Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) is no longer just a maximum security prison but has turned its facilities into a dance studio famous for “The Dancing Inmates”. After their “Thriller” performance in 2007 that brought them to Time Magazine’s most popular viral video list, the accused bad boys returned to You Tube in orange jumpsuits and black shirts performing Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”.

Michael Jackson’s long-time choreographer Travis Payne and dancers Daniel Celebre and Dres Reid came to visit and joined them in another You Tube phenomenon. You should watch them. The guys were having fun in their stay, not to mention the entire exercise was keeping them fit without relying much on joint supplements. Makes the entire detention period worthwhile.

If you ever wonder how this group of 1500 inmates was formed, provincial security advisor Byron Garcia derived the inspiration from The Shawshank Redemption wherein Mozart’s Figaro played all over the prison.

Shaped like Magellan's hat

We were at Sto. Nino Parish Church in Mactan to hear mass on a late Sunday afternoon. This is the first time I attended mass conducted in Cebuano dialect and saw young women in their ministry wear long veils like the very icons in the altar. We left with no idea what the entire one-hour sermon was all about. It felt like much being a foreigner in your own land. I hope they have English and Filipino versions during the day, and even Korean. This particular area in Mactan Island is a tourist belt.

Inside the hat-shaped church on a Sunday

So in between ho-hums, unimaginable boredom and missing church services at CCF, I managed to steal shots of the Sto. Nino Parish Church. The small church is right across two major roads leading to Cordova and Punta Engano. What’s amazing about this church is its unique architecture. The building was shaped like Magellan’s hat (I would have said Anakin Skywalker’s) and its glass panels depict the image of the Sto. Nino tinted with bright colors. It is no longer as backward as what a typical parish in the outskirts of a province should be, bamboo blinds and all. Cebu churches have actually come a long way to become one of the province’s heritage sites.

Basking under artificial light

Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort is not really my typical beach haven compared to other beaches I’ve been to in the north. Crablets seemed to have invaded their artificial shorelines and made walking around the beach area on barefoot quite uncomfortable. Either I might crush one of these creatures or I risk losing a toe. My feet simply missed those smooth white sands that define most of the beaches in Luzon.

Allegro Restaurant at night

But Maribago’s facilities and the hospitality of people made up for what is lacking. After dinner, we went around the beach and saw how lovely the place was at night. The lights made the entire beach landscape appear more like a fantasy island than a resort. We went to The Cove, a bar and restaurant that allows you to choose from a selection of live fishes, seafood and appetizer recipes and drinks.

The way to The Cove

And there’s this cold sea breeze blowing from the north. So we got out frolicking along the shore in our rubber shoes.

Magellan's Cross, believed to be miraculous, is nothing but a deceptive tool to conquer the unsuspecting ancient Cebuanos.

I find it disturbing how some history textbooks tell us that the Philippines was “discovered” by Spanish-hired Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Wow Philippines has even repeated the same confusing remark when describing the island of Limasawa as a birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines. I question the use of the word “discovered” because hundreds of years before these Spanish/Portuguese explorations, the islands have long been inhabited by its natives. In fact, Mactan Island’s chief Lapu-Lapu was already there when Magellan and his team arrived.

The word Christianization also does bother me. Spain that time was using God as a scare tactic to conquer and manipulate inhabitants in the east. What the Spaniards had really brought us was an idolotrous religion that subsisted on the sweat and blood of those they have conquered. Where is Christianity there? Not even a trace.

The house built for the ancient cross

Just across the present Cebu City Hall is Magellan’s Shrine that houses the Cross of Magellan. The original cross, believed to be encased in Tindalo wood, was made a symbol of Cebu and local government seal when it is nothing but an ugly reminder of how our own gullibility made us Spanish captives for 333 years. Lapu-Lapu, probably one of the brightest minds of his time, refused this religious crap from gaining a foothold. We all know how this brave warrior made a faucet out of the Spaniard’s body. Our historians may have named a small city after him, but Magellan’s cross was made a symbol of the province the Mactan chieftain so tried to defend. Call that irony.

Devotees light their candles and offer up prayers

The marathon to explore Cebu City four hours before the flight schedule landed us on our second destination for the day. Our lengthy walks from one spot to another digested every lechon bit I had earlier and probably shed off a couple of pounds without even taking in Fastin diet pills. If I happen to be a Roman Catholic, I would have exclaimed, “Pit Senor!”

Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño

Just right across Magellan’s Cross is The Church and Convent of the Sto. Niño (known as Basilica del Sto. Niño), the oldest church started by the Spanish friars in the Philippines. It was founded by the Spanish Augustinian priest Rev. Andres Urdaneta in 1565. It was on the same year that the Legaspi expedition arrived in the Philippines and gained foothold in this southern city. What followed next was a strong Spanish influence that scattered like a disease lasting for more than three hundred years.

Spanish influences remain inside the house of prayer

The intense devotion of the Visayans to the Sto. Niño and religious pilgrimages are centered on this church since the time of Legaspi. Aside from being a house of devotion, the Church and Convent of the Sto. Niño was also a center for educating the natives, rest house for missionaries and care home for the elderly and the sick.

Today, this church remains as the permanent home of the oldest known relic of the Sto. Niño for centuries.

Shiny, shimmery, splendid

Cebu has changed so much over the years that it is no longer the butt of those old school Magellan-Lapu-Lapu-kusinero jokes that circulated during the Yoyoy Villame era. The Visayan capital has followed the footsteps of Manila in so many ways that differences are now hard to tell. Supermalls define the city’s landscape and dictate lifestyle patterns. Five-star hotels house casinos and restaurants offering variety of flavors. Business processing offices opening in the area have rendered this old Spanish settlement absolutely sleepless and probably restless hundreds of years after.

Manang Linda shows us the painful details of the craft

While the IT and retail industries flourish, Cebu has also made a mark in the fashion scene. Local fashion accessories industry starts to bloom and exports have been aggressive so far. Bijoux Cebu was the ultimate proof that they too have stepped into the challenge of becoming world-class.

During the exhibit, we’ve met Manang Linda who graciously demonstrated to us how those accessories you see today were processed from scratch. In fact, every design component has its own humble story to tell from just being a piece of an abandoned shell to something that accents beauty. Every piece was painstakingly made by people who devoted their resources, time, passion and strength. So remember those things next time you purchase one.

It is a thriving million dollar industry that generates more jobs, opens up small business opportunities and inspires creativity not only among women but even men who have an eye for design and symmetry.

Cebu guitars

We spotted a souvenir shop and a guitar store near Mactan Shrine after a heavy sutukil lunch. The souvenir shops in the area do not offer that much except for cute wooden key chains I bought at P15 each and Cebu shirts at P70. Locals peddled their dried mangoes and otap to tourists. But these varieties can also be found at any SM Mall or fast food joint where some kids approach dining customers with a letter from vague organizations and sell dried mangoes at absurd prices.

Somehow these pasalubong top guns have lost their magic leaving the Cebu guitar the sole pride of the island.

Tuning up a mahogany guitar

We passed by a guitar store and the colorful displays attracted us inside. Manong, the storekeeper who has been in the industry long before the invasion of remote control helicopters, played a couple of tunes on at least three units. His highly recommended piece was the mahogany guitar. To demonstrate the strength of mahogany guitars, he hit the cemented floor with one. Crazy, ‘no? But that demo certainly proved the point. The strength of Cebu guitars lies in quality materials and workmanship. Mayan finally decided to buy herself a small but nice mahogany guitar for only P1,000. Someday it might just come in handy.

At Manila Memorial Park in Liloan, Cebu

The last time I was in this place was in 2004. The road to Manila Memorial Park Cemetery in Liloan, Cebu was long and dusty. I remember the heat, the exhaustion from lack of sleep, relatives I’ve never met before and wanting to go back home. Everyone around me grieved at the loss of someone they regarded so highly that made me blink more than twice. If you know my story, and the kind of life my family went through in the past, you’ll know why.

More than two weeks ago, I was back to the same spot, now more quiet and peaceful. Freshly cut grass covers the ground where withered flowers and candle-holder remain. Wounds have healed and I guess everyone has moved on.

Today marks my Dad’s 4th death anniversary.

Bagacay Point Lighthouse was built in 1904

We embarked on a Monday afternoon trip to Liloan, a municipality north of Metro Cebu. Liloan is about an hour away from the city proper. The only memory I have of this suburb is the Manila Memorial Park where my dad was buried four years ago. Apart from that, I found nothing in it that piqued my curiosity.

Parola overlooking Mactan Channel

But when you’re in the company of adventurous true-blue Cebuanos, things are bound to change. Liloan, in particular, ceased to exist in my mind as a backward town accessed by multi-cabs breezing through dusty roads. Not even the fabled aswang from neighboring Negros Island could still cohabit in the region’s busiest city.

Standing tall at 72 feet

After paying my respects to my late dad and meditating on things to stock up in my luggage I hoped was a Zero Halliburton, we decided to see the lighthouse at Bagacay Point in Catarman. The locals call it “parola”. It was a trip that took us to more laidback parts of the place where schoolchildren would endure walking to home from school on those tired rubber shoes. We were also met by rocky roads and tall grasses that somehow never saw trimming for years. We’ve been through almost every alley in Bagacay but the lighthouse was still out of sight.

Towering beacon of light

We got lost on our way but thanks to people who pointed us to a shortcut that led to an Ayala real estate project. There we caught a good view of the century-old tower, standing tall at 72 feet, proud and unmovable. It is a solar-powered lighthouse.

Sugba sa Parola

The Bagacay Point Lighthouse has served the mariners crossing Mactan Channel and provided shelter to seafarers for more than a hundred years. It was constructed in 1904 by order of Governor-General William Howard Taft to replace the original lighthouse built by the Spanish authorities in 1856.

Cat and me

Many thanks to the trip’s official photographer, Atty. Cat. I borrowed from her all the photographs used in this entry. 

Welcome to Bijoux Cebu

Bijoux Cebu at the Marquee of Shangri-La Mactan Hotel & Resort was the ultimate goal of the Cebu trip last week as far as Mayan is concerned. Her accessories business in Naga City has been flourishing for the past three years and hopping from one trade event to another keeps her creative juice flowing. She was indeed born fashionista and I’m happy she has found her niche.

Models on the catwalk

While I obsessed myself with getting more sleep than reading about cheap Phentermine reviews, Mayan was busy planning her schedule to meet people at Bijoux. Bijoux Cebu is an international trade exhibition of all kinds of fashion accessories from costume jewellery, bags, sandals to components. A fashion show was held that day to showcase various creations for the Spring-Summer 2009 collection.

Designing from scratch

Cebu, and probably the rest of Visayas, has been a hub for indigenous fashion materials and accessories exported worldwide. Cebuanos displayed their knack for design in a contest participated by male and female designers. If you’re the kind who appreciates all things kikay, you surely wouldn’t want to miss an event like this.

The winning piece

Bijoux Cebu was organized by Cebu Fame. By the way, I had a free siatsu massage there courtesy of The Spa Cebu.