First Stop: Argao

History

The municipality of Argao is located in the southeast of the province of Cebu, 68 km (42 mi) from Cebu City, and a 2nd district of the province. It is surrounded to the north by the town of Sibonga, tthe west are the towns of Ronda, Alcantara and Moalboal, to the east is Cebu Strait while to the south is the town of Dalaguete. Argao is composed of 45 barangays and now acknowledged as a first class municipality.

Argao became a pueblo in 1608 and is considered as one of the oldest towns in Cebu. But wait, where did it obtained its name? How? Well, it came from the plant “Sali-argao,” “abgaw,” “alagaw” or scientifically known as Premna odorata. But what happened to the word Sali? Let us all find out.

According to the legends, there were three white men who came to the town for they were lost. While finding their way back, they happened to see a fisherman. The foreigners asked the latter on what is the name of the town using their language. Since the local fisherman could not understand the foreigners for he only knew Sinugbuanong Bisaya, he thought that the 3 white men were asking for the name of the tree which is the since they were under the said plant. He then answered, “Sali-argaw” unfortunately, the foreigners did not clearly hear what the fisherman said because of the waves that were crashing down ashore, the world they could merely hear is “Argao.”and whenever those 3 white men visits the town, they would tell their colleagues its name, “Argao.”

The second reason about its name is that the town’s shorelines were filled with the said plant and it’s very common to the locality. Furthermore, the name was also used by the traders from various provinces from then on, the town became known as Argao.

Structures in the Cabecera

St. Michael the Archangel Church

It is an Agustinian Chruch. The construction of this church started in 1734 and finished in 1788. It took 54 years for the Argaoanons to build this structure since during that time, pirates often try to attack the town to get spices and maidens to make them slaves or wives. To protect the maidens, they would keep them inside the church while the men fight against the pirates. It is made up of lime stones, egg white, law-at, and togas woods. The facade is divided into 9 pillars each pillars have significant sculptures. It is a cross-like church when viewed from aerial shot.

The ceiling near the altar was painted by Raymundo Francia and was later on continued by Canoto Avila. Paintings depicts the life of the angels and archangels, plus several Biblical passages. The altar has 5 retablos: one retablo mayor contaning the life-size statues of the three archangels namely, St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel and also the statue of Mama Mary. The remaining 4 retablos are the retablo menor.

Chapel of the Dead/Capella Mortuario

It was where the corpse of some Argaoanons are held for its funeral. It has one service coffin for the dead. Like the church, it has significant sculptures that depict the beliefs of the Roman Catholics. The left side of the chapel has a carving of dead ivy plant which represents hell while its right side represents heaven, having an alive ivy plant. Above its door is a sculpture of hourglass, skull, wings(of the devil and an angel) and a circle. This means that each on of us has our own time to die and we will go either heaven or hell. left hell – dead ivy plant, right heaven – alive ivy plant. Above it is the sculpture of St. Michael carrying a baby representing the Argaoanons which also means that St. Micheal is saving the souls of the people from hell. Aside from being used as a chapel of the dead, it served as leprosarium when the townspeople was suffering from leprosy during the American Period.

Municipal Hall or the Casa Real

Ever wondered why is it called Casa Real? Well, Casa means “house” while Real means “royal.” Typically, it is where the VIPs are welcomed or used to stay. Similar to the previous structures mentioned. it is made of lime stones, law-at, egg white and woods such as togas. It is 90% wood, 5% stones and 5% metal. The nails used are 99% woods and 1% metal. It contained 20 big wood pillars, making it earthquake proof. It is Chinese, Filipino, Mexican and Spanish inspired structure. The edges of its roof are identical to the Chinese temples, making it Chinese inspired; Filipino because it is similar to the bahay-kubo, a two-storey house; Mexican for its roof design; lastly Spanish because of its large windows. The large windows are for passive cooling. The roof tiles are clay tiles and have different sizes. Why is that? It is because according to the myths, the clay tiles are molded from the laps of the maidens is town that’s why some tiles are small and some tiles are larger.

During the American period, the 2nd floor served as voting area while the 1st floor served as jail during WWII.

Hall of Justice

This structure Colegios de los Ninos (school for boys) during the Spanish Era, tobacco plottery during American Period, barracks during WWII, Star theater that plays black and white movies every Fridays to Sunday afternoons, Argao Parents-Teachers Association building, first Argao Central Elementary School building, where former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Sr. graduated in elementary, then later became the Hall of Justice. The materials used in building this is similar to the Casa Real. The windows are made of woods and capiz shell. The left side of the building is the municipal trial court while the right wing is regional trial court.

Argao Unity Plaza

The town’s unity plaza is considered as one of the most beautiful plazas in Visayas. It is also the first free-wifi zone in the plazas of Cebu. It has 5 important itineraries: the 3 old cannons, well, old telecom post, Narra tree and the Jose Rizal Monument.

These 3 cannons were originally placed near the baluarte and served as first line of defense. These cannons are still functional as of today and are still used every Independence Day and important events in the Cabecera.

Well
Functioned as a source of water in Poblacion but was later on contaminated, causing leprosy. From then on, it was never used. In recent years, it was used as design in the park and displays different colors at night.

Old Telecom Post
It was built in 1927 and was placed near the Casa Real so that the townspeople could send message from the people from afar. Each syllable is worth 2PHP since there is no modern technology that time.

Old Narra Tree, also called the Independence Tree
This narra tree was planted during the first Independence day of the Philippines from the Spanish colonization in 1898 by the mayor of the town. It was cut for safety purposes.

Jose Rizal Monument

The sculpture was originally placed at the center of the unity plaza, facing the Casa Real. It is also just from the bust but later on transferred, facing the Hall of Justice for Jose Rizal died seeking for justice and was made into whole body. Carved under Pepe’s sculpture are the names of the previous mayors of Argao that passed away.

Delicacies

La Torta de Argao

One of the famous delicacies in Argao is the Torta. It is made of flour, sugar, egg yolks, lard and tuba (sweet, fresh coconut sap or wine), the Torta of Argao has its origins way back to the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines. Argaoanons used the tuba as it is more available than yeast during that time. The tuba also works to lengthen the shelf life of La Torta.

This delicacy from Argao is still considered as the best although torta are available in many bakeshops in Cebu. It is their famous delicacy that they are so proud. In fact, Argao’s previous Pitlagong Festival was replaced in 2011 by La Torta Festival, a feast mainly dedicated to its famous delicacy.

Tuba

Also known as coconut wine. People in Jampang have established themselves as tubá manufacturers for years of acquired skill and the extracting of this alcoholic beverage. The classic or old-school version that is practically tubá, inspired Argao’s former annual celebration, the Pitlagong Festival that was later on changed to La Torta Festival.

Tablea

Tsokolate tablea, or just plain tablea to most Filipinos, can be literally translated to “chocolate tablets” in English, because that is exactly what it is. Dried local cocoa beans, are roasted for a few hours before being ground to a rich, chocolate-y paste. The tablea itself is made by adding sugar to the paste and shaping it into balls or tablets, hence the name.

That would be all for this post and I hope that you enjoyed and learned something from this virtual travel. See you next time!
-Loysie