Wow, Argao!
April 30, 2005 | 12:00am
Summer’s upon us and the heat is as relentless and over-whelming as the billboards in Metro Manila. As a kid, summer meant freedom from school, and for a number of years, an idyllic escape to Cebu. A recent trip down south to Sugbu (as the island is called by native Sugbuanons) recently brought back childhood memories. I couldn’t help comparing the present-day province with those images from my past – some things changed while some remained the same.
I was born in the picturesque and historic seaside town of Argao, known previously for its famous beach resort (now gone – a victim of a previous regime’s ineptitude; besides, the resort was actually in the neighboring town’s boundaries). Travel from Manila then was via an inter-island vessel and took three salt-sprayed days. Flying fish and dolphins accompanied us on that slow boat. Upon arrival, relatives welcomed us to a month’s worth of danggit breakfasts, trips to the beach, walks through coconut and mango plantations and colorful Flores de Mayo processions.
Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May) and religious traditions were what colored my experience of rural life. The thrice-a-day angelus, daily masses and processions were as regular in the provinces then as mall midnight madness is in our cities today. Actually, a major reason why my summers were holier than most kids’ was the fact that they were spent with my uncle and ninong (godfather) who was a parish priest. In those days they still let priests become ninongs.
For two or three consecutive years, my elder brother Gene and I spent our summers in Sibonga, the town before Argao, which was then four hours by car from Cebu City. Other visits centered around Argao and the capital, which was then quite a small place with nothing beyond Fuente Osmeña.
Tito Padre Patring was fun to be around. He joked a lot (and still does). I owe my extensive repertoire of silly jokes and simple magic tricks to him. He was the reason I took this recent trip. Along with my folks, another uncle, sister and brother-in-law, we were the Manila contingent to Padre (now Monsignor) Patring Alcazaren’s golden-anniversary celebration of his work as a priest. He and the Reverend Vicente Chan were to be feted as the first priests to reach this milestone who came from Argao. Argao is the most prolific source of men of the cloth in the province (as pointed out by Chief Justice Davide, another Argaoanon, in a speech delivered on the occasion).
Sibonga and Argao, along with adjacent towns, still retain their rustic charms. These were, however, threatened not too long ago by plans for a highway widening and the effects of sprawl from the enlarging Metro Cebu region. Carcar’s lovely and ornate rotunda was to have been bulldozed by the DPWH’s machines. That was stopped due to pressure from concerned citizens. This concern has now taken on a more formal form. Four of these southern towns – Argao, Dalaguete, Boljoon and Oslob – have been identified as pilot areas for an urban integrated conservation program led by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation. The four now make up what is known as the CHF or Cebu Heritage Frontier. The CHF and partners – the NCCA, the local government units and various NGOs – are focused on a survey and documentation of this architectural heritage, and eventually community-based cultural, educational and economic programs. These will revolve around conserved buildings, plazas and houses along with conserved coastal areas, beaches, springs, waterfalls and uplands.
The first product, a guide to the four towns, was what we used to tour my hometown of Argao. We first went to see our ancestral house in the area known as Langtad (opening). The structure is still there and we all were astounded to see the wooden signs that announced my dad and mom’s services as physicians still hanging from the eaves!
Next, we went to the cemetery to pay our respects. The cemetery of Argao is gifted with a coral stone wall, decorated gateway and a chapel from the Spanish era – all still intact. From the cemetery, we proceeded to Argao beach for a celebration of the living. In between mouthfuls of tasty Cebuano lechon and saucy kaldereta, I had a running lesson in our family tree, learning once again who we were related to and how. The clan names were all familiar. The Alcazarens are related to the Kintanars, the Hofers, Espinas, Ruizes, Luceros, Chans, Alcarezes, Cabrera-Tams, Trinidads, and Agravantes, among others from Argao. The Davide family is close, too, with the Alcazarens donating land that the Davides used as part of their resources and an extension to a school (now expanded to a college of agriculture).
With the taste of the famous torta (a pastry baked with lard) still in my mouth, we went around looking for more sites and landmarks documented in the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation book. Every corner offered something for the interested eye. The clan houses were fascinating. The homes of the Kintanars, Ruizes, Davides, Luceros and Espinas were from various eras – Spanish to American to immediate post-war. All are still in fairly good shape with some undergoing conservation.
All these structures led, of course, to the town’s religious and political center where the Church of San Miguel Archangel and its convent still stand proudly facing the sea. The church was started in 1784 and was completed in 1788, making it one of the oldest in the country. Most of the church is conserved with the ground floor now housing an engaging museum of church artifacts. The bell tower has three levels and a dozen bells while the interior houses five altars. The Argaoanons are deeply religious. The bells also serve to warn residents of "Moro attacks." Residents up till the early 18th century used to seek refuge in the church, which was surrounded by fortified walls and buluartes. The ruins of these dot all towns up and down Cebu’s coast.
Around the requisite plaza in front of the Argao church are the city hall, the maternity building (where I first saw the light of day), and a structure known as APTA (Argao Parents-Teachers Association) building. All three have been or are being conserved. The APTA is to house the local courts and is being sensitively rebuilt through the support of Chief Justice Davide.
Parts of the town seem to have stayed the same in the last 50 years but clearly the population is growing. More shops and gas stations line the main road. The market (from the American era) is busier. More tricycles are seen and recently more villas are being built (by Europeans it seems) along Argao’s pleasant shoreline. The old train station is gone (Argao was the last stop in a busy line that led to the city – Argao’s hills were the source of the city’s coal early in the century). Gone, too, are much of the coconut plantations and the mango groves seem to have thinned out.
Still and all, Argao and the rest of the towns along the national highway retain their charm and amazingly much of their heritage. I hope the CHF program is sustained and will be expanded. The potential for tourism, I believe, is largely still untapped. The importance of conserving local heritage is also as important to a new generation of Cebuanos whose links to local culture and traditions are affected by the lure of other cultures and the lights of the big city.
Back in big Cebu City, modernity has reared its ugly head. Urban sprawl makes the Metro Cebu cityscape not a distant second to Manila in terms of metropolitan mess. Infrastructure is haphazardly planned. (A controversy surrounding their coastal highway was the hot topic of the week.) Sidewalks are non-existent save for parts of "downtown" that are still arcaded. Transport seems to be ad hoc and inefficient. Malls are sprouting without proper traffic planning and parking. Housing subdivisions and most areas everywhere have little zoning control and even fewer open green spaces. Maybe the Aboitiz Foundation could also start an initiative for urban renewal and greening?
More on Cebu City in future articles (including wonderful Cebuano contemporary architecture and architects). To my Ninong Monsignor Patring, happy anniversary! To all our relatives who hosted us, daghang salamat sa inyong tanan! To the Aboitiz Foundation, keep up the good work!
Leaving Cebu City, I thought to myself, "Thankfully there are not as many billboards as Manila… at least not yet."
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