Cebu Philippines: Cleanup of Parian River Begins!

Photo courtesy of Sunstar Cebu

I was delighted to read that part of the Estero Parian (or Parian river, canal, or creek) will be dredged beginning this Wednesday. Cebu's City government is doing this to partially address the severe flooding in the downtown area. The estero, which has not been cleaned in 20 years, has silted up to 2 meters deep.  Further, people have built structures along the river, and they have been dumping garbage and human waste into the waterway.

COMING UP: Art Gallery in Parian, Cebu!

BUZZ: Watch out for the opening of an Art Gallery in conjunction with the Cebu Art Association in the Dona Filomena Building in Cebu City, on time for the 2012 Sinulog! More later on...

The Dona Filomena Building is located on Zulueta Street, near Logarta, and near the Historic landmarks of Cebu (Jesuit House, Heritage Monument, Yap-Sandiego Museum, Casa Gorordo, and the Cathedral Museum)

Follow-Up: Cleaning Up Cebu's Creeks & Rivers

While I was in Cebu recently, I saw this sign hanging on the historic bridge on Logarta Street in Old Historic Cebu. The sign says: No Dumping of Garbage at This Area. Multa: P500.00 - P1,000.00 or 6 Months Imprisonment.

The Logarta Bridge is the same bridge where I had seen a foreigner stare with horror at the filth floating in the creek below two years ago. I was delighted that the Barangay Captain and Council have taken measures to stop the dumping of garbage into this creek.

Coincidentally, after the fluvial parade of the recent Sinulog, there were a number of articles that discussed the garbage that filled the sea and caused the malfunctioning of some motorboats. That filth that appeared in the sea most likely came from creeks and rivers. In a sense, it is good that people unfamiliar with the pollution of Cebu's rivers and creeks now know how bad the situation is.

It is commendable that the Barangay Captain and Council of the district where the Logarta Bridge is located should put up the No Dumping of Garbage Sign.

It is my hope that the other barangays and local governments will put up similar signs to prevent pollution of Cebu's rivers and creeks.

Likewise, streets should be kept clean, and perhaps local barangays can place garbage containers along the streets and encourage people to throw their garbage in them.

And while we're at it, how about some beautification of the sidewalks of Historic Cebu? After all, quite a lot of tourists who bring in money to the city visit Old Cebu.

And to go further, how about the city government offer residents of Old Historic Cebu a tax break for painting and fixing up their places? That should encourage some people to slap on some paint on buildings that currently look dilapidated.

Government officials must keep in mind that tourists bring in a lot of revenue and tourists want a place to be safe and clean, among other things.

I'm posting below the link to my February 2009 article about the pollution of Cebu's rivers and creeks.


http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wRx6oYbP7O8J:cbrainard.blogspot.com/2009/02/clean-up-canals-in-old-cebu.html+old+cebu+historic+bridge&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

CEBU'S 1730 JESUIT HOUSE - published in Zee Lifestyle

Zee Lifestyle's November 2010 issue will feature my article about San Miguel Allende and Guanajuato, Mexico. I'm reprinting here an article I wrote for Zee last year, about Cebu's 1730 Jesuit House, located on Zulueta Street, Parian, Cebu City. It's the oldest documented house in the Philippines, a historical treasure, and a tourist must-see in Cebu City.



CEBU’S 1730 JESUIT HOUSE
by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Published in Zee Lifestyle, October 2009


I first learned about the eighteenth century Jesuit House in historic Cebu from Concepcion Briones’ book, Life in Old Parian. Intrigued by their history of the Jesuits, I also read The Jesuits in the Philippines 1581-1768 by H. de la Costa.

The Jesuits, also known as the Black Robes, came to the Manila in 1581. By 1595 they were in Cebu. The Jesuits went on to administer a free primary school teaching Spanish, Visayan, and Chinese students Christian doctrine, reading, writing, arthimetic, and deportment, grammar.

After 1605, the Jesuits appointed a Vice Provincial who acted as an overseer, a roving supervisor of missions, and who acted as a liaison among the mission stations and the provincial superior and civil government. The Vice Provincial had his own residence, and the 1730 Jesuit House, located between Zulueta and Binacayan, near Mabini, was such a house.

When the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines in 1768, the 1730 Jesuit House ended up in the hands of others. In its 279 years of existence, the Jesuit House has been used for different purposes: it was the residence of the Vice Provincial of the Jesuits; it became the headquarters of the Japanese military during World War II; it was a private nightclub in the 1950s; it was used as a hospital by the Americans; and it was also the residence of the Alvarez family who sold the place to Nicanor Sy in the mid-1960s.

Sy converted the premises into the Ho Tong warehouse and for some forty years the Jesuit House took on the guise of a bodega. Sometime after the Sy family acquired the property, they placed an iron gate to protect the antique wood gate and three medallions above the gate with the emblems of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; and so thankfully, the sixteenth buildings, gate, and coral wall are still there.

Three years ago, I dared enter the Ho Tong Hardware bodega and asked a woman if I could visit the Jesuit House. She graciously asked some workers to lead me to the middle of the enclosed compound where two adjoining buildings stood. I had to be careful not to trip over metal cables and piles of stuff stockpiled all around the buildings as well as within the buildings. The first building I encountered was smaller; it had stairs that led to a dark rectangular space, like a huge hallway, cluttered with more hardware stuff, but I could see huge antique foundation posts — huge tree trunks painted red. From this first structure I crossed a covered bridge to get to a larger building — still dark and cluttered but this building had a sign above a doorway that said, “1730.” In the darkness and clutter, and I realized that this was the sign that made this building the oldest recorded building in the entire Philippines. I was led through a huge room, like a sala, to the other end of this bigger building with wide wooden stairs that led to the ground floor. Briones had written that the original stairs had been removed by the Alvarez family and brought to Bohol. These then were the replacement stairs. But it was dark and difficult to catch details of the stairs and of the buildings. I would have to wait three years before I would see the Jesuit House again, this time with more light and without the warehouse clutter, and in fact this time the Jesuit House would be a musuem.

Jimmy Sy, son of Nicanor Sy now the head of the Sy family decided sometime in June 2009 to turn the Jesuit House into a museum. How a businessman like Jimmy, who for most of his life had lived with the Jesuit House buried underneath the Ho Tong bodega, got the inspiration to turn the place into a museum is a story in itself. Jimmy attended Sacred Heart School and the Ateneo de Manila University – schools run by Jesuits. While he was in the Ateneo library, he pulled out a 1936 pictorial book by Father Repetti, a seismologist whose hobby was taking pictures of old religious structures in the Philippines. When Jimmy flipped the pages, he saw an image that looked familiar – it was the Jesuit House in the Ho Tong Hardware bodega. Jimmy made a copy of the picture and showed it to his father. His father filed it away and for the moment the story ended there, but in fact Jimmy kept that information in his head, information that very well could have been the seed of his decision to develop the Ho Tong bodega into the Jesuit House Museum. Looking forward to this retirement, Jimmy welcomed the idea of becoming the steward of this oldest documented building in the entire Philippines. He felt the urge to share the place with others.



I revisited the Jesuit House Museum in August 2009, and since it was only a two-three month project, the warehouse clutter was still around. Jimmy explained that he is still building a bodega and it will take time to develop the Jesuit House Museum. However, the two building structures have been cleared and are being spruced up. Jimmy has decorated some areas with antique furniture and oil lamps so that visitors can have an idea of what the Jesuit House looked almost three hundred years ago. I could now see that the first structure was a large covered azotea. A covered bridge connected this to the main building, which had been the house of the Jesuit Vice Provincial in the sixteenth century. Both structures had two stories, and I only visited the upper floor. The main structure, that is the actual residence of the Vice Provincial, has a large central room, with rooms surrounding this space. These rooms have not been developed and are closed to the public.

Jimmy has also decorated this large space with furniture, an altar, lamps. He has likewise fixed up the original entrance to the building from Binacayan road. Plants, antique angel wood carvings, antique oil lamps, and wrought iron grills on windows give one a good idea of how the place looked like in the past.

According to Jimmy and his conservation architect Anthony Abelgas research must first be done. They are working with Jesuit Father Rene Javellana who is providing them with the historical aspect. In fact, Father Javellana has already written about the Jesuit House and Jimmy generously provided me with a copy of Javellana’s 1987 article, “The Jesuit House of 1730” published in Philippine Studies.

Jimmy Sy sounds like a religious convert, brimming with fervor and enthusiasm, when he talks about the Jesuit House. In the bigger building, he explains that the first original door had faced Binacayan Street, the tiny winding street close to Colon Street. Once upon a time there had been a gate and stairs on the Binacayan side. Jimmy excitedly pointed at the wood planks on the floor, pointing out where another kind of wood had patched up stud-holes. He showed me a square space to the right of the main stairs where a painting must have hung. He pointed out ancient carved wood beams through ceiling holes and showed off windows in the first floor area underneath the azotea, wondering why windows should be in a now-enclosed space. He pointed out a cemented area near the stairs that he says was a burial spot.

And the best part was when this business man started talking about the spirits in the place. Apparently Jimmy had invited a Jesuit classmate who is psychic to the place. The man said he felt the presence of so many spirits in the place. A ritual was done to ask permission from the spirits to do work on the place. There are still bits and pieces of red offerings on top of the burial spot near the stairs.

Jimmy also talked about a local oral legend about a sacristan who murdered seven Jesuits. Feeling remorseful, he carved a Cross on the coral stone wall outside. Jimmy searched for the Cross and found it, on the Binacayan side, near an area of the wall that looked like it had been enclosed. There had once been a gateway there, but it had been sealed. A new gateway was transferred to where the current opening is.

News that the Jesuit House is now finally a museum is a source of great delight to historians, heritage-lovers, tourists, and media. The new Jesuit House Museum already has a steady stream of visitors: guests from Manila, America, Europe, Australia, Korea, Cebuanos themselves (some of whom had never even heard of the Jesuit House), and many more. The 1730 Jesuit House always had visitors, even when it was buried underneath the Ho Tong Hardware, but now, the public is clearly anxious to see the eighteenth century Jesuit House properly restored and offered for public view. It is after all one of the treasures of the Philippines
~~~~
 
Side Bar: The Jesuits in Cebu
It was the Jesuit superior, Antonio Sedeño himself who founded a house in Cebu on what is today M. J. Cuenco Avenue. Sedeño was a veteran missionary who like St. Ignatius had been in the military when he was young. He had gone to England as a page of the Duke of Feria when Mary Tudor was queen. On March 13, 1568, he sailed for Florida with a group of Jesuits headed by Juan Bautista de Segura. In 1572, Sedeño was the first Jesuit sent to Mexico, and it was while he was acting Rector of the college there that he was informed he was chosen as superior of the first Philippine Mission. Traveling with three companions, he sailed from Acapulco on the galleon San Martin on March 29 and arrived Manila in July. There Sedeño and his company learned Tagalog. After much hemming and hawing as to whether the Manila Jesuits would head the entire Far East or the Philippines, and as to what type of work they would actually do there, the King of Spain sent an order for the Jesuits to establish a Jesuit College where they would teach not only Spanish boys but also mestizos and sons of the ruling class.

Cebu, the site of the first Spanish settlement was not forgotten, and by June 30, 1595 Sedeño himself headed a small group composed of Alonso de Humanes, Mateo Sanchez, and a lay brother to sail to Cebu for the purpose of founding a Jesuit house there. The people received them warmly and donated 500 pesos, which the Jesuits used to buy a house near the beach. The city corporation donated adjacent land for a yard and garden. The trip to Cebu had been on an uncovered sailboat, exposing the Jesuit passengers to the stormy weather for three weeks. Sedeño became ill and passed away in Cebu on September 2, 1595. They buried him in the domestic chapel on the ground floor of their first house, but three years later, Father Pedro Chirino transferred Sedeño’s remains to the new Jesuit church.
~~~

Read also
Life in Parian Now
Cebu's 1730 Jesuit House 
The Secret Hall of Angels 
A Story of Hope
Finding Jose Rizal in Cebu
Lola Remedios and her Sayas
Lunch with F. Sionil Jose
Pre-Colonial Gold in Cebu
~~
tags: Cebu, Philippines, Jesuits,. history, Cebuano, 1730 Jesuit House, Spanish Colonial

The Freeman Article "Writers Pay Homage to the Queen City"

I have an essay in this anthology. I'm sorry I can't attend the book launching scheduled Nov. 27 in Cebu.
Cebu Lifestyle
Writers pay homage to the Queen City
(The Freeman) Updated November 21, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Anvil Publishing releases the third in a collection of books on cities with Cebu We Know, which will be launched on November 27, 4pm in Powerbooks Cebu at the SM Cebu North Wing. The book features essays by well-known Cebuano writers compiled by fictionist and columnist Erma Cuizon.

Located at the ‘very navel’ of the Philippine archipelago, Cebu is a center of trade and culture whose history is older than most cities in the country. As a layover to many people from Visayas and Mindanao, the island draws tourists and migrants who eventually call it home. Cebu is shown in its many facets and moods by the book’s contributors like Resil Mojares, Simeon Dumdum Jr. and Renato Madrid who write about its history and legends. Its coastline and beaches are the subject of essays by Erlinda Alburo, Charmaine Carreon and Hope Yu. Cebu is written of fondly by those who have left like Charmaine Fajardo and Cecilia Brainard.

Non- Cebuano writers also pay homage to this friendly city. In his foreword, Isagani Cruz writes, “From this book, I learned that writers can be inspired by almost anything on the island, such as horses, songs, cab drivers, stinginess, trees, seafood, corals, weeds, roast pig, coffee and schools. From what they experienced in Cebu, the writers in this book have weaved words of wonder, turning reality into literature”.

Evolution of the Dona Filomena Building, Cebu, Philippines

CLEANUP RIVERS AND CREEKS DRIVES IN CEBU!

I found this recent article about a River/Creek Cleanup Drive in Cebu City! I am very excited to see something is being done about the filth in Cebu City's rivers and creeks! HOPE!!!!

Coastline management board to launch cleanup drives in different barangays
From Sun Star, March 21, 2009

IN hopes of getting people to stop throwing garbage into rivers and creeks, the Cebu Coastline Management Board (CMB) will launch a coastal and urban cleanup drive today in different barangays in Cebu City.

“While it is impossible to clean up the rivers in just one cleanup, the intention of the activity is to make people aware that it is important to start. Grabe na gyud ang condition sa atong mga rivers (Our rivers are in critical condition),” said Atanacio Almosera of the CMB.

At least 53 of 80 barangays in the city will participate in the event, simultaneously cleaning up rivers and creeks in their communities.

“All the barangays with rivers and creeks will be actively participating in the event,” said Cebu City Councilor Edwin Jagmoc, vice chairman of the CMB.

“And we hope that those people who live along the rivers and riverbanks will see the clean-up and will start cleaning up the rivers themselves,” he added.

Schools, parishes, barangay officials, residents and different non-government organizations are expected to join the activity.

“This will educate our volunteers on the real state of the rivers and hopefully this will also educate those who live nearby,”
said Jagmoc.

The CMB stressed it was important that everybody start taking better care of rivers and creeks in their barangays.

“I cannot describe to you how bad it already is. Let’s just put it this way, if you imagine a garbage dump in a river, there’s already more garbage than there is water,” said Almosera.

However, he clarified it was not because of poor solid waste management programs in the barangays, but just the accumulation of trash over several years.

Some riverbank households share part of the blame.

“Instead of disposing of the garbage at the designated pick-up points for garbage collection, they throw garbage into the rivers instead,” said Department of Public Services Chief Dionisio Gualiza.

“We just cannot allow the garbage to flow into the sea and affect life there,” Jagmoc said. (EPB)

If Barili, Cebu Can Do it, Why not the City of Cebu?

I found the following information about Barili, Cebu. If Barili can be clean, why not the actual City of Cebu which should have more resources???? And note - Barili drains their canals regularly! And why doesn't the City of Cebu drain the downtown Cebu canals????? Really, I'm thinking City Officials can make a stronger stance about City cleanup, especially the canals/creeks of downtown Cebu, of which I've written about.

Barili.Cebu.Philippines

Absence of eyesores. The Municipality of Barili, Cebu is different from some other cities and towns in terms of certain aspects of general cleanliness. Practically there is an absence of unsightly posters, advertisement billboards, graffiti and abandoned junks. Open space is utilized for the planting of fruits and forests trees.

Well-maintained drainage and sewerage system. Drainage system in the public market and slaughterhouse and other public places are properly maintained as can be observed during the assessment. There are no garbage or litters inside the canals. Free-flow water is evident during the evaluation. De-clogging of drainage canal is regular and done by maintenance men of municipal government. Store and market stall owners also help prevent the clogging of canals with solid wastes by maintaining the cleanliness of their immediate vicinity.

Presence of well-kept public toilets. Public toilets are generally clean. These can be found practically in all public places. Comfort rooms in the municipal hall were found to be very well maintained and the same is true with those at the market, where the surroundings were planted with ornamental plants. Water is provided in all these comfort rooms.

Clean public market/slaughterhouse. Public market is generally clean, free from garbage and litters. Fish and meat stalls are provided with water for flushing. Garbage receptacles are present where collected wastes materials are place for disposal by the garbage collectors.

On the other hand, the municipal abattoir is well drained and properly maintained. No evident of scattered carcasses trimmings, were present, foul odor inherent to slaughterhouse are reduced to the minimum.

Presence of Trash receptades. Trash receptacles are color-coded. Each set three drums, painted red (for plastics), green (for tin cans and bottles), blue (for leaves, papers etc.). These garbage are collected daily by the two garbage trucks of the LGU.

Presence of Garbage collection and Disposal System. To complement the two garbage trucks that collect the garbage of the town daily, Barili was able to acquire four (4) mechanized grass cutters and shredder machine, which sheds big masses of garbage such as leaves to be decomposed in the compost pit. The decomposed materials can be used as organic fertilizer.

Some publicity re Handumanan

Some friends have forwarded links with articles re the Handumanan Carnaval Event:

Proud to be Pinoy, by Honey Jarque Loop

Cebu Lifestyle - By Invitation Only: Handumanan, by Marlinda Angbetic Tan

CEBU OCTOBER 11 FASHION SHOW & MUSICALE IN THE PARIAN

I just learned from my sister-in-law the following:

From Terry Manguerra: "Val Sandiego and some of his friends are planning a big happening on Oct. 11 with a fashion show and a musical all to be held somewhere near his house. They are trying to get the Lim Bonfing bldg. if they can manage to fix it. Ace Durano the tourism secretary and the cardinal will grace the occasion. Hope this will be the start of the Parian rehabilitation. We, of course , at the Cathedral Museum are all for it."

I'm delighted to know about this. The Zee Quarterly Magazine, a slick magazine in Cebu is also running an article of mine entitled, Life in Parian Now, with pictures of Parian sites and some women ancestors of mine.

I am so excited at the gentrification of the Parian in Old Cebu!

~~~
Top Photo shows a mural of Colon Street, on the 17th century Yap-Sandiego House;
Bottom Photo shows a painting of Colon Street in my apartment in the Parian, Cebu; it is criticized because the figures are from different historical periods, but I call the painting "The Ghosts of Colon Street."

MORE INFO RE JUANA LOPEZ, REMEDIOS DIOSOMITO CUENCO

I was thrilled to have heard from a relative, Percival Cruz, who emailed the following. FYI Juana Diosomito Lopez was my great-great grandmother; Remedios Diosomito Cuenco was my great-grandmother. Following are important genealogical info re the Diosomito, Lopez, Cuenco, Manguerra, Reyes, Gonzales, Borromeo families of Cebu:
~~~~~~~
Dear Cecilia,

It has been a while since I last wrote you. Rest assured though that I have not forgotten; I visited your websites and assimilated the wealth of information you have put together about you and the Cuenco family.

My mom, Patrocinio Diosomito Lopez Fojas Cruz, passed away in 1986. Whatever information I have about the Lopez family I had heard from her.

Remedios, your great grandmother, was the sister of my grandmother, Concepcion (Lola Cion).

Their mother, Juana Diosomito was married to a Lopez. The Diosomitos and the Lopezes were and still are natives of Naic, Cavite. Juana's first husband was a Spanish priest (or ex-priest, maybe). Again, this is the story of my mother and something that I have not documented. Juana's 2nd husband was a Veloso from Baybay, Leyte.

My Lola Cion owned and rented out houses and apartments in Tondo. She may have inherited these properties from mother Juana. Juana may have owned properties in Naic and Tondo, as well as, in Leyte and Cebu.

My Lola Cion never left Luzon Island. On the other hand, her sister, Remedios, migrated to Cebu.

Did mother Juana who got remarried to a Visayan from Leyte, a guy named Veloso, migrate to Cebu and take along daughter Remedios; while daughter Concepcion remained in Naic and Tondo? Very possible.

My mother used to tell me that her grandmother (Juana) owned lands in Leyte and Cebu. My mother also introduced us to the idea that we had relatives in the Visayas, which I found weird at that time. No one in the family spoke Cebuano nor talked to any.

I am among the youngest in a family of 10. I did not have a chance to interact with my Visayan relatives. Our eldest brother, Berting, worked in a boat that sailed regularly between Manila-Leyte-Cebu; he met Tio Menggoy (Domingo Veloso), who was either part owner or manager of the boat. One other elder brother, Feodor, met Archbishop Jose when I was in elementary (1956). He entered the San Vicente Ferrer seminary in Iloilo under the sponsorship of your uncle Jose. I remember my parents accompanied Feodor on this trip to Iloilo. A younger brother and sister made it, too; but I was left behind at home and did not have a chance to meet the Archbishop. My sister, Judith, worked as a secretary at the office of Tio Menggoy (did he become a congressman?). And my other elder brother, Walfrido, worked at the Congress at the behest of Senator Cuenco. In fact, my father worked also at the Senate and I would like to believe that it was your grandfather who made it possible. I also overheard my father that the good senator worked out an appointment for him to be a judge in Cotabato but my father declined. Had my father accepted that job, maybe I would have become a general in the Abu Sayaff army. While I was in U.P., I heard about Tony Cuenco. He was my senior. I did not have a chance to associate with him, though. My mother used to go to the senator's house somewhere near Sto Domingo Church to see your grandpa.

Concepcion Lopez who got stuck in Luzon was a good businesswoman. I remember my mother telling me that she owned houses in Tondo. My mom got her education at an exclusive all-girl school called Instituto de Mujeres, took up piano lessons and became a town beauty queen during her heydays. My father was a poet and novelist (he was a contemporary of Amado V. Hernandez). My father and mother met in one of those beauty queen coronations. My father recited a poem for my mother, they fell in love, and then they went on their happy way for 70 years. By the way, it might interest you to know that my father's collection of novels was published by the Ateneo and it is being used to this day as a textbook in college.

Concepcion Lopez may also had had a part in a "calesa" business; she had a sister-in-law or cousin (now I am not sure which) who became well-known for owning a fleet of "calesas"; she was Rosa Fojas who became known as the "Reyna ng mga Cochero" ("Queen of the Coachmen").

Remedios and Concepcion were both very enterprising, strong women. Remedios produced a congressman, a governor, a senator and an archbishop. Had Uncle Jose lived longer, he would have become a cardinal, too. That Remedios also became the first woman publisher -- wow!--
her accomplishments are really mind-boggling! I'm sure her genes rubbed off on you.

Other famous Lopezes, Fojases from Naic, who I'm sure are also our relatives --
Rosario Lopez - the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Dr. Marcos Fojas - the eye surgeon
Gen. Nazareno - PNP head during Cory Aquino's term
Judge Noel Diosomito
Felix Fojas - poet, writer

Good Friday is the traditional reunion day for the Lopezes/Fojases. The clan gathers in Naic, Cavite and fulfills the vow of having the 2-day "Pabasa" and "Prusisyon" in honor of Jesus. The family has an antique heirloom --- a black Nazarene lying in state ("Santo Intierro").

I have a famly tree -- just did it at Geni.com -- if you're interested, I can give you the link.

So long for now, I'm proud to have you as a relative.

Percival
Burbank, California
~~~
Photo shows Remedios Diosomito Cuenco with her family

Cebu Updates

Dinner last night at the Casino Espanol with Terry Manguerra, Chinggay Utzurrum, Inday Blanco and Chona Bernad. Conversation included travels done by Ching and others to different parts of the world. Chinggay shared old photos that she had of those attending; some photos were from the 1990s when my brother Jess Manguerra, Lyn Suaco, and Dr. Guimo Blanco were still alive! Terry, Ching, Inday, and Chona have been blessed; they have been members of an informal group for decades.

What else to say about Cebu? Oh, terrible news about the corpses of those who had drowned filling the mortuaries. The Princess of the Stars sank on June 21, 2008, victim of Typhoon #3, Frank. Eight hundred people perished.

The weather in Cebu continues to be pleasant early in the morning, then hot, then in the afternoons and/or evenings, it rains.

Manila tomorrow!

Photo shows, seated l-r: Terry Manguerra, Inday Blanco; standing l-r: Cecilia, Chona Bernad, and Chinggay Utzurrum

Cebu Philippine in June

It's technically the rainy season in the Philippines, and here in Cebu it drizzles now and then. It's terrible humid and hot. In a way it is more uncomfortable than Egypt which has dry desert heat. It's stiflingly muggy and you just swelter.

I asked a taxi driver about the shortage of rice and he said there are warehouses full of sacks of rice, so he doesn't believe there is a shortage. I think what is happening is some vendors are hording rice, holding on them until the price goes up. The fact it that the very hording limits the amount of rice out there, thus driving up the price. I'm sure this isn't legal, but I don't know what the government is doing about this matter.

I'm thinking of the 1960s when the Philippines was exporting rice. There was a lot of experimentation in IRRI (International Rice and Research Institute) to be able to grow rice several times a year. Unfortunately the government did not encourage rice farmers, and for years rice farms lay dormant. I wonder if they are now cultivating those rice farms.

I'm in Cebu for personal business and for the fiesta in the Parian Old Cebu District. For the second year now, Louie Nacorda, Pepit Gorordo and I co-host a fiesta dinner at the Casa Gorordo on the feast day of St. John the Baptist. In fact, Louie and Pepit have been doing this for years. I'm a johnny-come-lately. Louie leads the tridium prayers for St. John the Baptist at the Casa Gorordo (3 days before the fiesta). Devotees go all out decorating the antique statues of St. John and an Angel. They also decorate the prayer area - last year it was on the beautiful balcony of the Casa. It's all quite lovely, with a guitarist, singing, prayers, followed by a merienda and stimulating conversation. I recall that last year Louie talked about the Ghosts of Casa Gorordo, which was quite a lot of fun.

All for now,
Cecilia

OLD CEBU TRIVIA

Louie Nacorda sent in this Old Cebu Trivia about Zulueta Street in Old Cebu:

"Anyway, I found some Old Cebu trivia that could be of interest to us:
Zulueta's old name was Calle Pizzaro;
Mabini was Calle Maria Cristina;
Logarta was Calle Cadiz;
Lopez Jaena was Calle Hernan Cortes,
and the whole area was under Pueblo de Parian.

These info compliments of Don Domingo de Escondrillas, Cebu cartographer,
circa 1873."

FROM POINT CEBU "COLON'S PROMINENT RESIDENTS"

I stumbled across this article which is quite interesting: (credits to Point Cebu and Ybarra)

Colon’s Prominent Residents

During the late 19th century, Colon was first and foremost a street full of residential houses built in rows. For every store, shop and office on the ground floor, there was a family or two living upstairs. Some came from the most prominent families of their time and ours, others from once-prominent families now long forgotten, having moved out of Cebu, their descendants scattered all over the archipelago and abroad.

From the Colon section of Parian lived the Gantuangcos, whose descendant, Concepcion Gantuangco-Briones, wrote in 1980 an important first-person account of life in the old Parian district. The Gantuangcos lived on No. 66 Colon Street. Across the house lived the Lu. Do Family, whose children Paterno and Cayetano, would later make a name in the coconut oil manufacturing industry in Asia. It was here that Lu Do (or Oya Owa), who came from Amoy, China, built a copra-buying station on property leased from Fr. Venerado Reynes in 1896.

On this same row lived the Rallos family led by patriarch Florentino Rallos, who became Cebu’s Municipal President (Mayor) in 1907-08. The Rallos property was said to straddle the Parian Estero up to Manalili Street. Up until World War II, the family had kept an old caruaje, an heirloom piece at their Colon residence.

On the same row also lived the Osmeñas and the Singsons. The shipping office of Don Victoriano Osmeña was on the ground floor of this big stone house, which had two main doors – one opening to Colon, the other to the dark and narrow Sudlon Street. At the corner of Colon and Norte America (now D. Jakosalem) was the stone camarin and bodega of Don Tomas Osmeña, with a yard so big that it occupied an entire block. Don Sergio Osmeña, meanwhile, lived still farther, along the corner of Colon and Pelaez streets, where he had his law office on the ground floor. It was also here that Cebu’s first daily, El Nueva Dia, which he published, had transferred from Calle Comerio (later M.C. Briones).

Don Mariano Albano Cuenco, a lawyer from Carmen, Cebu came to Colon in the 19th century and built an imposing house located between the corners of D. Jakosalem and Mabini. Its ground floor later became the office of the Imprenta Rosario, a printing press founded by Cuenco in 1907 and taken over by his wife, Doña Remedios, who became the first woman publisher I Cebu. The printing press published, among others, the revived El Boletin Catolico in 1915, Cebu Daily News in 1923, and the English-language newspaper Republic News. The politically prominent Cuencos continue to own the property today.

During the first decade of the 20th century, the ground floor of Don Agapito Garces’ house at the corner of Mabini and Colon streets served as venue for early films. Another Garces, Doña Josefa, owned another property along Colon around 1914.

Father along the old part of Colon lived Don Victorino Reynes, foremost realtor, art collector and a famous philatelist. Don Victorino owned a shop at his residence o No. 86 which was across Teatro Oriente. At the junction of Legaspi and Colon lived the prominent theater owner Don Jose Avilla. Near this house, the Estero of Parian tapered off and vanished.

Across the Los Hijos de Pueblo clubhouse on the corner of D. Jakosalem lived Don Esclastico “Capitan Tikoy” Veloso, whose hose once served as office of the Real Audiencia. The ground floor was later converted into a shop where stagecoaches were made and repaired. Beside the Hijos clubhouse was the residence of the Martinez-Franco clan, with its ground floor hosting a busy foundry for making cawa (cauldrons). Don Domingo Franco owned the house together with his wife, Doña Lucia Chiong Veloso and her sister, Doña Charing Veloso-Martinez.

At the corner of the Junquera and Colon lived Don Mamerto Escaño whose family originally hailed fro Leyte. Increasing investment exposures in Cebu forced the Escaños to establish a foothold in Cebu. Like all the rest, the family made the most logical choice – Colon.


- Ybarra

CEBU CITY BOOK LAUNCH AND OUTINGS

Saturday, June 30 - Karina Bolasco, publishing manager of Anvil, arrives Cebu from Manila, 9:10 a.m. I go to Mactan Aiport to meet her. At 1 p.m. Erma Cuizon picks up Susan Evangelista at the Mactan Airport; she's flown in from Palawan. We lunch, then Karina runs off to meet with a librarian. There is a heavy downpour at around 3:30, and we are slightly worried because the book launch of Ala Carte: Food and Fiction is at 5 p.m. The rain stops at around 4:30, but roads are wet, traffic bad. When we get to the Aboitiz Center for the launch, the guests have not arrived. WILA, who is the cosponsor of the event, decides to let the guests eat merienda first, which initially puzzles some of us, but it turns out to be a wise decision, becuase it gives people time to arrive. The program starts at around 6 p.m. Gingging Dumdum is the emcee; Ester Tapia speaks on behalf of WILA, and Karina Bolasco speaks on behalf of Anvil publishing. Then the reading begins, and we have: Carlos Cortes, Erma Cuizon, Susan Evangelista, Karina Bolasco, and Cecilia Brainard (me). Brief words by me, closing by Gingging, and then book signing. Around 50 people braved the wet roads and awful traffic, but they are a fantastic audience and were also generous in buying books. Seen among the crowd: Lucy Franco Garcia; Helen Franco Misa; Inday Blanco; Louie Nacorda; Linda Alburo, Jun Dumdum, Juliet Basa, Gavin Bagares, Andy, Tina, Angel Manguerra; Jojo, Tanya, and Inez Manguerra, and many more.

After the launch, Erma, Susan, Karina, Jun and Gingging Dumdum, and I came to my place for snacks, wine, some unwinding, and literary talk.



Sunday, July 1 - Karina, Susan, Erma, and I go to Plantation Bay for brunch; Karina leaves noonish back to Manila. The remaining three of us spend the rest of the day lounging in front of sparkling blue sea and watching a man raking the white beach clean. Later, a trip to Marco Polo so Susan to give Susan a bird eye's view of Cebu; then dinner at Ocean Seafood off of Gorordo.

Monday, July 2 - Susan, Erma, Gavin Bagares, and I do a tour of Southern Cebu, visiting Boljoon, Argao, and Carcar - great countryside, and old churches! Dinner in a lovely Thai restaurant in Talamban.

Ahhhhh - no rain on Saturday and Sunday!!!!



Photo above,l-r: Erma Cuizon, Susan Evangelista, Cecilia Brainard, in Boljoon
Photo in middle show Susan and Cecilia kicking back in Plantation Bay
Photo in bottom shows backside of someone