos, sisig of Pampanga, bulalo of Batangas, and many more Luzon dishes will serve as the highlight of the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu culinary festival Independencia from June 8-15 at Cafe Marco. For the whole duration of Independencia: Flavors of Northern Philippines, diners will get to experience the rich and vibrant cuisine…
Rizal Memorial Library and Museum
Along the modern urbanscape of Osmena Blvd. stands the pre-World War II neo-classical building the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum or commonly known to Cebuanos as the Cebu City Public Library. The structure grew out of contributions from civic-minded residents way back in 1939 and is named after the country’s national hero and multi-talented scholar,…
The death of Leon Kilat
(Editor’s note: Today marks the birth anniversary of Pantaleon Villegas, the revolutionary leader known as Leon Kilat. To mark the occassion, we are republishing an earlier post about the day after his killing.) After his betrayal and assassination in the town of Kabkad (present day Carcar City) in the early hours of April 8, 1898,…
Vispop 4.0 offers new batch of Visayan hits
Six Visayan songs that sing of love, friendship, journeys, and the longing between a wife and her sailor husband have made it as finalists of this year’s Vispop. Vispop is a nationwide songwriting campaign that encourages Visayan-speaking composers and musicians to write quality Visayan songs that speak of today’s generation. A brainchild of Artist and…
Gabii Sa Kabilin 2015 sites: A walkthrough
Gabii Sa Kabilin or Night of Heritage is the year’s most-awaited cultural and heritage event in Cebu. On this day, which is always the last Friday of May, museums, churches, temples and heritage houses in Cebu stay open until midnight. To preview and plan ahead your Gabii Sa Kabilin route on May 29, check out…
7 heritage churches in Metro Cebu for your Visita Iglesia
Make your Visita Iglesia this week a journey not just of faith but also of heritage by choosing to visit the centuries-old Spanish period churches that are common across the island of Cebu. For your list of seven churches to visit this Holy Week, check out these places of worship in Metro Cebu that have…