Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa

Expansive sea view and endless sun in the Art Deco-style "Pink Icon" in Mactan Island in Cebu.

Paris Hilton would surely love it here, it's pink everywhere!

Punta Engano, Mactan Island, Cebu, 6015, Philippines

Telephone: 00 63 32 492 7777

Fax: 00 63 32 492 7707

Email: cebu@hilton.com

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

National Heritage Month

A vast collection of artifacts ranging from Spanish Colonial heritage to various species of Philippine animals and insects is housed in the University of San Carlos Museum.

The most notable display is the Manunggul jar which dates back to the late Neolithic Period. Other burial urns and covers are also on display at the Archaeological Gallery.

May was declared by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2003 as the National Heritage Month. Various activities are already lined up in conjunction with this annual celebration. The Gabii sa Kabilin on May 30 is one of the highlights of the celebration in Cebu. One ticket will allow a visitor entrance to four museums namely: the Casa Gorordo, Cathedral Museum, Santo Niño Museum and Fort San Pedro – National Museum. All four musems open 'til midnight on that day.