CDO's impressive stained glass windows

Not much is known how these stained glass windows, made by master craftsmen of Birmingham, England, reached the shores of Cagayan de Oro city. One interesting fact though, these priceless works of art were taken from the chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart in New York and were installed in 1946 after the present cathedral was rebuilt after the war.

St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

Balay na Tisa Collection

A token to add to the Balay na Tisa collection of Sta. Catalina images now on temporary display at the Carcar City Museum.

Copy of a painting by Spanish Renaissance painter Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Embroidery by Raffy Lopez in stylized Kabkad fern commonly found in Carcar. Nakar shells done by James Yee.

Carcar, Cebu, Philippines

Die in style

Mortuary services are getting the buzz these days after the e-burol or online wake viewing is becoming the practical option for the departed's relatives abroad. Technology really has it's way.

Also getting enough attention are the artsy custom designed caskets handpainted to suit your style. Make a statement with these. Angels and any other religious themes are the popular designs sought.

The dead come here for their final pampering but the furnitures fashioned like caskets are hauling tourists in. Luckily, I was the sole visitor that day as everybody else got so busy in the cemeteries.

Carcar, Cebu

Simbahan: Cebu heritage churches in watercolor

St. Catherine of Alexandria in watercolor, originally uploaded by GIBBster.

Cebu churches were once again the highlight in a painting exhibit by known Carcaranon painter Tony Alcoseba. The exhibit dubbed “Simbahan: Cebu heritage churches in watercolor” was one of the big events in conjunction with the celebration of the commemoration of the founding of the Parian district of Cebu City.

The Carcar Heritage Conservation Society and the newly-formed Taytayan heritage conservation group spearheaded the exhibit at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu last October 11 and runs until October 30, 2008.

Art enthusiasts and heritage conservation advocates alike were joined by no less than Ace Durano, the Secretary of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines and the Archbishop of Cebu, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal. Both ended up buying the church paintings of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva church of Danao City and the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral respectively.

Each painting costs Php65,000 but part of the proceeds go to support heritage conservation.

18th Annual Martino A. Abellana Painting Competition Winners Proclaimed

Another edition of the 18th Annual Martino A. Abellana On-the-Spot Painting Competition came to a close, adding another highlight to National Heritage Month celebrations in Cebu.

The annual painting competition attracted one hundred artists from various regions in the Visayas and Mindanao. The contest which was recently organized by the Carcar Heritage Conservation Society with the support from the City of Carcar proved to be the training ground for budding painters and the stage for the established artists to showcase their talent.

The year's challenge was to to come up with an artwork that truly depicts the grandeur of the ancestral homes of Carcar.

A select group of judges who are masters in their own field included the 2005 William F. Draper Grand Prize winner, Mr. Romulo "Molong" Galicano, Mr. Jose "Kimsoy" Yap, Jr., Fr. Domingo Besares, OSA and Mr. Bunny Pages.

A unanimous decision was made and the Grand Prize winner to a Carcaranon based in Cebu City. The entry is a watercolor painting of the Galicano ancestral house in Luan-luan.

Professional Category

1st Place (Grand Prize), Tony Alcoseba for Entry #7
2nd Place, Marlowe T. Villagonzalo for Entry # 48
3rd Place, Jun Impas for Entry #39

Finalists

Edgar "Gary" Carabio for Entry # 56
Christopher Java for Entry #14
Fred Galan for Entry #51
Sofronio de la Cerna for Entry #12
Jose Mari Picornell for Entry # 33

Amateur Category

1st Place (Grand Prize), Walter Vestil for Entry #2
2nd Place, Kenny Abigail Badana for Entry #22
3rd Place, Rosauro J. Ugang for Entry #28

Finalists

Jay Rommel Labra for Entry #37
Warlen Rodriguez for Entry #3
Darby Vicent Alcoseba for Entry #6
Randy Nocos for Entry #34
Gil F. Balbuena, Jr. for Entry #35

18th Annual Martino A. Abellana On-the-Spot Painting Competition

18th Annual Martino Abellana On-the-Spot Painting Competition showcases Carcar's Heritage Houses to cap May's National Heritage Month.

For the first time a local NGO organizes Cebu's most prestigious art competition and biggest yearly art event bringing together Professional and Amateur Artists.

CARCAR CITY, CEBU May 22, 2008 -- The 18th Annual Martino Abellana On-the-Spot Painting Competition for professional and amateur artists will be held on Thursday, May 29, 2008 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in Carcar.

The competition is open to all professional and amateur artists with prizes for the top three Professional and Amateur winners plus five finalists in the biggest and most prestigious on-the-spot painting competition held yearly in Cebu in honor of the late dean of Cebuano artists Martino Abellana. This year's subject is Carcar's heritage houses.

Registration is free and starts at 8:00 am to 9:00 am on the Top Floor (Conference Hall) of Carcar City Hall. After the end of the formal competition, judging and awarding will follow.

For 2008, previous Grand Prize Winners in the Professional and Amateur categories can again join this year's competition.

International award-winning artists Romulo Galicano will chair the panel of five judges composed of two artists, one businessperson and art collector and one photographer.

Galicano won the Draper Prize, a prestigious international art competition held in Washington, D.C. in 2005. He was the first Filipino since Juan Luna in the 1880s to win a grand prize in an international art competition.

The Carcar Heritage Conservation Society (CHCS), a local NGO, is the organizer of this year's Abellana On-the-Spot Painting Competition. The competition draws artists from Cebu, the Visayas, and Mindano for this one-day competition in Carcar.

The CHCS and competition organizers chose to focus on Carcar's heritage to culminate their activities for the Philippine's National Heritage Month and International Museum Month of May.

The CHCS is organizing this year's Abellana On-the-Spot painting competition in memory of the dean of Cebuano painters Martino Abellana. Abellana was Carcar's most famous painter, teacher, and mentor to some of Cebu and Manila's most prominent artists today.

The Carcar Heritage Conservation Society, Inc. (CHCS) is a Carcar City-based NGO composed of heritage house owners and concerned Carcaranons dedicated to preserving Carcar's rich architectural and cultural heritage.

For more information contact:
Jerry Martin Noel Alfafara
Public Relations Officer
Carcar Heritage Conservation Society (CHCS)
mobile: 0915.915.6376
e-mail: jmnalfafara@gmail.com

For inquiries, please contact:

Gabriel Abellana, tel. no. 032/254-6933
mobile 0906/367-4005

Val Sandiego, tel. no. 032/513-8000