Cebu is becoming the national center of a host of festivals that showcase the country’s cultural heritage and one breakthrough celebration that is set to become a must-experience for tourists both local and foreign is “Gabii sa Kabilin,” a project of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc (Rafi).
The cultural and heritage event which is on its 8th year was inspired by a similar program in Germany, according to Jocelyn “Joy” Gerra, executive director of Rafi’s culture and heritage unit. Joy, who holds a doctorate in anthropology and archaeology had lived and worked in Germany and it was her idea to adopt the German concept through Rafi.
Casa Gorordo, which is run by Rafi, was the headline museum when Gabii sa Kabilin was launched in 2007. The Basilica del Santo Niño and the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Museum rounded up the three original galleries that participated in the first-ever heritage night. After close to eight years, the celebration has become bigger and grander, with more museums and historical sites added to the one-night celebration mingled with food trips.
I attended the opening program of Gabii sa Kabilin last Friday at the Plaza Parian, my first after having been invited in previous years. Although I don’t have a particular interest in the arts, theatre and music, I must say the Rafi project has pushed the envelope by successfully bringing together stakeholders in government, academe, business, religious groups and the youth sector behind the museum event.
This is no mean feat especially because national agencies, local governments and private groups have their own priorities. The cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay went all out by mobilizing their respective tourism offices, traffic operators and police offices in the overall design of their own heritage sites. Barangay workers stayed up all night to bus participants around the metropolis. Business partners as well as the Department of Tourism, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), tour agencies and hotel chains also backed the event.
The most significant aspect of the cultural event is the direct participation of the youth in conceptualizing the Kabilin theme. In past years, event organizers would adopt the global theme set by the International Council of Museums.
This year, Rafi deviated from the standard and decided to tweak the interest of history, anthropology, sociology and tourism students enrolled in local colleges and universities. The challenge of coming up with a theme fit for Cebu’s status as an emerging global city was tossed to the future generation. What a brilliant approach to make students go on board a project that otherwise does not attract the techie and selfie set.
The evolution of Cebu—from a vital port in the galleon trade, a position that was lost to Manila in the 1570s but regained in 1860 and continues to define Cebu’s success story was told in the Kabilin theme, “Rise of the Queen,” penned by students of the University of San Carlos Departments of Anthropology, Sociology and History.
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In her speech, Rafi chief operating officer Dominica Chua said that Cebu owes its unprecedented urbanization and development in transportation, infrastructure, facilities and basic services to foreign influences. By the time the Americans came, Cebu was already a bustling economic center. Add the island’s strategic location, making it a hub for economic, cultural and educational development outside of Manila.
Gabii sa Kabilin has raised the profile of local heritage, culture and professional museum work, and successfully mainstreamed the museum as an institution, especially to the young. This is very important because one cannot foster and inculcate a sense of patriotism if people don’t know local history. Take it from Felipe de Leon, chairman of NCCA who said, “Nationalism begins in the local level.”
Next year’s Kabilin will be integrated with a very significant celebration—the 450th anniversary of “Kaplag” or the historic finding of the country’s oldest icon, the Sto. Niño de Cebu. I gathered this in a chat with Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA who chairs the National Committee on Archives, a subcommission of the NCCA.
This is a huge challenge for Rafi, one that necessitates strategic planning immediately after the 2014 Kabilin.