DOCE Pares, a name that has become synonymous with the indigenous martial art of Eskrima, turns 76 years old today.
The organization, in a statement released by Master Chuck Cañete, will celebrate the occasion via a simple ceremony attended by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who will deliver the keynote address as well as swear in the group’s officers for 2008, and Eskrima and Eskrido Grand Master Ciriaco “Cacoy” Cañete.
The ceremony, to be held at the Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation Headquarters, along C. Padilla St., is preceded by a mass at 5 p.m. and capped with Eskrima exhibitions.
Doce Pares was founded in Cebu City on Jan. 12, 1932 by some members and instructors of the much older Labangon Fencing Club.
The original instructors of the Doce Pares taught their own style of Eskrima until it evolved into a comprehensive system now famous the world over.
Doce Pares’ rise into the international scene began in the ’60s and up until the ’90s and the new millennium through the combined efforts of Grand Master Cañete and other members of the clan. (PR)
