Mar 20 2013
For this Holy Week, let us revisit Argao’s famous La Muerte, an image of a human skeleton holding an hourglass and a scythe. Made from solid ivory, it forms part of the Passion ensemble that was acquired by the parish sometime between the 18th and the 19th centuries. The La Muerte is paraded aboard a carriage during the Good Friday procession of Lenten images in this southern town. It symbolizes death according to its caretakers — and nothing more.
Mar 20 2013
San Pedro (left); Santa Mujer de la Verónica (right)
Argao very well lives up to its moniker as a heritage destination. Aside from its delicious Torta and the venerable stone church of San Miguel Arcángel in Philippine Baroque-Rococo splendor, the town also boasts of a cast of antique ivory images that come out only twice every Holy Week. Whereas other places in the province would have a procession of life size images carved out of hard wood, this town prides itself with having the largest collection of centuries-old ivory images that depict the Passion of Jesus Christ.
Mar 15 2013
La Maison Rose, or The Pink House, is what some call as the new “Petite France,” or Little France that is. This house along Gorordo street just beside the Mormon temple is dramatically set on a sprawling lawn and provides an atmosphere reminiscent of a French countryside which perhaps could be one of the reasons why this former Velez mansion became the new home of the French consulate in Cebu, the Alliance Française de Cebu, and La Maison Rose, a French restaurant. The center was inaugurated by no less than the Prime Minister of France himself, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Click here for more photos and text »
