The Cebu Capitol building was built in 1937 and is one of the beautiful landmarks in Cebu City

Speak of Cebu and images of the Sto. Niño , the province’s patron, come to mind. And so does the valiant Lapu-Lapu, sweet mangoes, the famous lechon, guitars and beaches. But it is more than that. Cebu is a special and beautiful place. It is also my home.

Cebu Capitol Heritage marker

I am featuring travel and, especially local bloggers who embody a particular place, as well as other personalities from time to time. For this Cebu-Sugbo Kini series, I’m featuring Arnold Carl Sancover.

Part 1 | Part 2

As a continuation to Arnold Carl’s interview in the previous post, I asked him his top 5 non-religious heritage sites in Cebu. Below are his recommendations.

1 Cebu Capitol Building

The Cebu Capitol Building is a beautiful neoclassical American colonial period edifice that was started in 1937. It is the seat of the Cebu provincial government and is found at the end of Osmeña Boulevard (but still popularly known as Jones Ave.). This was designed by Juan Arellano, who also did the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the Executive House (now the National Museum) as well as Jone’s Bridge.

The capitol was originally built within the perimeter of the Plaza Independcia, near Fort San Pedro, which follows the traditional Spanish plaza setting. Check Arnold Carl’s post for additional information.

The Carcar Dispensary, is just one of the American period structure in this heritage town

Antillan style house along the main road

2 The Heritage town of Carcar

About 46 kilometers south of Cebu City, the town of Carcar is one of the impressive towns of the island province which retained its heritage structures attesting to its rich culture and history spanning from the Spanish colonial period marked with the beautiful 19th century neoclassic church and convent, some ruins of watchtowers along its coast as well as houses; to the American period marked with houses of antillan style architecture including the Carcar Dispensary shown above and the rotunda with its quaint gazebo. A hike along it’s streets is a must to see these heritage treasures.

The town is also known as the shoe capital of the province, an important economic and transit hub. For food fanatics, it is known for its sweet delicacies and pasalubongs.

Second storey of the Jesuit House of 1730 is still standing and in good condition

3 The Jesuit House of 1730

Not too many people know this but tucked in within the compound of a lumber/hardware in the old Parian district is the Jesuit House of 1730, which is reputed to be the oldest dated house in the country today. Bas reliefs as well as carved medallions decorate its perimeter walls as well as interior including the date 1730. It’s an all stone house with tejado (tiled) roofing

Originally owned and built by the Jesuits, it was confiscated by the then Spanish colonial government when the religious order was expelled in all Spanish dominions. Over the years, it passed through various families and at one time, was even a night club. The current owner plans to open this site to the public after renovations and clearing of the hardware.

Arnold Carl’s post on the Jesuit House of 1730.

Historic Colon St. is the oldest street in the Philippines

Heritage marker where Teatro Empira used to stand

4 Historic Colon Street The oldest street in the Philippines is found in Cebu and it is Colon Street, popularly known as the downtown area. Started and based on the town plan of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi who arrived in 1565 it is named after Cristobal Colon, better known as Christopher Columbus.

It was the main street, economic and enterainment hub, considered the lifeline of the city during the Spanish colonial period where many movie houses, restaurants and businesses were built. At it’s end is the Parian district where many rich Chinese-Filipinos were located.

In the 20th century and well up to the 1990′s, it was a popular spot for Cebuanos, family events as well as commerce, wherein popular malls like Fairmart, Gaw, Gaisano and Gazini Plaza used to flank the street. During weekends, people used to flock to the many theaters here as well as dine in popular restaurants.

With the advent of malling in the 90s, wherein several huge malls were built in other sites in Cebu City, the Colon strip has descended into a shabby, crowded quarter. Gone are the once known malls to be replaced with parking lots or those cheap chinese product store outlets. Theaters have been closed while those that remained have been showing sex themed films. One historic and beautiful theater, Vision, is now a haven for bootleg sellers.

While the current state of Colon Street is not too pretty, walking and reading the different heritage markers along both sides is a wonderful experience to familiarize oneself with its past glory.

The Osmena Mausoleum in the old Carreta cemetery

An art deco tombstone of the Sotto's

5 Old cemetery of Cebu’s rich families in Carreta

The La Loma cemetery in Manila is known for its rich architectural heritage with various mausoleums done in neoclassic and art deco styles that it is one of the capital’s heritage destinations. In fact, there are walking tours conducted there. Much more, there are many famous Filipinos and buena familias interred.

In Cebu, there is an equivalent, albeit, at a lesser prominence including land area, where the same rich architectural heritage as well as personages can be found. The cemetery at M.J. Cuenco, just near the present Carreta cemetery is one of the forgotten heritage sites in the province. This is where some of the mortal remains of Cebu’s rich were interred including the Osmena’s, Sottos, Suico’s and Veloso’s.

There are ornate marble tombs, statues made by italian sculptors and even remnants of a Spanish colonial period niche lining one corner of the cemetery. Unfortunately, the area has been overun with squatters and has fallen into neglect as some families decided to transfer to other sites.

Arnold Carl’s post on the Osmena Mausoleum.

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Cebu heritage blogger, Arnold Carl Sancover

Speak of Cebu and images of the Sto. Niño , the province’s patron, come to mind. And so does the valiant Lapu-Lapu, sweet mangoes, the famous lechon, guitars and beaches. But it is more than that. Cebu is a special and beautiful place. It is also my home.

Starting with this post, I will be featuring travel and, especially local bloggers who embody a particular place, as well as other personalities from time to time. For this Cebu-Sugbo Kini series, I’m featuring Arnold Carl Sancover.

Part 1 | Part 2

ARNOLD CARL SANCOVER is a registered nurse, a true blue Cebuano and a staunch advocate of tangible heritage and its conservation. He’s also a frequent contributor to local newspapers writing about the province’s architectural treasures and is a volunteer at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. His blog, The Heritage of Cebu was a finalist in the Philippine Blog Awards 09, Best Visayas Locale Blog category.

Arnold Carl's primary Cebu blog, "The Heritage of Cebu" is the only site I know that exclusively highlights the island province's treasures. It was also a finalist in the Best Visayas Locale Blog in the just concluded Philippine Blog Awards 2009

Ang Langyaw (AL): Arnold, can you tell me, how did you get into heritage advocacy?

Arnold Carl Sancover (ACS): I am into heritage and ever since I was a child that was already my interest. That was what I like. When I was about to enter college, originally, I would have enrolled in Anthropology but my parents would not allow since they were concerned that I might not have a future with it or end up just a teacher or what.

My parents wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor and that’s why I took up Biology. After finishing the course, I took up Nursing as it was much more easier than Medicine and takes less time. After I graduated, my interest in heritage was still there. To express what I really want, I came up with a website on heritage.

AL: Currently, how many blogs do you have?

ACS: I currently have three blogs:

• The Heritage of Cebu (AL: this will be the focus of this interview)
• Travel Cebu, and
• Old Philippine Photos

I am focusing more and posts frequently at the the first one.

AL: How did you start with your The Heritage of Cebu blog?

ACS: This Cebu heritage blog first came to life at cebuheritage.wordpress.com. There were two instances that led to this one:

First I was walking along the downtown area of Cebu City (AL: this is the old quarter of Cebu where the country’s oldest street, Colon, is situated). That was December 30, 2005. I had with me a 3.2 megapixel digicam that I bought since I just passed the board exams.

While walking, I saw for the first time these heritage markers. Seeing these made my interest in heritage flare up more and so, I took pictures. I was already a member of this forum, Skyscraper City, and I want to post the images there so that I can make a topic about Cebu heritage.

Second, I was browsing this Ateneo (AL: Ateneo de Manila Univsersity) website, Panublion, and there was a topic there which really got me very interested: the Jesuit House of 1730. I got amazed since it was written that this heritage structure is hidden. When we speak of Parian, (AL: the old Chinese quarter of Cebu), what comes to mind is Casa Gorordo, a heritage house, now a museum of Cebu’s first Cebuano bishop. So there is still another house besides this one.

From Colon St., I went to the Parian area to look for this house without exactly knowing where it was located. In a sense, it was also an adventure for me. I came to an area where there was an old wall and saw these carved medallions, as exactly described in the website, I was ecstatic and decided to create a blog about Cebu heritage.

AL: How was your blog? Heritage seems to be a minor topic.

ACS: Blogging about heritage is interesting and I came to find that there were lots of visitors to the site. I was enthusiastic and this all the more encouraged me to update the site frequently.

AL: Can you expound more about this traffic?

ACS: In WordPress, everytime I checked the stats, there were really around 100 unique visitors per day. In a few weeks, my visitors increased from zero to 4,000. I was amazed! I also found in WordPress the search key words people use that led them to my site: cebu churches, history of Sto. Niño, etc. Hala! Naa pud diay mga tao nga ingon ani diay. Mga hilig ug heritage (Oh, there are also people who are also interested with heritage). That there are also people who search google for these kind of topics. It was an eye opener for me.

These inspired me to keep on updating this blog.

AL: How do you look for topics in your blog? Information?

ACS: Basically, what are posted in my blog are the places that I have already visited. I’ve been to Boljoon and that’s why I have an entry of that place. Other info I get from books like Simbahan of Ricky Jose and Angels in Stone of Fr. Pedro Galende, and website like Panublion, among others.

AL: Have you met other heritage enthusiasts through your blog?

ACS: There were visitors to my blog who we can call the who’s who of Cebu heritage. One example is Trizer Mansueto (AL: historian, researcher and writer of several articles including an upcoming book on Cebu). A regular commenter on my blog and when we finally met, he introduced me to the Cathedral Museum of Cebu and the people who runs it.

These opened doors for my blog. I took advantage of the connections that I have made to further develop and make The Heritage of Cebu more credible. That it is not just pop history or I’m just making the posts up. Because of these blog and Trizer, I have made friends with the historians of the Sto. Niño Basilica. As I was already part of the cathedral museum, I get to travel with them in Boljoon, Dalaguete and interact with the people involved in the local heritage movement and thus, further enriching The Heritage of Cebu.

Next is Part 2 which will be Arnold Carl’s recommended non-church heritage sites in Cebu City.

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