MINDANAO DAILY Chinese New Year Special Issue
BUSINESS | ARTS & CULTURE | HEALTH | TRAVEL & TOURISM | PEOPLE | REALTY | EVENTS
A1
Cagayan de Oro celebrates 2nd Chinese New Year Festival mark francisco, Section Editor
Saturday
January 28, 2017
Rains dampened the celebration but that didn’t stop the city from celebrating the second edition of the Cagayan de Oro Chinese New Year Festival from January 21-28, 2017. By Mike Baños | Photos by City Information Office
A
lso known globally as the Spring Festival, the city government joined hands with the local FilipinoChinese Community led by Greg Marten Lao last year with the issuance of Executive Order No. 009-16, series of 2016, creating the City Committee to undertake various activities for the Cagayan de Oro Chinese New Year Festival. The E.O. cites Section 16 of Republic Act 7160
(Local Government Code of 1991) which provides that every local government unit shall within their respective territorial jurisdictions, ensure and support, the preservation and enrichment of culture, and furthermore, considers partnerships with different sectors of the community as a vital part of local governance. President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III previously issued Proclamation No. 831 on July 17,
2014 declaring the annual Chinese New Year as a special, non-working holiday. It is estimated that one out of every five Filipinos today are of Chinese descent. The E.O. also recognized the vital contribution of the Filipino-Chinese community to the dramatic growth and development of Cagayan de Oro City, Northern Mindanao region and the country. Eileen E. San Juan, chairperson of the Oro Trade and Investment and Promotion Center and concurrently, the Cagayan de Oro Tourism Council Events Committee, head the festival committee with Greg Marten Lao, president of the Bell Church
Cagayan de Oro Chapter as co- chair. Although the Chinese New Year celebration traditionally starts 15 days before the Lunar New Year, the CTC again chose a modest program starting last Saturday, 21 January 2017 up to the Chinese New Year on 28 January 2017 due to the prevailing weather. The city’s two FilipinoChinese schools Kong Hua School and Oro Grace Christian School will also present cultural performances with song and dances at all major malls. A billboard detailing all major events is posted near the Tourism Assistance Center in Plaza Divisoria for the guidance and reference of all residents and visitors. A unique treat awaits curious Kagay-anons who want to explore their Chinese roots with the special new year offering and the lighting of the first incense stick at the Bell Church Cagayan de Oro in Macasandig on New Year’s Eve starting 11:00PM and culminating with the traditional Chinese New Year’s fireworks to welcome the Year of the Red Rooster courtesy of Phoenix Fireworks. GONG XI FA CAI!
Cagayan de Oro Chinese New Year Festival Heritage Feature:
La Casa del Chino Ygua, the oldest house in Cagayan de Oro By Mike Baños
At the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Archbishop Santiago Hayes streets stands an unimposing two story brick building which has withstood ravages of time, the Philippine Revolution, the Filipino-American War, and World War II. It’s perhaps unfortunate how today, despite the quantum gains made by modern communications, few of Cagayan de Oro City’s growing populace are aware it’s now the city’s oldest surviving residence and has quite a history behind it. Known to local history buffs as La Casa del Chino Ygua*, it has been recognized as a historically significant structure by the National Historical Institute of the Philippines, as confirmed by the NHI marker installed there in April 7, 2000, the Centennial of the Battle
of Cagayan, also known as Siete de Abril. According to local historian Antonio Julian Roa Montalvan II, the house was built by Sia Ygua, a resident of Amoy (present day Xiamen) a city in the province of Fukien (now Fujian). Ygua is recorded as the earliest Chinese to have settled in Cagayan. While Amoy was an exit port, most of the Chinese who migrated outside the region came from the Yueyang and Fujian but Ygua was really a native of Amoy. (Montalvan, 2004) In a manuscript transcribed from Sia family records by Johnson L. Sia, a 4th generation descendant of Ygua, he writes how his great grandfather arrived in Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known) in 1854 and opened his business in 1857. See full story, page A6
Editorial: e-mail: mindanaodailynews@gmail.com • Advertising: e-mail: mindanaodaily.ads@gmail.com Contact: 0917-7121424, 0947-8935776