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DESTINATIONS Bacolod INTERESTS Beaches
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CEBU From: The Philippine Department of Tourism Cebuanos
celebrate life like no other. They strum their guitars and sing
the "balitaw" when they're happy. They strum the guitar
and sing the "harana" when they're sad. And when they
pray, they dance! It therefore comes as no surprise that the guitar
is a prime product in Cebu which, quite naturally, has also produced
a large share of the country's best musicians and master showmen.
The
Cebuano's flair for showmanship and love for celebrations is manifested
in the Sinulog, a colorful festival of pageant proportion observed
every third Sunday of January. Cebu is an anchor tourist destination
and one of the 7,000 times more islands that make up the Philippine
archipelago. THE
ISLE OF YOUR TROPICAL DREAMS Cebu
is the traveler's fantasy of a tropical island come true - balmy
weather, pristine beaches, crystalline waters, and luxurious resorts
with all the frills of modern living. The island-province of Cebu
was where the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan planted the
Cross of Christianity in the name of Spain in 1521. But even before
Cebu became the Occidental gateway to the Orient, it was already
a popular entry point among Asian merchants. Cebu
has since blossomed into a choice tourist destination, with many
leisure establishments taking full advantage of its sea-valley-and-mountain
location. Metropolitan Cebu, the country's second biggest metropolis,
is the political, economic, educational and cultural center of the
Visayas. Hotels, shopping malls, entertainment halls, casinos and
golf fairways are ever present in the metro to cater to every tourist's
whim. The
rest of Cebu's 166 islands and islets are fringed with sandy beaches
and sapphire-clear waters teeming with marine life, perfect for
divers. FIESTA
EXTRAVAGANZA The
fiesta is when life in these islands is celebrated in full pageantry,
complete with a brilliant display of sights and sounds, scents and
tastes. Cebu shows us how. The Sinulog is Cebu's biggest and showiest
fiesta in honor of the Infant Jesus or Señor Santo Niño.
In a choreographed movement, "tribes" clad in dazzling
costumes hold aloft images of their tiny patron even as they simulate
the natural rhythm of sea waves which brought the Holy Child to
their shores. The prayer-dance is synchronized to the beat of drums
and shouts of "Pit Señor! Viva Santo Niño!"
The
tribes wend through the city's major streets, starting early in
the morning and stretching into early evening. A big entertainment
roadshow and grand fireworks display bring to a close the celebration.
The Kadaugan sa Mactan is a one-day pageant re-enacting the historic
battle between the Magellan-led Spanish colonizers and the resisting
natives led by Rajah Lapu-lapu. The festival is celebrated every
April 27 in Lapu-lapu City at the beach area where the Portuguese
voyager met his death. While
the rest of Christendom observes Holy Week with somber rituals,
fasting and abstinence, Bantayan Island makes an exception. The
townspeople display their brand of folk Catholicism by feasting
on roasted pig and then swimming at its white sand beaches after
a religious procession. The Semana Santa is a movable feast between
the months of March and April. The rustic town of Opon honors its
patroness, Our Lady of Rule, with a fiesta from November 20 to 21.
Guests
take the occasion of the Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria to
visit the beautiful old town of Carcar which, aside from its splendid
colonial architecture, also produces a number of Cebu's popular
delicacies. In December, Cebu culminates its fiesta celebrations
with the month-long Paskuhan, a festival of Christmas songs and
lantern displays. CITY
SIGHTS Cebu
takes pride in being the country's oldest colonial city. Many landmarks
attest to the richness of its history. On April 14, 1521, Magellan
planted a cross to mark the spot where some 800 natives - led by
Rajah Humabon and his wife, Queen Juana - were baptized into the
Catholic faith. The original cross is now encased in a hallow hardwood
cross and can be found in a roofed kiosk along Magallanes Street.
As
a baptismal gift to Queen Juana, Magellan gave a black image of
the Infant Child which, on April 27, 1565, managed to remain unscathed
after a fire razed Cebu to the ground. The Basilica Minor del Santo
Niño was built by Captain Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Fr.
Andres Urdaneta on the spot where the miraculous icon was found.
The religious statue has since been enthroned in the basilica, with
the original kept inside the convent and a replica enshrined at
the church's side altar. From mainland Cebu, Magellan crossed the
channel to the island of Mactan in an effort to spread Christianity.
The chieftain Lapu-lapu, together with his warriors, resisted the
attempt and killed Magellan as he reached the shore. A monument
now marks the site. Fort
San Pedro, located at Cebu City's wharf area, was the nucleus of
the first Spanish settlement in the country. The fort has been turned
into a museum-park. Colon, the country's oldest street, was built
at the Parian or Chinese District. Located at the heart of downtown,
it is a busy commercial center by day and a lively entertainment
belt by night. The seat of the provincial government is an imposing
building of pre-Pacific War vintage rising majestically along Osmeña
Boulevard. Located
at the center of the boulevard is Fuente Osmeña, named after
Cebu's Grand Old Man, the late Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña,
Sr. A favorite strolling park among locals, the circular Fuente
becomes even more alive in the evenings. Within the park is a skating
rink. The University of San Carlos was established by the Dominican
fathers on the site of the former Jesuit-run Colegio de San Ildefonso,
originally founded in 1595. Its museum on P. del Rosario Street
has an extensive collection of anthropological and biological artifacts.
The
Southwestern University Museum located on the Urgello Private Road,
takes pride in its large collection of pre-colonial and colonial
artifacts as well as its Filipiniana Research Center. Casa Gorordo,
along Lopez Jaena Street, is the ancestral house of the first Bishop
of Cebu and affords one a glimpse of affluent Cebuano lifestyle,
circa 1800. The Jumalon Museum, Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery
in the Basak district was the private museum of the late lepidopterist
Professor Julian Jumalon. His garden continues to be a haven to
thousands of butterflies and his salon features mosaics made of
butterfly wings. The
Cebuano's Chinese heritage is very visible and one of the more popular
destinations in the city is the Taoist Temple, located at the highest
elevation of the Beverly Hills Subdivision. Devotees, meanwhile,
go to the Heavenly Temple of Charity at the Peace Valley in the
Lahug district. Yet another pilgrimage spot is the Celestial Garden
where life-size replicas of the 14 Stations of the Cross are spread
in a 12-hectare property within Banawa Hills. CITY
LIGHTS Evenings
are hot in cool Cebu. From downtown to uptown, Metropolitan Cebu
comes even more alive as dusk sets in, with queues leading to music
bars, discos and the casinos. ISLAND
ADVENTURE For
the island-hopper, Cebu is one exciting playground for daring expeditions.
Aqua sports top the list of what to do. For scuba diving, the best
dives are found in the islands of Mactan, Moalboal and Camotes.
The calm waters surrounding Argao, Badian and Malapascua islands
are ideal for kayaking. Because
of its hilly terrain, mountain sports has created a following in
Cebu. Rock climbing is excellent in Cantabaco and Malubog. For trekkers,
the 908-meter high Mount Manunggal is a steady climb in the heat.
Mountainbike
your way up and down scenic Talamban. It takes less than a full
day on the road, with plenty of stops along the way. The ecotourist
will find Olango an ideal place for communing with nature. A wildlife
sanctuary, the island supports the largest concentration of migratory
birds in the country. For
the golfer, the Cebu Country Club and the Alta Vista Golf and County
Club are conveniently located in the metro, in Banilad and Pardo.
There is also the Club Filipino Golf Course in Danao City, some
33 kilometers drive from Cebu City. ISLAND
FLAVORS Cosmopolitan
Cebu is noted for its inexpensive gastronomy of many cuisines. Island
flavors are fairly simple with meats and seafoods cooked three ways
- marinated in vinegar, charbroiled or boiled - and then seasoned
with condiments. Chinese and Spanish cookery are the strongest foreign
influences in local cuisine. HOTELS Cebu
Plaza Hotel
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