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Wednesday, June 04, 2003
Costanilla: At last, the tartanilla honored in festival
By Sam Costanilla
Spotlight
TARTANILLAS. Close to 70 tartanillas or horse-driven carts from different barangays took part in the 1st Cebu City Tartanilla Festival last Sunday afternoon. They paraded from Barangay Calamba up to Fort San Pedro where a short program was held. The lovely Sonia Empinado of Councilor Manuel Legaspi’s office and yours truly were the emcees. The tartanillas were beautifully decorated by their owners and drivers with the assistance of Fine Arts students from three local colleges and universities. Last Sunday’s event was the grand launching of the tartanilla festival and I am sure that next year’s edition would be a bigger and more colorful one. To me, this type of festival is a long-overdue activity but, as they say, better late than never.
I am optimistic that just like the Sinulog, the tartanilla festival would become another tourist attraction for Cebu. We all know that Cebu still has the oldest tradition of tartanilla as a means of transportation. It has already become part of our heritage and culture as well as tourism and no matter how modern the city has become, the tartanillas should never be phased out from the streets.
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REPLICA. When I went to Salinas city in California eight years ago, a visit to its city hall was part of the itinerary. It was amazing to see a life-size replica of the tartanilla displayed at the city hall lobby, minus the horse, of course. I gathered that the tartanilla was made here. Cebu and Salinas are sister-cities. While we have Salinas drive in Lahug, they also have Calle Cebu in Salinas. Anyway, the top 20 tartanillas that took part in the Sunday afternoon festival will be seen again during the city’s Philippine Independence Day parade on June 12. The grand prize is P15,000, already a fortune for the tartanilla owner, driver and their artist.
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MEGADOME. Another big event that I emceed last Sunday was the proclamation of the winner of the Cebu megadome design competition organized by the provincial government. The well-attended affair was held at the Sinulog ballroom of the City Sports Club. Architect Alexius Medalla’s “spinning disc” design was chosen by a seven-man panel of jurors.
He explained that his design actually represents the Cebuano and his aspirations and dynamism. And as Gov. Pablo Garcia stressed, the P250 million megadome project should be pursued because Cebu badly needs it. Groundbreaking will be in October this year.
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TUDELA. The town of Tudela in Camotes Island is coming up with a cassava festival next week. Mayor Roger Baquerfo, Sr. and his staff will talk more about the festival in today’s edition of Tapok-Tapok Media Forum live over dyAR Angel Radyo 765 khz from 9:00-10:30 a.m. at the NS Royal Pensione.
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CONFLICT. The manager of this local radio station and some of his own staff are locked in a conflict over a lot of things. Leading the staff is a well-known radio announcer who was once a provincial legislator. The attacks against their own boss are even being aired live. (For reactions/feedback, call or text 0916-3483333).
(June 4, 2003 issue)
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