A glimpse of Cebu’s culture, history
With their tablets and smartphones, some 50 delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings took note of Cebu City’s history and culture.
They visited the Magellan’s Cross, Basilica del Sto. ?Niño, Fort San Pedro, and the Heritage Monument in Pari-an, among others.
At the Magellan’s Cross, delegates were greeted with a traditional Sinulog dance by candle vendors dressed in stylized Filipino “baro at saya” blouses and loose skirts provided by the city’s tourism commission.
Before vistiors arrived, vendors helped each other put on makeup for the public performance.
“Excited mi. Nangandam mi aron dili sad sila maka-ingon nga hugaw mi (We’re excited. We dressed up for our visitors so they don’t think we look untidy),” 80-year-old Carolina Razon told Cebu Daily News.
“Gusto namo sila abi-abihon. Among ipakita ang among sayaw og ang pamaagi sa among pag-ampo. (We want to entertain them. We want to show to them how we dance and pray)”
Razon, a resident of Talamban, Cebu City, has been a candle vendor at the Magellan’s Cross and the Basilica del Sto. Niño since 1935. She said she earns about P1,000 every Friday and Sunday at the site where Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and Spanish soldiers planted the cross they brought with them in 1521.
TRAFFIC
Traffic was light yesterday since jeepneys were diverted away from the tourist spots,
Only Mabini Street going to Parian and Pigafetta Street downtown were closed to traffic.
Traffic personnel will be more strict today, when APEC ministers take the same city tour said Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) operations head Jonathan Tumulak.
To drivers and commuters, however, the presence of APEC delegates was an inconvenience.
“Samok lagi ang APEC. Naka-apekto usab sa among byahe. Ang uban wala na man gud kahibaw asa mosakay (APEC is a nuisance. Our routes have been affected. Some commuters no longer know where they can get a ride),” a driver of 06B, who did not want to be named, said.
Jenevie Nadal, who was in the area when the delegates toured the Basilica, said she would have to walk far to get a ride home.
“Wala sad ko kahibaw naa diay ni sila diri sa Sto. Niño. Pero okay ra man sad, wala man sad mi gadali (I didn’t know they would be here. But it’s okay because I’m not in a hurry),” she said.
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