Don Raimundo Enriquez de Bracamonte, Cebu's Chronicler
Don Raimundo was born on March 15, 1855 in San Nicolas, Cebu. He was the son of Don Isidoro Cabarrubias Enriquez and Doña Juana Lopez Bracamonte. He was schooled at the San Carlos Seminary, Cebu, and at the Colegio San Juan de Letran in Manila.
Don Raimundo married Anacleta Lauron dela Calzada. He served as Secretary of the Royal Audiencia in Leyte and Samar. He was also designated as Clerk of the Provincial Registrar of Cebu and the Court of the Province of Cebu. He also served under the administration of President Emilio Aguinaldo as Notary Public from 1901 to 1914.
Don Raimundo died on October 15, 1936. He is the father of Cebu's brilliant chronicler, Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada. His other children were Felisa, Juana, Soledad, and Enriquez.
The Dela Calzada Clan has immensely contributed to the preservation of Cebu's history through the publication of numerous stories compiled through books. Among them is the book entitled: Ang Kagubot sa Sugbo 1898. It was written by Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada but it was the siblings that saw it printed.
The abovementioned book contains the first-hand narration of the uprising of the Cebuanos against Spain that greatly contributed to the eventual defeat of the Spaniards and their ouster. The foremost contributor is Don Raimundo and his friends like Eulogio Duque, Agapito de Vera, and Catalino Sunsona. The other important contributors to the book were Felipe Pacaña (a street is named after him in Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City), Tomas Alonso, Elpidio Rama, Nicanor Avila, Utbano Pacres, Vicente Garces, Wencislao Capala, Rufo Llamas, Manuel Roa (who later became Governor of Cebu), Alfonso Alo, Rufo Abella, Hipolito Labra (his name is honored in a street in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City), Filomeno Garces, Luis Binoya, Gregorio Padilla, Alipio Barrera, Anastasio Rama, Segundo Patuasi, Inocentes Avila, Emeterio Abellana, Apolinar Abellana, and Baldomero Abellanosa.
The stories written by these writers were first-hand information or primary sources of Cebuano history as they themselves were part of the revolution against Spain. The book published by the Dela Calzada Clan of Cebu must be preserved, properly disseminated. The Province of Cebu and the City of Cebu must be duty-bound to convince the Department of Education to make this part of the syllabus of the subject Social Studies and History. This is so our youth and our teachers would understand by heart the bravery of our Cebuano forefathers.
Another book written by Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada is the book, "Legends of the Sto. Niño de Cebu" originally written in Cebuano and translated into English by Martin Abellana. The book in English was eventually published on February 28, 1965, the year of the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Christianization of the Philippines.
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