Aboitizland's Cultural Treats at Gabii sa Kabilin

CEBU, Philippines - A heart-rending rendezvous with history, a look at the scenes and settings, flavors and fare that shaped and continue to shape the Cebuanos. AboitizLand, Inc. offers a host of cultural and gastronomic delights in line with its participation in the Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) on May 27.

AboitizLand is staging at the Pari-an Plaza the photo exhibit Kabag-uhan: Now and Then, a food festival and heritage shows.

Kabag-uhan spotlights the imagery of the past, weaving the tale of the rich Cebuano heritage and its changes over time. The gallery will feature the winning entries of a photo exhibit with the same title.

The contest, and the resulting exhibit, is a creative walk through history, photos of sites of old Cebu and the same sites as they are in contemporary time.

The challenge for participating photographers was to locate the streetscapes and sceneries of old Cebu featured in the facebook pages AboitizLand, Inc. and Made for Life and to photograph these subjects as they look today. Text clues accompanying the pictures provided the shutterbugs some leads.

Some of the images are part of the personal collection of AboitizLand Chief Executive Officer Andoni Aboitiz, others from Lucy Urgello Miller’s “Glimpses of Old Cebu.” 

At the exhibit, each image is matched with the winning “now” perspective of the subject scenery. 

The food festival and heritage show complements Kabag-uhan and the Gabii sa Kabilin main event – a night tour of eleven Cebu City museums.  

The food festival will feature delicious recipes from the different towns and cities of Cebu Province, food that warms the heart, bring back cozy memories. The delicacies will be available for sale to guests at the event.

On the other hand, the heritage show, short discussion-presentations anchored by curator-historian Madrileña de la Cerna, provides the context upon which the experience is savored. Showtime is 9 p.m. to midnight. The show and exhibit are offered free of charge.

An annual event of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s Cultural Heritage Program, Gabii sa Kabilin is a recipient of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines’s Anvil Award of Merit for Public Relations Program—Sustained Basis: Arts and Culture/Heritage/Tourism. 

This year’s celebration is dubbed “Museums and Memory” and features guided tours of eleven museums in Metro Cebu with transfers by tartanilla, the horse-drawn carriage.

AboitizLand participates in the event for the first time. Being in Gabii sa Kabilin is the company’s contribution to the enrichment of culture and the arts, consistent with its brand essence of nurturing communities.