Thursday, July 19, 2007
Utzurrum: Two Evenings with Baby
By Chinggay Utzurrum
The Scene
TONIGHT, Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, hosts a Swiss Food Tasting event at the Café Marco to introduce the forthcoming Swiss Food Fest starting July 23, 2007. The foodfest will run for two weeks. On hand to welcome us will be the hotel’s communication whiz, Carlo Borromeo and assistant PR Rheena Garcia.
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The feast of St. John the Baptist, or San Juan Bautista, as they term it at the Parian, was celebrated, true, in a most austere manner this year, compared to the opulence of centuries ago, when this was the economic nerve center of the city.
Pure Chinese and Chinese mestizo traders lorded it over this section in town.
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Things have changed in the past centuries, however, when the Parian parish, erected in 1603, has now been reduced to a small chapel. Valiantly, St. John’s supporters maintained the chapel, and the fiesta spirit of the Baptist lives on, and how!
The Cofradia de San Juan Bautista, the friends of St. John. Marked June 24 with a three-day triduum at the Casa Gorordo azotea, Holy Mass at the Parian chapel and a simply but sumptuous dinner at the Casa Gorordo.
A highlight of the fiesta was the cultural show performed by the Sandiego Dancers (that’s Val and Ofelia S. to you) whose ancestral home, happily, is a Parian heritage place.
We also give a toast to the trio who organized the event: Josefa Gorordo y Revilles, Clodoveo “Louie” Nacorda, and celebrity US-based Cebuana writer, Cecilia “Baby” Manguerra Brainard.
Coming up next year will be a grander affair, when Bishop Juan Bautista Gorordo will celebrate the First Centennial of his accession to the bishopric of Cebu in 1908; anticipating this grandiose occasion are the Cofradia members, RAFI and the Gorordo family. When once more, San Juan de Bautista, Parian’s beloved patron, will reign supreme. Viva!
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Baby Manguerra Brainard did it again, by marking an event for the literati! Venue was the Eduardo Aboitiz Development Foundation, ideally across Casa Gorordo Museum where the multi-talented novelist and short writer launched her three books, A La Carte, Behind the Walls, and Growing Up Filipino. Being US-based, Baby went the extra mile by being physically present at this event, presented by Anvil Publishing and Women in Literary Arts-Cebu (WILA).
Basking in poetic glory were WILA members: Erma Cuizon, Gingging Dumdum and hubby, Judge Jun, Bambi Beltran, Haide Acuña, as they proudly acknowledged that afternoon’s readers: Carlos Cortes, Susan Evangelista, Baby Manguerra Brainard (who wooed us with a love story!), and Erma Cuizon.
We also met Karina Bolasco of Anvil Publishing, and a host of VIP guests who gobbled up the books as the authors signed them.
Talk was light and the mood was breezy when we met another writer, Gavin Bagares, who reminded us that Cebu’s foremost Thai resto, Krua Thai, will be celebrating the Thai Queen’s birthday next month, amidst the scent and flavor of spice and don’t forget, the world famous Thai beer, Singha, will be part of the array of specialties
Baby, here’s a toast to more literary jewels from your vault.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 19, 2007 issue)
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