CEBU, Philippines - The Southern Heritage Trail cluster of this year’s Suroy Suroy Sugbo did not only showcase how the 18 towns and three cities have cultivated a deeper sense of cultural pride, such initiative of the Provincial Government to invigorate tourism in the countryside also served as a platform for a contest to take off.
The so-called “indigay” (Cebuano for contest) encourages southern municipalities and cities to all the more uphold communal pride through activities and initiatives that spur a people’s cohesive and dynamic spirit. This is deemed to transform into obsession among city and municipal leaders, workers, and residents to “do more, come up with brighter ideas to highlight what makes each locality worth visiting, and of course to innovent (a contraction of innovate and invent) when it comes to attracting tourists to not only indulge in the “suroy-suroy” (leisurely trip) but to also commit to “balik-balik” (come again), as emphasized by Argao Mayor Edsel Galeos.
Among those that rose up to the occasion were Sibonga and Argao, part of the first day of the three-day tour. An estimated 300 tourists in five Ceres buses, mostly balikbayans from Canada and the USA, and a number of Germans, Koreans, and French served as the judges.
The rest of the localities visited also showed how prepared they were this time in terms of comfort room facilities, raising the standard a bar higher. When it comes to food, the anagram for “Sugbo” is busog - to mean being filled or stuffed – an apt word to describe how a hop from one plaza to the next has, as usual, met “gustatory expectations.”
Lively cultural dancers, such as those in Sibonga, wowed the crowd when they performed the skillful Sayaw sa Bangko number, and of course the tricky Tinikling which enticed a few visitors to skip over and get across banging, thudding bamboo poles, in the hope of earning some bragging rights “they survived it!”
Earl, 34, tagged along a relative who came home from Canada, gasped at the atmosphere hovering over Cabecera de Argao, “ganahan lagi ko diri (I sure like it here).” The plaza in front of the St. Michael de Archangel (most noticeable for its awesome, sentimental belfry and a charming dilapidated clock) became a convergence zone for Filipinos and foreigners alike. The German, French, and Korean tourists sank their teeth into the torta de tuba, a delicacy which inspired the creation of La Torta Festival.
It was said that the torta (a variety of oversized cupcake) is made tastier with the use of pork lard aside from coconut toddy as leavening agent. What more could satisfy a torta snack than flushing it with a hot cuppa sikwate (chocolate drink made from pure cacao beans).
And since Cabecera is a wi-fi zone, it is a mediaman’s delight to be sipping hot, “espeso” (thick) chocolatey drink while sending stories - and best photos of the day - to the news desk.
Boljoon is another charming stop, with its sleepy baywalk; the night sea breeze is a welcome cloak for those wishing to be nearer to the comforters, as daylight surrenders to the west. Some Korean children and young Caucasian adults shared light moments at the plaza tennis court, dancing silly-goofy to indigenous music played by tribal musicians. The beat gave some kind of lively mood to the fountain’s reflection of torquoise and green, and the immaculate white of foam and froth that the water spews as poi dancers exhibited fire-dance prowess.
Here’s the rest of the story frozen in frames, from Minglanilla to Santander, Samboan to Moalboal, Barili to Talisay City of the heritage-rich, more-fun-promising southern towns.