Bogo Church is one of the images in exhibit.

Images on exhibit is available for sale at P5,000 each. Part of the proceed will be for the upkeep of the Cathedral of Cebu Museum. Preselling of the book will be for limited time only from 3 July – 30 August. Discounted price is P1,500. Once launched this November, it will be available for P2,000. If you’re interested, do contact me by filling out the contact form above. I’m showing my images of the North Cebu churches that are part of the photo exhibit Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu. These are just 14 out of 50 photographs that have been especially selected for this show and covers different generations from Spanish colonial era structures in the 18th century, 19th century American colonial period to modern 20th century edifices.

The images are for sale at P5,000 pesos each and are masterly printed on archival paper and ink rated at 100 years. Image sizes are large with some having a minimum length of 16 inches. Maximum is as much as 30 inches. Part of the proceeds will be used for the upkeep of the ecclesiastical museum.

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Showcasing, publishing sacred treasures
Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News

At exactly 4 p.m. tomorrow, 50 of the best photographs of Cebu’s churches and their unique features will be exhibited at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. I invite the public to be at the opening and witness the pre-selling of a book soon to be released in November entitled “Balanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu.”

The exhibited photographs will be part of over 1,000 that will make the 300-page book a coveted tome for years to come. It is our hope that whoever comes to view this exhibit, which will run till August 3, will help fund the project by pledging the severely discounted price of P1,500 for every book he or she intends to own. Already, many have begun shelling out this amount and even more, in effect making them proud parents of this singular volume that will be printed with their help.

It is difficult to shower praise on this noble undertaking especially when I am part of this project as its editor and coordinator; for my biases will probably show. Nevertheless, let me venture to explain and recount what has happened that brought me and over a handful of people to this project.

The impetus to do this was the occasion that presented itself: the diamond jubilee of the elevation of the diocese of Cebu (established in 1595) to an archdiocese (in 1934). Things moved faster than we anticipated. In just two or three meetings, the Jubilee Committee members approved the project presented to them by Msgr. Carlito Pono, chairman of the archdiocesan heritage commission, and yours truly. Since Fr. Felipe Redondo published his Breve Reseña delo que Fue y de lo que es la Diocesis de Cebu in 1886, no one has ever published a book on Cebu’s parish churches. The Cathedral Museum of Cebu, the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, and University of San Carlos Press have therefore taken that single step to finally do it.

The call for writers was heeded fast: Louella Alix, Fr. Brian Brigoli, Arch. Melva Rodriguez-Java, Trizer Dale Mansueto and Arnold Carl Sancover stepped forward without fuss. The photographers we needed were just within our midst, starting with Lorenz Gibb Lapinid and Mark Andrew Jorolan, who always take shots of every event hosted not just by the Cathedral Museum but many other places like Casa Gorordo, Museo Sugbo, Sto. Niño Basilica, or the myriad series of fiestas that make Cebu a haven for photographers. Estan Cabigas, the principal photographer of the book, “Philippine Church Facades” (written by Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA and published by San Agustin Museum), readily agreed to join. The three were later joined by Gil Maningo (of Kulas tee-shirt fame) and Fr. Jun Rebayla, SVD (treasurer of the SVD Southern Province) as well as Carlos Apuhin (BPI senior manager) and Rudy Alix (better half of Louella and the artist behind many resin sculptures made by Presents & Such).

Other than photography, Caloy Apuhin has also been our point man in the financial aspects of the project, together with Mary Frances “Frankie” Despi, who has ably pulled strings around to make sure the exhibition will be a complete success.

The die is cast. There is no turning back. Fifty-eight chapters of the book are being written as I write. Photographs of the best features of every parish church in Cebu, including those that have just been established, will soon make their debut in “Balaanong Bahandi.” Be part then of this noble undertaking.

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A monthlong exhibit is scheduled this 3 July to help raise funds for the book. Come, visit and reserve your copy.

Images on exhibit is available for sale at P5,000 each. Part of the proceed will be for the upkeep of the Cathedral of Cebu Museum. Preselling of the book will be for limited time only from 3 July – 30 August. Discounted price is P1,500. Once launched this November, it will be available for P2,000. If you’re interested, do contact me by filling out the contact form above. This is what I and two other photographers, have been busy with the past few months. In my case, its the main reason I have been shuttling between Manila and Cebu to undertake this ambitious project of the Archdiocese of Cebu! And to start the ball rolling, you are cordially invited to the month long opening of the exhibit and avail of discounts for the book. Read all about it below.

To mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Archdiocese of Cebu, the Cathedral Museum of Cebu and the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church will soon launch the book Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Published in collaboration with University of San Carlos Press, Balaanong Bahandi continues the pioneering work of Fr. Felipe Redondo who first chronicled the history of the Catholic Faith in Cebu through the book entitled Breve reseña de lo que fue y de lo que es la Diócesis de Cebú en las Islas Filipinas published in 1886.

With excerpts from a translation of Redondo’s magnum opus, over 1,000 full color photographs interspersed with vintage pictures in 58 chapters bring together the Church’s treasured heritage: houses of faith that have not only withstood the vagaries of time and the elements but spawned new parishes.

Balaanong Bahandi is the ultimate guide to the Archdiocese’s architectural heritage, showcasing all the churches in Cebu from the earliest missions to contemporary parishes, including all of the outstanding artistry they contain:  bas reliefs expressed in coral stone, carved images  in ivory and wood, ceiling paintings by the famed Canuto Avila and Raymundo Francia, handwritten pages in canonical books, bronze bells, and many other tangible manifestations of over 400 years of Christianity in Cebu.

To help raise funds for the book, a month-long exhibition of 50 of the hundreds of select photographs in the book will be held at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu to be opened on July 3, 2009. The exhibit opening will also coincide with pre-selling of the upcoming book at discounted rates.

By purchasing copies in advance, buyers not only get a 20 percent discount on the 300-page full color book, they will also share in the noble task of promoting and ensuring the protection and preservation of Cebu’s heritage churches as proceeds from sales will go to the Cathedral Museum of Cebu Trust Fund and the heritage conservation programs of the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.

Jojo R. Bersales
Editor/Project Coordinator

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Hidden Treasures of the Philippines exhibit. Click for larger image.

I first came across this wonderful exhibit, Hidden Treasures of the Philippines, A Photo Exhibit of Vintage Churches at the Ortigas Foundation Library while online and it was just past noon today that I have finally visited it. If you’re in Manila, now, you should catch it as it will end by next week, third week of June.

Hidden Treasures is just a selection of 35 churches, a kumbento (parish house) and an horno (oven) of the over 300 structures that the two photographers, Betty Lalana and Boy Arboleda, both working with the foundation, took over a period of 10 years. A brainchild of their employer, Atty. Rafael Ortigas Jr., they have scoured every nook and cranny of the country, from Metro Manila to the remote barrios where these gems are still existing.

The exhibit showcases churches and related structures in 51 images. Ones that are not so familiar and to most tourists and Filipinos, not known. These include the brick wonders of Cagayan Valley: San Pablo, Gamu, Cauayan, and Tumauini in Isabela. Lal-lo, Gattaran, Malaueg and the antique and huge brick ovens of Camalaniugan and Tuguegarao in Cagayan province. Tayum in Abra shows off it’s simple yet beautiful façade.

Hidden Treasures of the Philippines photo exhibit at the Ortigas Foundation Library

There’s the cemetery chapel of Tayabas. Bicol is represented with the churches of Nabua, Tigaon, Lagonoy, San Jose, Paracale, Caramoan, Bato and Barcelona. Tigbauan, Sta. Barbara and Leon are just some from Panay. Tubigon with it’s beautiful painted dome in Bohol, Lazi in Siquijor, Maasin and Hilongos in Leyte as well as Navalas in Guimaras. The fortress church of Cuyo makes an appearance for Palawan while Jimenez in Misamis Occidental for Mindanao.

The quality of the images are good and the photographers not only showed façades but some details as well. The exhibit is curated by Jonathan Best. Visit the Ortigas Foundation Library website for their contact numbers as well as a location map.

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Great Churches of the Philippines - Galende and Javellana

Great Churches of the Philippines by Pedro Galende, OSA and Rene Javellana, SJ is one of those books that you just have to get, pour over and read again and again. That is if your into Philippine churches and Spanish colonial architecture in the country. This 1996, now out of print book and very much hard to find, was one of those publications that presented these architectural gems with its distinct Philippine style in a new light: beautiful pictures with short but concise text.

I got my copy around ten years ago in Cebu. Looking at the wonderful cover of the stunning Tumauini church in Isabela, one is immediately drawn. This is the book that made me visit this northern edifice a few years later.

It’s lightweight, with just 76 pages, which, I think, is good for this kind of publication. Not too heavy to digest considering that it tackles 29 churches. The text is quite familiar. A short history of the structure is followed with the architectural description of the façade and the interior, a writing style that echoes Galende’s, one of the authors, Angel in Stone. It also includes a short glossary as well as a primer on church architecture that walks one to the various parts of the structure.

Great Churches of the Philippines was published by Bookmark, one of the publishing houses that has brought us wonderful titles specifically focusing on Philippine art and culture. Photography was done by Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan and Boldy Tapales. Design and wonderful illustrations by Robert Alejandro.

Twenty-nine churches built from the late sixteenth to the nineteenth century are featured in this introduction to the rich legacy of Philippine colonial architecture. The churches have been chosen for their age, state of preservation and architectural value or cultural significance, which place them above the rest as exemplary. The text gives a history of each church and point to its significant architectural and artistic features. The intimate connection between the churches and the faith of the Filipinos is underscored in this book. The color photographs lead the eye to see each church against the panorama of the Philippine landscape and highlight captivating details.

Page spread of Betis Church in Pampanga

The twenty nine churches are from 16 provinces in the country that can be found in Luzon and the Visayas. It would have been better if the authors included Jimenez in Misamis Occidental, an equally beautiful church, to make it thirty as well as represent Mindanao.

The stunning Tumauini Church in Isabela. This is the book that prompted me to visit this church a few years later.

Domus mea domus oratio nis voca bitur - My house shall be called a house of prayer

Back cover showing the stained glass rose window of the Basilica of San Sebastian

The book covers the following churches:

Ilocos Norte:

• Paoay
• Laoag

Ilocos Sur:

• Vigan
• Sta. Maria
• Sta. Lucia

Isabela:

• Tumauini

Pampanga:

• Apalit
• Betis

Bulacan:

• Barasoain
• Angat

Metro Manila:

• San Agustin
• Malate
• San Sebastian
• Las Piñas

Rizal:

• Tanay
• Morong

Cavite:

• Maragondon

Batangas:

• Taal

Laguna:

• Paete
• Majayjay

Quezon:

• Tayabas

Albay:

• Daraga

Capiz:

• Pan-ay

Iloilo:

• Miag-ao

Cebu:

• Sto. Niño
• Carcar

Bohol:

• Baclayon
• Loon
• Loboc

This is a must have book and you should get one, if you can still find a copy.

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This piece of land near the Inag-a River and coast of Carcar used to be where the first settlement and church of the municipality was established. It was abandoned in 1622 after a Muslim slave raid.

It was around 1400H that me and Lorens Gibb arrived at a flat piece of agricultural land near a house. It is surrounded with stands of coconut trees and fields of corn in Barrio Inayagan, Barangay Valladolid in Carcar. This was where a team of archaeologists from the University of San Carlos and the National Museum conducted an excavation in 2001 and 2002.

The photos used in this series were taken between 2005 and 2008 as the author visits this church from time to time. Special thanx to Lorens Gibb Lapinid for the assistance in 2008.

The place was formerly the site of the visita of Salug (also Sailo, Siaro or Jaro) which was established in 1599 by the Augustinians under the advocacy of Nuestra Señora de la Visitacion. While Pedro Galende, OSA, in his book, Angels in Stone, considered it as a small rural visita, Gaspar de San Agustin, OSA, wrote in 1686, considered it as one of the largest ministries in the Visayas and one of three that existed during that time in Cebu. The other two were the convent of San Nicolas, it’s mother matrix, and Sto. Niño.

Salug, meaning downriver or by the river, is near the mouth of the Inag-a or Valladolid River, an old settlement even before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. In 1622, Muslim slave raiders destroyed the settlement. The people then abandoned Salug and transferred a few kilometers inland to a place teeming with cabcab (or cabcar) ferns. It is now the present town center of Carcar where the beautiful graeco-roman church is built atop a hill.

Interviews with the locals by the researchers indicated that during the 19th century, walls were still standing on the site but were later scavenged by the natives as construction materials. Archaeological diggings also yielded segments of a wall as well as indications of the presence of masonry.

Today, there’s no trace of the former settlement but Barrio Inayagan is also known as Daanglungsod, the vernacular for old town.

———-
This post was mainly based on the paper which was a report to the National Commission on Culture and the Arts on 31 March 2004 entitled Visayas Settlement by the River: Archaeological Investigations at the late 16th and 17th Century Site of Salug in Sitio Valladolid, Carcar, Cebu which was part of the Salug Archaeology Project. It was prepared by John A. Peterson, Amalia de la Torre, Nida Cuevas, Angel Bautista, Josephine Belmonte and Mark D. Wallis. The project was a collaboration between the University of San Carlos and the National Museum in 2001 and 2002.

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The sala of Carcar Church's kumbento is richly decorated.

The photos used in this series were taken between 2005 and 2008 as the author visits this church from time to time. Special thanx to Lorens Gibb Lapinid for the assistance in 2008.

The kumbento of Carcar Church is one of the biggest in the province of Cebu. It was also one of the richest. Unfortunately, the interior today is just a shadow of it’s former self. During the incumbency of a parish priest between the 1980s and 90s, and who is now assigned in another parish today, a fire sale of antique church items and furnishings was done. One woman even said that a helicopter and a truck were brought to transport these out.

Much has already been changed but traces of the old can still be found. In the sala, one can marvel at the beautiful embellishments as well as the ceiling painting including the panels and arches that echoes the choirloft of the church. At the corridor, or if one will call it, antesala, wall and ceiling paintings are still intact while a beautiful antique bench provides a point of interest. The original hardwood floors are also still there.

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The kumbento of Carcar Church is huge, a testament to it's importance. It is built separate from the church.

The kumbento of Carcar Church is one of the biggest in Cebu, a testament to its wealth in a prosperous town. The masonry and wood structure was built, probably around 1885, during the term of Fr. Mauel Fernandez Rubio, an Augustinian friar who has done much for the town. He was also the one who finished the church in 1875, painted the ceilings, had two bells cast (dated 1880 and 1882) as well as constructed the road leading to the beach.

The photos used in this series were taken between 2005 and 2008 as the author visits this church from time to time. Special thanx to Lorens Gibb Lapinid for the assistance in 2008.

It is 33 meters long and 26 meters wide and when it was finished, it has galvanized iron roofing. Like the one in Sibonga, the next town, it is built separate from the church but is in line with the façade. Large windows covered with wrought iron grills are located at the first floor which is made of masonry. The second floor, made of wood, also has large windows with translucent capiz shells in grids making up the sliding panels. Below these are ventanillas.

Fascinating architectural details are located just below the roof. Here, several wooden panels depict many Augustinian symbols that are shown in the gallery below.

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A relief at the portal's top at the sacristy. This is said to be how the previous church looked before the current one. It is interesting to note the style of the belfry's dome carried on to the present structure

The door that opens to the sacristy. Note the relief of a church at it's lunette.

The sacristy of Carcar Church has a simple wooden two-door portal that opens outside. Simply decorated, what makes this interesting, however, is the relief of a church at it’s lunette that is so unlike the present structure. Lorens Gibb told me that this might be how the edifice prior to the present one looked like. If this is true, then we now have visual proof of the previous church.

The photos used in this series were taken between 2005 and 2008 as the author visits this church from time to time. Special thanx to Lorens Gibb Lapinid for the assistance in 2008. Philippine churches, especially prior to the middle of the 19th century, were mostly built under the direction of the parish priest who often has no background in construction. Thus we have edifices that are often at the mercy of the elements. What happened to the previous structure in Carcar might have suffered the same fate as natural calamities might have caused it’s deterioration or eventual destruction. However, this might be an oversimplification as the town was one of the richest and thus, might be able to afford a more strongly built church. But age might also be a factor.

1860 (or 1859 as written inside some parts of the church), the start of construction of the present church already saw the decline of muslim slave raiding in Luzon, the Visayas and northern Mindanao. In Cebu, the decisive victory of Oslobanons in 1813 already hindered these raiders in venturing into the area. Prior to that, however, these slavers were just a sad part of daily life. Thus, we have churches built that function not only to cater to the spiritual needs of the people but fortifications to keep watch of invaders as well as a stronghold where the populace run to whenever another raid happens in the town.

The church relief on the door is built more like a fortified edifice. It’s octagonal belltower is massive and tall. At four tiers, it doubles as a watchtower. Interestingly, the style of the dome has been carried out into the present structure. It’s single nave has windows that are small and high strung where defenders can take positions and take on surrounding enemies. The roof is tejado, or tiled. It might be typical but it cannot be burned compared with cogon roofing.

The façade is simple. Decorative columns run from base to top of second level with the triangular pediment found at the third. It’s center has a niche for the patron. The minimal baroque embellishments decorate the pediment and the top of the main portal. Note that just like the belfry’s dome, this portal decoration has been carried out into the present.

Either structures are interesting and beautiful.

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The sacristy is spacious and the room above it is the church's attic that serves as a storeroom..

Behind the presbytery is Carcar Church’s sacristy. It’s spacious and almost bare that one’s eyes notice immediately the lengthy antique cabinet/table between the two doors that opens to the main altar. Wide windows give ample lighting as the musty coral walls give an old feel to it. At the back, a wide, wooden and rickety staircase leads to the attic that serves as the church’s storeroom.

The photos used in this series were taken between 2005 and 2008 as the author visits this church from time to time. Special thanx to Lorens Gibb Lapinid for the assistance in 2008. It’s the first time I’ve been to a church attic and it’s not creepy or dark unlike the one in Catmon Church that I’ve visited this year. It is bright and airy. Old and headless statues of saints and angels, as well as some other unused church items are stored here.

Back to the sacristy, old red tiles contrasts with the black and white ones used at the nave. At the side, is an old door with some relieves on it that leads out of the church. This door is interesting since one carving at the top shows a church that is not the present structure. What significance does this hold? Another interesting feature is found outside. Just gaze up the windows and there are beautiful details.

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