Minglanilla, Cebu: Historical Notes

( copy-pasted from POINT CEBU )

( Note: This version of the history of Minglanilla is culled from a website ( pls click above).. The reader may note some differences from another version which I posted here earlier ( see archives, September 9, 2009) where the first parish priest was named Fr. Fernando Sanchez not Fernando Lopez. This version also has the date of the Fiesta wrong. The parish celebrates its Fiesta on August 21 and 22, not August 22- 23. the 21st in honor f the parish's 2nd patron Sr. San Roque and on the 22nd in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary its patroness, not Sacred Heart of Mary as written below...
As I have learned from the parish's records, the First Parish priest was Fr. Fernando Sanchez, who came from Minglanilla, Spain...
As of this date, the town and the parish still has to come up with an authentic, well researched official version of its history...)

Location: 15.4 kms.
Area: 7,196 hectares
No. of Barangays: 19
Town Fiesta: August 22 - 23
Patron Saint: Sacred Heart of Mary
Places of Interest: Old parish church - classic, neo-Roman in design, Campo Siete forestral area, White caves

Historical Notes

Father Fernando Lopez, Minglanilla’s first parish priest, is credited as the founder of the town in 1858. Nicolas Lopez, Miguel de Burgo and Jose Alonso worked together in the construction of the church and the cemetery. It roads and bridges were built by the same Fr. Lopez together with Fr. Magaz.

There were a number of capitanes who headed the town during the Spanish era. The first capitan was Hilario Castañares. During the American regime when the town headsman was called president, the first to serve as such was Canuto Larrobis. The first to be elected municipal mayor was Gregorio de la Calzada.

Buat was the former name of Minglanilla. It was probably due to the fact that it was the place where early settlers dried (buad/buat) their sea catches. But in 1858, it was renamed Minglanilla by Fr. Lopez, after a place in Spain.

The town suffered setbacks, among them during the Philppine Revolution and World War II. In January 18, 1905, insurrectos burned down its municipal building and looted many houses. This unforgettable and lamentable event is commemorated by a street named 18 de Julio (18th of July). In 1942, its poblacion was razed to the ground by the Japanese in retaliation of the presence of the guerrillas in the town.

A popular legend explains the name of a barangay in Minglanilla. It is puzzling that Barrio Linao is so-called when there is no body of water in this locality. Linao in Cebuano means lake/bay. The legend goes:

It is told that Linao before was a bay, favorite place for Chinese traders to anchor their frigates. At first the natives were afraid of the slit-eyed, fair-complexioned foreigners that they fled inland.

To attract the inhabitants to trade with them, the Chinese left their merchandise on the shore and sailed away. Soon enough, the natives got the wares and exchanged them with precious stones. The barter went on with honest natives always repaying the goods with valuables.

On days, because there was no wind at all, the boats could not set sail. To raise wind, the boat’s captain decided to make his dog dance. This was an act of sacrilege on the part of the anitos or native gods, who sent strong winds, lightning, thunder and heavy rains which inundated the place. The frigates sunk and all the Chinese drowned.

The following day, the bay was no more. Instead, there was a wide plain where Linao stands today.

A big socio-religious event in Minglanilla which attracts not only people from adjacent towns but also from Cebu City and farther, is the Sugat. Sugat in Cebuano means meeting. On Black Saturday night, a public dance is held at the Church Plaza to witness the re-enactment of the “meeting” of the risen Christ and his mother. Their images, borne on richly-decorated carrozas, meet amidst joyous songs and the presence of child angels suspended by wires.

^{Reprinted from the book: Cebu In Legend and History
By: Lavilles de Paula}

new buildings and establishments

New buildings and establisments are sprouting in town !

Celes the Minglanillero

They call him Silis, or Celes as in Celestino ? Whatever is his real name , they just call him that...
I use to see him strolling around Plaza Maria fronting the Chuch. I was still in high school when I first saw him and heard stories about him and why he became like that..

He was younger then, in his early twenties.They said he bacame like that because he impregnated a girl somewhere in Mindanao and refused to marry her. The girl resorted to witchcraft to punish him for what he did. That's why he became like that.

He became a familiar character in town, walking alone without seeming to care whats going on around him. Like a hippy. wearing blue jeans and sometimes with a piece of towel hanging above his shoulders, he strolls around picking scraps of food from garbage cans and drinking leftover sofdrinks from customers of sari-sari stores and carenderias.

So familiar were we all of his presence that nobody seemed to mind him at all, behaving as if he's not even there. Being non-violent, he wasn't to be feared. Being healthy looking, he wasn't even to be pitied.. He was just there.

Now, 30 or so years after. he still roams the streets doing the same thing, scavenging for food, walking around without a sense of purpose. A little bit older now, he seems to blend more fully with the place and crowd ...

Celes the madman don't seem to look mad anymore. He goes around without saying a word.
People who know him say he's no longer insane. They say he's trying to maintain his madness to escape the responsibilities of life.... "He's one helluva lazy bastard", they say of him.

Who knows whats on his mind? Who cares? As long as he doesn't hurt anyone, nobody seems to mind . He's just there. He blends well. No need to call the authorities. No need to give him anything. No need to pity him.

He doesn't seem to need anything, even acts of mercy from the religious ones. No need even to pray for him; for his safety, for his enlightenment, that he might receive or continue to recieve the graces necessary for his state of life...or whatever it is they pray for people in need.

He's not in need and nobody needs him. Hes just there.

Celes the madman? Celes the hippy? Someone told me that his family name is Caballero. So, that's who he is, Celes Caballero. But no matter what, he's just plain Celes to me, a Minglanillian, a Lumad Minglanillahanon - a Minglanillero.

Celes the minglanillero, the man who's just there. Simply there.

The Whole Community as Guardians of the Youth

By: Alan K. Caña

There is a problem creeping within our communities. And because people are taking it as an ordinary phenomenon happening everyday as a product of modern culture, no collective effort is being done to counter it. This problem has been here for years and is prevalent in all parts of the world.

Youth unruly behavior and disorderly conduct such as drug abuse, alcoholism, vandalism, vagrancy, and all forms of destructive actions are driving some parents crazy and disrupting lives of family members and even the whole neighborhood where they belong.

All Barangays in our towns is experiencing these problems. All one has to do to know what is going on is to hang around some street corner store or some corner “lantay”where local residents gather, and listen to what the people are talking about. Mostly one will overhear people talking about their children or gossip about what their neighbors’ children are doing.

Who among your neighbor’s children are “shabu” users? Who is going around with whom? Who is the new “sugar daddy” of the neighborhood’s “syota ng bayan”? Who came home so drunk last night? Who is being imprisoned for stealing? etc…

Look at the surrounding fences and walls of houses and buildings in your place and realize for yourself what gangs and so-called “frats” the young people are involved in. Some of our young nowadays have no qualms in advertising their membership in such groups - groups that promote vandalism, drug abuse, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and violence.

Do you know of a son or daughter, your own or somebody else’s, who is giving their parents sleepless nights and is causing them endless worries and anxiety because of his/her disrespect for the family and society’s rules of conduct? Are the neighbors helping the parents cope with their problem? Or do you hear snide remarks from other people, un-educated and professionals alike, blaming them of their plight because they are “lousy parents”?

These people are not alone, or perhaps you are one of them ? Literally thousands of parents are trapped in this seemingly hopeless situation. You’ve done your best to change your child’s behavior. You prayed. You have asked for help and even tried countless ways to change yourself, believing what your neighbors, the so-called modern psychologists, the clergy and the educators alike are saying - that “the parents are to be blamed.”

Sounds familiar isn’t it? But will subscribing to this kind of reasoning solve your problem? Will looking for something wrong in yourself, in any way , stop your child from doing what he’s doing now, say, coming home drunk and hanging out with local thugs? The truth is, it won’t. Nothing can be solved by self blaming and finger-pointing.

The problem of some of the youth of today should be seen as a community problem having its roots in modern culture. Being cultural, this needs a communitarian solution .It is within this frame of mind that parents victimized by their kids unbecoming conduct should come together to unite and organize themselves and share experiences, console each other, find solutions, and take a stand against what their children are doing to them.

The principles of communitarianism and networking could apply to this. Parents need to be aware who their children’s friends are, what they are doing and where they usually hang out. Once organized, this Parents Group can help monitor each others children and foster links with the police and other concerned government agencies, the local PTA, NGOs and Church Organizations, to get involved and help their cause.

There is no reason for parents to feel alone in their struggle to maintain order in their families. After all, the whole community gets affected whenever any crime is committed by any of its members. Children who disobey and intimidate their families by rude behavior and of conduct unbecoming of a family member and a good citizen should learn to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Parents organizing themselves as a group, supported by the bigger community will be able to take a stand and say, “enough is enough, because the whole neighborhood does not condone what you young folks are doing. The whole community demands respect.”

This is what it means to live in a community - a community that guides its young to become cooperative members of society. Aptly put by an old saying, “It takes the whole tribe to raise a child”.

,Minglanilla, Cebu

History

The municipality of Minglanilla was once a part of its adjacent town, Naga. According to the church records, the municipality was founded in 1858 by Fr. Fernando Sanchez, first parish priest. The place was formerly called ‘buat’, A local word for ‘BULAD’ or dried fish. Fr. Sanchez later changed the name to Minglanilla, taken from his obscure place in Spain.

eskina macaraya, road to cadulawan

This place is locally known as Eskina Macaraya, named after Felipe Macaraya who owned the big house right at the corner of this road to the mountains of Cadulawan... Officially, and known only by a few oldtimers, the road is supposed to be named E. Geonzon Street, but nobody ever calls it that...

The place has been known for other names such as, Eskina ila Tirso, after Tirso Unabia who lived and owned an electronics shop on the other side of the street opposite Felipe Macaraya's house. Eskina sa Patsa, after the name of a local teeenage gang who used to hang around the short riprapped fence sorrounding Noy Tirso's Shop. There was even an attempt by the gang to christened the place Yarok Eskina. Yarok, meaning gulp, because of the group's penchant for drinking... But the name Macaraya stuck, even until now when Noy Felipe is long time gone and his house is already owned by someone else. Noy Tirso is gone too. The Patsa boys have all grown up to becaome grandfathers.

This used to be a quite and peaceful place, except when the local boys got drunk, but the people in the neighborhood did'nt seem to mind, after all they knew who those kids were - their own children and the children of their neighbors !...

Nowadays, no local boys hang around the street corner anymore, the place has become a terminal of sorts for habal-habal motorcycles. We, the old residents of the place, Patsa members or not, have become strangers in our own street. The habal-habal drivers don't even know who we are. They don't seem to mind if we are the descendants of the owners of the parcels of land donated to make this street possible.

Crimes are being commited here. Crimes unheard of in the past such as snatching, robbery, swindling are happening in this once peaceful place....Al of them committed by motorcycle-riding men.

What do the habal-habal drivers think all these?..Do they mind ?

Who are these drivers anyway? Why is the local gevernment allowing them to roam our streets?...And this thing is supposed to be illegal ?

the other (original) Minglanilla

Minglanilla: mineral baths, mountains and motorbikes By: Samantha Kett, thinkSPAINtoday , Thursday, August 28, 2008

Little more than a strange-sounding name on a motorway exit sign and virtually ignored in tourism brochures, Minglanilla is not the first place that springs to mind when planning a weekend in the country. However, its numerous attractions, including breathtaking countryside, picturesque buildings and a natural spa concealed by majestic mountain summits, make it an enchanted island among the flame-red plains of central Spain. The strange-sounding, musical name is thought to have been taken from the minglano (local lingo for pomegranate tree) next to a natural spring in the area. Romantics prefer the legend of a pretty young girl named Minga, nicknamed Galanilla (which roughly translates as ‘handsome young lass’) who was always courted by opulent locals and had the locality named after her. Although Minglanilla officially became a town in 1505, people were setting up camp there long before. Cave paintings in the Hoz de Vicente near the Cabriel river, discovered 20 years ago, show the Paleolithics were alive and kicking thousands of years before Minglanilla was put on the map. Throughout the centuries, it was always a calm and pleasant place to settle, with even the Moorish invasion and the Civil War practically passing it by. However, life in Minglanilla has not been all peace and quiet. To compensate for missing out on the bloodshed the rest of Spain suffered throughout history, anti-Franco pro-Republican armies, known as maquis, grew in force in the town at the end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s, using the caves for refuge. The most notorious of Minglanilla’s warriors was known as Manco de la Pesquera, who was so named after losing two fingers of his left hand while planting a bomb which exploded in front of him. Thankfully, Minglanilla’s harmonious nature wasnot disturbed for long and it is now an ideal location to escape for a weekend and blow away the cobwebs. Admittedly, it has more nightclubs than casas rurales and is within easy distance of Valencia city, but the dramatic surrounding countryside is a walker’s or rider’s paradise. TRUE OASIS It may be difficult to believe that anywhere in Castilla La-Mancha – known for its flat, arid, red landscape and generally scorched look, could boast greenery and hills. Yet Minglanilla’s nature reserve, Las Hoces de Cabriel, is a true oasis in the dry, dusty plains. Located on the banks of the river Cabriel and covering 95 per cent of the municipality, this part of Spain used to be under the sea 170 million years ago. Its impressive rock formations developed as a result of the Europe-Africa collision around that time. Ravines of more than 100 metres deep, vast canyons and waterways make Las Hoces de Cabriel a green paradise with a spectacular landscape. Not like the rolling pastures of the farnorth but towering mountains with raging white water far below. Among the dense shrubland and pine forest flanking the river are numerous wild herbs, esparto grass (used for weaving baskets, particularly in Alicante province) and the so-called strawberry tree, whose bright red berries resemble strawberries from a distance. This part of the countryside is a natural habitat for wild animals including foxes, jennets, squirrels, mountain cats and goats and wild boar with Bonelli’s eagles, golden eagles and peregrine falcons soaring overhead. TREASURE TROVE Deep within Minglanilla’s breathtaking countryside are, literally, hidden gems. The huge saline lakes in the pine forest, are a treasure chest of aragonite and quartz. Known for its revitalising and therapeutic properties, natural mineral salt water eases aches and pains and softens the skin. People have been taking rejuvenating dips in the Baños de Sal since the Roman times. The nearby salt mines, which were exploited as far back as the Iberian era, are also a major tourist attraction and a small hotel has been built next to both for the hundreds of visitors who come every year seeking a relaxing reak. CELEBRITY PLAYGROUND Minglanilla’s charm has, in the past, been a magnet for the rich and famous. The town’s celebrity cast includes Ava Gardner who, on numerous occasions, stayed in the Venta de Contreras, a lovely old cavalry inn and now partly a hotel with one wing due to be turned into a museum. Inside, a collection of major works of art, ancient maps and engravings, antique furniture and mineral stones adorn the premises. Built in the 16th century by the distinguished Contreras family, part of Minglanilla’s aristocracy, it now has a campsite attached to it and several casas rurales around it with a bar, a shop selling natural mineral products using ingredients from the Baños de Sal, and a riding centre close by. Despite being turned into a rural tourism complex, the Venta de Contreras and its grounds have not lost their quaint, picturesque allure but retain the olde worlde feel characteristic of a remote country village. WHAT’S COOKING? Typical cuisine from Minglanilla is not difficult to conjure up in the kitchen even if you are a culinary cretin. Given its inland location, Minglanilla’s traditional dishes are mainly based on pulses, meat and vegetables, although there are a few vegetarian options on the menu, too. For example, pisto con huevos is made by frying puréed tomatoes in a bit of oil, adding salt and eggs and stirring well. Minglanilla-style garlic soup involves frying three or four garlic cloves in oil, then frying some bread in it, adding salt and then water until you achieve the right consistency. A more filling dish, typical of the area and mainly eaten during Easter week, as the name suggests, is potaje de Semana Santa, a tasty and warming meal made of chickpeas, cod, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, parsley, onion, oil and flour, seasoned with salt and paprika. The breadcrumbs, egg, garlic and parsley are made into dumplings that are deep-fried along with all the other ingredients and then left to simmer. IT ROCKS An ideal time to visit Minglanilla is on August 15, when the fiesta in honour of La Virgen de la Piedad takes place. A marathon around the town is held for those mad enough to take part while the streets are roaring with the sound of motorbike engines as they hold a race around the municipality. For those who like to take things a little easier, the colourful parades are fun to watch and there is a cake-baking competition where examples of Minglanilla’s domestic gods’ and goddesses’ wares can be tried and tested. On September 14 during the festival in homage to the patron saint, Santísimo Cristo de la Salud, a market is held to raise funds for missionaries followed by a photography competition and then open-air concerts and dancing until the early hours of the morning. Perfect for a relaxing weekend away or well worth the detour en route to the capital, far enough away from life as we know it but easily reached by motorway, Minglanilla is an undiscovered paradise. You won’t see it advertised in travel agents’ windows and it tends not to appear in the guidebooks – yet once you see it, you’ll wonder why not. If it’s good enough for Ava Gardner, it must be worth a visit.

Miniature Gehenna

A small heap of garbage can be seen 2o meters away from corner L. Caña street and the Provincial Highway at the very heart of the Poblacion in Minglanilla... This eyesore has been there for some time now and is being kept from growing bigger by constant burning, looking like a miniature gehenna.

Gehenna, right in front of Nick Velliasencio's Vulcanizing shop 10 meters away from Tita Gwapa.
Why this has escaped the eyes of the local garbage collectors is such a big puzzle to passersby. It's such an inescapable sight that one can't help but wonder if we are paying blind men to collect our garbage...