Category: History
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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,…
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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…
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The second wave of the trancazo pandemic in 1918 will be less severe and only the very young and old are vulnerable, health officials said in a story on Manila Times published on October 27, 1918. They were gravely wrong. “This official announcement is interesting not only for its dismissive tone and lack of seriousness,…
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The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic claimed more than 80,000 lives in the Philippines. As in other parts of the world, the contagion came in three waves, with the second surge being the most virulent. Areas hit by the first wave of infections in the middle of 1918 had fewer deaths during the more virulent episode at…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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In the old town center of Opon, the old name of Lapu-Lapu City when it was still a municipality, stands a statue of Lapulapu carrying a staff. Far from being the warrior that is depicted in the bigger and more popular statue in Liberty Shrine eight kilometers away, this Lapulapu looks less menacing. He’s more…
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I’ve long been curious about the word marica, which I first heard when I relocated to Cebu more than 20 years ago. I never heard it growing up in Polomolok, South Cotabato where we talked a patois that was a mix of Cebuano and Ilonggo. For us, it was “dali” or “adto diri” or “ari…
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Augustinian friar Santos Gomez Marañon, who served as bishop of Cebu from 1829 to 1840, granted the Magellan’s Cross plenary indulgence to those who pray before it every Feast of the Triumph of the Cross on September 14. The indulgence is gained by praying the Creed. For those unfamiliar with Catholic teachings, an indulgence is…
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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…
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No, according to several historians. The panel placed at the foot of the cross makes two astonishing claims: that it contains the original Magellan’s Cross and that it was planted by the Portuguese explorer on that very spot. Neither claim holds up to close scrutiny. It is also interesting to note that the commemorative marker…
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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,…
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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…
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Are you planning to visit seven churches this Holy Week in observance of the religious tradition Visita Iglesia? Cebu-based journalism startup InnoPub Media, in partnership with Smart Communications, Inc. and the Archdiocese of Cebu, provides you a handy guide to the heritage churches in Cebu with the release of an updated version of its Visita…
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It’s hard to imagine today but the Fuente Osmeña circle was considered dangerous in the 1900s because it was far from the city center. Fuelling the fear in that period was what author Lucy Urgello-Miller described in her book “Glimpses of Old Cebu” as a “scandalous, melodramatic case” that happened in the area. On the…
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This photo taken in about 1930 shows trafficman Pio Alo manning traffic on Colon Street. According to the information that accompanied this photograph at the Cebuano Studies Center archives, Alo was named “Best Trafficman of the Year” in the year this photo was taken. Alo is shown inside a traffic box that was in use…