ON its 11th year, the “Gabii sa Kabilin (Heritage Night)” continued to draw the public to tour 30 heritage sites from 6 p.m. to midnight last May 25.
About 4,000 visited museums and institutions participating in the cities of Cebu, Talisay, and Mandaue, according to the May 27 SunStar Cebu report of Cebu Normal University intern Amale Nicole Juliano.
The participants, most of whom were “first-timers,” expressed interest in having the annual event sustained, with the suggestion that this be extended to at least two days.
This feedback reiterates sentiments expressing in the past the same enthusiasm to have a longer period for “Gabii sa Kabilin.” This will enable the public to visit more sites, linger more in each site, and absorb better the nuances of Cebu’s rich cultural and social past.
The considerable preparations and mobilization undertaken by the organizers and the participating institutions have borne fruit, particularly in creating and keeping up the public’s enthusiasm for history and heritage, often perceived as archaic and stolid when limited only to classroom lectures.
This collaboration of private and public institutions is Cebu’s contribution to an international movement to increase the visibility of museums and other related institutions in the non-formal educational campaign to emphasize the importance of keeping societies connected to the past and its insights and lessons for contemporary and future generations.
May 18 is observed as International Museum Day.
It is worth highlighting that “Gabii sa Kabilin” stakeholders have used new media and other innovations to make the tours more interactive and memorable for citizens.
This year’s theme of Cebu’s precolonial past was explored in its connection to the 2021 celebration of the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in Cebu.
As outlined by Bryle Ian Mendaros, corporate social responsibility officer of the Aboitiz Land, the Gabii sa Kabilin themes in 2019 and 2020 will also relate to the balangay and voyages that “brought Catholicism and other European influences” to the country, reported SunStar Cebu.
Will the “Gabii sa Kabilin” stakeholders raise the notch to its awareness-raising activities by planning a deeper exploration of the themes of conquest and colonization?
According to the American Alliance of Museums, museums perform an indispensable service to the public by contributing to its education, which, in “its broadest sense, includes exploration, study, observation, critical thinking, contemplation and dialogue.”
The public’s interest has been more than whetted these past 11 years, as gauged by repeated requests to have Heritage Night extended by also holding this during other times in the year, such as during Cebu’s extended yearend holiday when tourists and balikbayan groups return to spend Christmas and stay on until January for the Sinulog fiesta.
Beyond the enjoyment of a trip down memory lane, will Cebu stakeholders take the public down the road less taken: “critical thinking, contemplation and dialogue” in reviewing the past,” particularly in the context of colonization, the search for identity, and the rediscovery of the precolonial past without the blinders of colonialism?
In 2017, the theme of International Museum Day was “Museums and contested histories: Saying the unspeakable in museums.”
By addressing and discussing taboo subjects—such as the oppression and silencing of the marginalized by oppressive and dominant groups—museums are envisioned as essential for promoting reason, dialogue, and peace to reconcile with the past and move on to a better understanding of the tasks awaiting society in contemporary times and the future.
In a sense, sentimentalizing or glossing over controversies and traumas is even more damaging than ignorance of or apathy to history and heritage.
There is much for Cebu to look forward to in next year’s observance of the 12th “Gabii sa Kabilin.”