Cebu

Origin

 The City of Cebu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbo, Tagalog: Lungsod ng Cebu) is the capital city of Cebu and the second city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest city established by the Spaniards in the country.

The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. Cebu is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Cebu also holds the second largest international flights in the Philippines and is a significant centre of commerce, trade and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao region. According to the 2007 Philippine census, the city has a population of about 798,809 people.

 Cebu City is the centre of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay. Metro Cebu has a total population of about 2 million people. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City is only a twenty-minute drive away from Cebu City. To the northeast of the city are Mandaue City and the town of Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, the towns of Balamban and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island where Lapu-Lapu City and an aquarium attraction are located.

 History

        On April 7, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu. He was welcomed by Rajah Humabon, the king of Cebu, who together with his wife and about 700 native islanders, were converted into Catholicism on April 14, 1521. Magellan, however, failed to successfully claim the island for the crown of Spain, having been killed by Lapu-Lapu, a king in Mactan Island on April 27, 1521 in the Battle of Mactan. On April 27, 1565, Spain colonized the a rea with the arrival of Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi, together with Augustinian friar Andrésde Urdaneta, sailing from Mexico, arrived in Cebu. The Spaniards established settlements, trade flour

ished and renamed the city on January 1, 1571, from San Miguel (Saint Michael) to Villa del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús (Village of the Most Holy Name of Jesus). During this six year period of exploration and settlements by the Spaniards, Cebu City was the capital of the Spanish East Indies. In 1898, the city was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War and Philippine-American War. In 1901, the city was governed by the United States for a brief period, however it attained the status of a charter city in 1936 and was governed independently by Filipino politicians. Following the end of the Japanese occupation in World War II, the city gained independence from colonial rule in 1946 as part of the Republic of the Philippines.

Sinulog Festival

The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Philippines. The festival honors the vision of the child Jesus, known as the Santo Niño (Holy Child),who used to be the patron Saint of the City of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). It is a dance ritual that commemorates the Cebuano people's pagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism.

The festival features a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a "Sinulog sa Kabataan" performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex