There’s an ongoing exhibit of artworks rendered by the late Msgr. Virgilio Yap at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. The various display of masterpieces pay tribute to a great artist and priest who died of leukemia at exactly 15 years ago. The exhibit Retrospective, A Collection of Artworks features a collection of abstract works of art including some news and magazine clippings about the artist during his lifetime. Some of his achievements are also highlighted like his unusual rendering of the crucified Christ at the altar of the Gethsemane Parish in Mandaue City, Cebu and his founding of an ecclesiastical museum which is now the Cathedral Museum of Cebu.

The Cathedral Museum of Cebu is located beside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 AM to 12 NN and 1 PM to 5 PM.

The collection of artworks rendered by Msgr. Yap.

A display of the artist’s paintbrushes and a posthumous award contained in a marble box.

A group of Cebuano artists during the exhibit.

CEBU CITY (August 8, 2010 5:30 PM) — Museo Sugbo opened two new galleries just this afternoon — one featuring the colorful history of Cebu media and the other one, an art gallery. The National Museum also unveiled two traveling exhibitions featuring Philippine flora (photo above) and a photo gallery of bridges in the Philippines built during the Spanish colonial-era. The museum’s souvenir and coffee shops were also opened during the event.

The media gallery is a bit interesting. The items being exhibited include huge machines that were used to print newspapers in the past. Also on display are various old newspapers, various types of antique 35mm film cameras and other paraphernalia used by the media. A linotype machine is also being displayed at the lobby of the museum.

If you want to relax after visiting all the galleries in the museum, you can head on to the coffee shop located at the area that used to be an isolation cell. The coffee shop is operated by Coffee Dream. Located beside it is the souvenir store, another former isolation cell, where you can buy some interesting items at affordable prices.

Museo Sugbo is located at M.J. Cuenco Avenue and is open from Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM. Entrance fee is P30 for adults and P10 for students and those below 18 years old. Entrance fee for foreigners is P75.

A signage pointing to a specific gallery.

A corridor leading to the Cebu Media Gallery.

A linotype typesetting machine on display at the foyer of the museum.

Another corridor that leads to the art gallery.

Guests checking out some items at the gift shop.

The gift shop, a former isolation cell.

The museum, a former prison facility built in 1871.

The photographs are rare inasmuch as it features certain portions of existing historical churches in Cebu in its most original form. Post-Vatican II, a number of Spanish colonial churches in Cebu and elsewhere in the Philippines underwent a flurry of “ill-advised” renovations and expansions. The modifications sometimes depended on the taste of the parish priest who is assigned to a particular church. Some photographs also feature valuable church furnishings that are already gone since it have either been sold (sometimes at the instance of the parish priest), stolen or destroyed.

This series will start off today and will run for several weeks.

The Hon. Ambeth R. Ocampo, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chairman, will unveil and turn-over four heritage house markers to the owners of Carcar Spanish colonial ancestral houses dating from the mid-19th century that belong to the descendants of the Sarmiento-Osmeña family, the Noel family, the Mercado-Lucero family and the Silva family.

The four houses are the first Carcar ancestral houses to have heritage house makers installed on their front facades while they are also the first privately-owned houses in south Cebu province recognized as national historical landmarks protected by law by the NHCP.

The houses are significant for their architectural details, cultural influences and heirloom furnishings while many historical events and visits by historical personalities took place in each house. Leading members of each family were also town leaders who made lasting contributions to Carcar and Cebu province’s cultural, commercial, political and religious life.

Carcar has the largest number of built heritage structures in Cebu province with many of its Spanish and American period ancestral houses and public and religious landmarks concentrated on its hilltop plaza and its old town center.

The majority of its heritage structures were built during Carcar’s “Golden Age” from the American colonial and Philippine Commonwealth periods. During this time, before the outbreak of the Second World War in Cebu, Carcar became the “cradle of Cebuano culture” as architecture, art, music, literature and theater flourished and shaped Cebuano cultural identity.

(Press release by Jerry Martin Noel Alfafara)

Above: The historical marker beside the main entrance of the Arthur Dingman Building. (Photo by Mark Andrew Jorolan)

CEBU CITY (May 22, 2010) — A National Historical Marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (formerly National Historical Institute) was installed at the University of San Carlos and inaugurated on May 21, 2010 with the university officials and some members of the commission in attendance.

The marker, installed right beside the main entrance of the Arthur Dingman Building, contains a brief history of the university starting from its humble beginnings as a seminary-college established at the site of the former Colegio San Ildefonso of the Jesuits.

The cast-iron markers symbolize the official recognition by the NHCP of the houses as historical sites. Usually such markers will contain a brief history of the site including its cultural and historical significance.

Under a law protecting such sites, no site that has been recognized by the NHCP as culturally and historically significant may be altered without prior permission.

Just recently, a historical marker was also installed at the University of San Carlos.

The owners of Ho Tong Hardware in Parian, Cebu where the Jesuit House of 1730 is located have started to convert the house into a museum. Although the hardware store and warehouse has not yet totally evacuated from the site, plans have already been made to relocate it to another location. An architect is also currently supervising the restoration works. The interiors of the house itself have been furnished with antique objects and furnishings in a bid to bring back the “old look” of the interiors.

The contemporary entrance to the residence from Zulueta Street.

The Jesuit House of 1730 is not made up of a single structure but rather two structures of two-storeys each linked together by a bridgeway. Fr. Rene Javellana, a writer and historian at the Ateneo de Manila University, refers to both structures as “House A” and “House B” respectively. House A is a bipartite structure of hewn stones in the first level and hard wood in the second. It doesn’t really look that much old if not for the layer of cement at the first level that has chipped off thus exposing the stones beneath. The interiors have also been modified although the basic structures are very much the same such as the wooden posts that support the roof; the flooring made of wide planks of hard wood; and the corbels with decorative carvings that look either Chinese or South American.

An aerial view of House A.

House B on the other hand has been pretty much preserved in most of its existence. It differs a little bit from House A since it is bigger and is made of hewn stones in all levels. Its clay-tile roofing with obvious Chinese influences is still the original. This is the only part of the entire Jesuit House of 1730 that is visible to the public from outside specifically at that spot near the Colon obelisk. Today, the entire compound is surrounded by very high concrete walls that effectively hide it from public view. The high concrete walls itself sit on top of the original stone wall of the compound.

Interiors of House B.

Interiors of House A.

One remarkable feature of House B is a carved relief that bears the year 1730 or 1750. It is located above the portal that opens to the covered walkway towards House A. This is the basis that gives the house its name. A trace of Jesuit history is linked to a carved monogram of Jesus (the basis for the Jesuit seal) located above the arch of the main entrance of the house at the ground floor. Furthermore, monograms of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are also carved at the lintel of the original entrance to the compound along the narrow Binakayan Street.

Entrance to House A passing through the covered bridgeway from House B.

A low-relief in one of the walls inside House A.

Another remarkable feature of House B is the floral motifs that have been decoratively painted at the beams and certain parts of the trusses and can be viewed inside the house. Perhaps certain parts of the interiors did not actually have a ceiling in order to permit air to freely circulate inside hence the need to decorate the exposed parts. The paintings though are in a very much bad state and obviously need a specialist to restore.

I was told that entrance to the house is still by appointment only although when I tried to walk in there to ask permission to go inside I was allowed to come in but accompanied by a worker from the hardware who toured me all throughout. I’m assuming — and I have a very strong feeling — that the Jesuit House of 1730 will participate during next month’s “Gabii sa Kabilin” or Night of Heritage wherein various museums in downtown Cebu City will open their doors to the public from 6 PM to 12 Midnight. Anyone of you who might be interested to check out this newest heritage attraction might want to savor this moment.

Anyway, kudos to the Sy family for giving this piece of heritage another lease of life by spending a considerable amount for its restoration without expecting a return of investment. Relocating a business somewhere else to accommodate a museum is not easy but still the owners did it out for love of history.

Details of a decorative corbel in House A.

Details of a wooden post and the paired decorative corbels in House B.

CEBU CITY (Dec. 31, 2009) — ’Tis the season for reunions and family gatherings and so it came to pass that the writers and photographers of the hugely successful (my bias is showing!) 308-page coffee table book “Balaanong Bahandi” reunited at our residence in Sto. Nino Village the other day to plan the next step now that the book is out.

To recall, “Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu” was launched last Nov. 26 at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu by both the museum and its co-publisher the University of San Carlos Press. As its editor and project manager, I repeated what was promised during the pre-selling blitz for the book that was held in July this year: a smaller volume would soon follow. Well, the meeting-cum-swim party was finally held the other day in order to fulfill this promise. And the end result will hopefully come out when the Archdiocese of Cebu closes its Diamond Jubilee Celebrations on April 28, 2010.

The authors and photographers of Balaanong Bahandi agreed that the title of this forthcoming book will be “Duaw: A Guide to the Stone Churches of Cebu” and, unlike its parent Balaanong Bahandi, this book will be paper bound to make it as accessible to the public as possible. Albeit in full color, it will only feature the 28 or so coral stone churches of Cebu, starting with the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and the Basilica del Sto. Niño. This will reduce the number of pages to manageable proportions.

For starters, Duaw will not only serve as a source of historical information on the original stone churches built by Augustinians, Augustinian Recollects, Jesuits and Seculars. It will also serve as the ultimate tour guide a la “Lonely Planet” on these colonial structures, including their rectories, campo santos (cemeteries), museums, shrines and anything else found within them. Its target buyers and readers are cultural tourists, yet it also leaves room for the religious pilgrims or those intent on doing “Visita Iglesia” during Holy Week, or the balikbayan who wants to make some sacred journey out of an otherwise mundane tour of colonial churches.

Duaw will be written differently from Balaanong Bahandi, with photographs that will also make for an interesting step by step appreciation of the beauty of sacred art and architecture. While every church featured will also carry a prayer for the patron saint it advocates, Duaw will not pretend to be a “churchy” book full of lamentations and prayers. For it endeavors to merge the tourist, the curious and the pilgrim, all wanting to know more about their faith (or the absence of it) amid the work of God through the hands of men and women now long gone.

Because it is designed as a tourist guidebook, all authors have been instructed to make a timed and detailed walk around these churches and their surroundings and pick out the most interesting features, providing exact instructions like where to start the tour, when to turn the corner, how to climb the belfry, what to look for in the choir loft and, most importantly, how long a tour of a particular church will take and whether there are pension houses around if one needs to stay in town overnight.

It is my hope the His Eminence Ricardo J .Cardinal Vidal will approve this book project as soon as it is presented to him. For it is time that people visit these churches not just as detached tourists unable to see meaning in what is before them. At the same time, there is a need to bring tourism into the realm of the sacred journey. Perhaps with Duaw, the Archdiocese of Cebu, shall have once again set the pace for all other church districts to follow. I wish the Duaw team all the best in this upcoming project. Once again, the meager proceeds will go to supporting the work of the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. And here’s wishing all the readers of CDN a more fulfilling and more prosperous year ahead.

Above: Bishop Juan Gorordo’s baptismal record at the parish of St. Anne in Barili, Cebu (Photo posted by vip1852 in Flickr.com).

CEBU CITY (Dec. 20, 2009) — The Archdiocese of Cebu commemorates today the 75th death anniversary of Bishop Juan Gorordo, the first Filipino Bishop of Cebu. A Holy Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral will be officiated by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at 4 PM and will be followed by the opening of the Bishop Juan Gorordo Exhibit at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu.

Born in the southwestern town of Barili, Cebu on April 18, 1862 to Juan Isidro Bautista de Gorordo and Telesfora Garces, Juan Gorordo rose to become the secretary of the diocese until eventually becoming its first Filipino Bishop. Gorordo’s appointment as the first Filipino Bishop of Cebu was very much received with great joy and pride since it signified the Vatican’s trust on the Filipino clergy to administer the local church.

Having served for more than 20 years, Bishop Gorordo resigned on July 31. He died on December 20, 1934.

CEBU CITY (Nov. 29, 2009) — Starting December 1, 2009 the coffeetable book entitled Balaanong Bahandi, Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu will now be available to the public. Out of the thousands that were printed, there are only less than 800 copies of the book that have remained unsold. To purchase a copy of it, visit the Cathedral Museum of Cebu or email me at knightcarl [at] cebuheritage [dot] com.

CEBU CITY (Nov. 26, 2009) — The coffeetable book on parish churches in Cebu entitled “Balaanong Bahandi, Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu” was successfully launched a while ago at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal signing the first ten copies which were distributed to the top sponsors and to the archives of the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

Published by the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Inc. and the University of San Carlos Press, the book features more than 290 pages of full color photographs of various parish churches in the archdiocese including, but not limited to, tangible treasures of faith such as statues of saints made of ivory or wood, altar retablos, centuries-old bells, among others. Various personalities from all walks of life including Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, a staunch heritage advocate, attended the event.

Those who have reserved copies of the book and have paid for it in advance will be able to claim their copies starting December 1 next week since the publisher is still finalizing the next batch of copies to be released. There are only less than 800 copies of the book that are available. Interested buyers may still be able to order. For inquiries do please send me an email at knightcarl [at] cebuheritage [dot] com.

Below (left to right): Jobers Bersales, the book project director, delivering the opening message during the launching; Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal is shown the first ten copies of the book.

Below: One of the photographers affixing his signature at the copies of the book that were given to the top sponsors.

CEBU CITY (Nov. 15, 2009) — The coffeetable book that will feature parish churches in Cebu will be launched in the afternoon of November 26, 2009 at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. After this occasion, those who have made reservations and have paid in advance will be able to claim their books.

Published by the Cathedral Museum of Cebu and the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church in collaboration with the University of San Carlos Press, the book will feature houses of faith that have withstood time eventually giving birth to newer parishes. It aims to continue the work of Felipe Redondo who first documented the history of the Catholic church in Cebu in an opus entitled Breve reseña de lo que fue y de lo que es la Diócesis de Cebú en las Islas Filipinas which was published in 1886. Full color photographs interspersed with archival pictures will bring in some of the archdiocese’s tangible treasures of faith.

The book was initially sold to the public for P1,500. It is now sold for P2,000 and will also be sold at the same price in some leading bookstores after the launching. Proceeds of the book will go a long way in the development of the ecclesiastical museum. For inquiries and clarification, please call (032) 4123455 and look for Sister Mary Joseph or Mrs. Baby Arnoco.