The Visual Traveler

09/05/2026

The Ex*****on of Andres and Procopio Bonifacio: May 10, 1897

Three years ago, we were on our way to Pico de Loro in Batangas when we passed by Maragondon, Cavite. As I looked at the lush greenery of the mountain, sadness also crept in because I could only imagine what Andres Bonifacio and his brother, Procopio, felt being led to their ex*****on amidst the verdant foliage of their surroundings.

The Bonifacio brothers were accused of treason by Emilio Aguinaldo and his followers because of two documents that Andres and his Revolutionary faction released in March and April 1897, the Acto de Tejeros and the Naik Military Agreement.

A great schism emerged within the Philippine Revolutionary forces following the Tejeros Convention. The Magdalo versus Magdiwang conflict occurred months before the Convention in March 1897.

When the Bonifacio brothers were assaulted by Colonel Agapito Bonzon in Limbon upon the orders of Aguinaldo, Ciriaco was killed during the clash. Andres was wounded on his left arm by a gunshot wound, and he was stabbed on the right side of his neck. He was arrested together with Procopio. They were brought to Naik, court-martialed, and accused of treason.

The Council of War was led by Gen. Mariano Noriel, Gen. Tomas Mascardo, Crisostomo Noriel, Placido Martinez, among others. The trial took place from April 29 to May 4. By May 6, a verdict of guilty was handed down by the Council of War. They recommended that the Bonifacio brothers be executed because of this.

Emilio Aguinaldo had doubts and wanted to instead commute it to exile, but he was persuaded to agree to the ex*****on instead.

On the morning of May 10, 1897, Andres and Procopio Bonifacio were led to their ex*****on site on the mountain range of Maragondon by fellow Filipino revolutionaries. This action by Aguinaldo and his supporters was the beginning of the end of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.

The following image of the depiction of the Andres Bonifacio court-martial was taken by me from The Diorama Experience of Ayala Museum.

25/04/2026

In the Philippines, April has been declared as National Literature Month as well as National Foood Month.

How Two Food Books Inspired My Bacolod-Silay Trip

In late 2019, I was inspired by authors Doreen Gamboa-Fernandez and Claude Tayag to take a trip from Cebu to Bacolod and have a three-day food adventure in the City of Smiles. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I'm grateful that my "gourmand" personality overpowered my introversion.

I consider Doreen Fernandez and Chef Tayag as my literary heroes when it comes to food writing. Their descriptions, food trips, memories, and no-nonsense style have been entertaining and motivational for someone like me who loves food and writing.

During the trip, I brought my copy of Doreen Gamboa-Fernandez's book "Tikim" and Claude Tayag's "Linamnam".

Days before our flight, I listed down the restaurants and eateries that I wanted to try out. I only had a few days but wanted to ensure that I would be able to satisfy both my craving as well as my curiosity.

Definitely, Manokan Country was on the top of the list followed by El Ideal Bakery located in Silay City. I added Aboy's because of its Adobong Taba ng Pusit which Chef Tayag recommends in his book. And, of course, Bacolod is known for its Cansi soup. I've tried Chef JP Anglo's sizzling Cansi version in Manila but I am excited to try the original soup broth in one of the popular eateries in the city.

Doreen Gamboa-Fernandez was from Silay and that fact including the articles she wrote about her hometown influenced me to make this one of the highlights of our Negros travel. We went to El Ideal Bakery which is located in a declared heritage house, the Cesar Lacson Locsin Ancestral House. It was aptly appropriate to have our Negrense sweet experience in Silay since this is where the original sugarcane plantation owners built their houses such as Yves Leopold Germaine Gaston.

We had our merienda of Lumpiang Sariwa and Fried Lumpia made of coconut ubod, their own invention of the Guapple tart with crumble topping (they ran out of the original Guapple pie) and Cassava. We wanted to order their Batchoy but my stomach was already complaining by the time I finished the last fried lumpia.

We could not have flown back to Cebu without having a steaming bowl of Bacolod's sought-after Cansi. We had our Brunch at Sharyn's Cansi House and since it was still early in the day, we were the only ones there dining in. When our bowl of piping hot Cansi was brought to our table, we could not resist bathing our faces in the aromatic steam. When I first tasted the broth, I thought of my Dad and how he would appreciate the dish because he loves soups and stews. My Luzon palate had mixed emotions when it came to the flavor. It was similar to Nilagang Baka but had a flavor twist. They use batwan to make the broth sour which I think also adds to the thickness of the soup. The meat was so tender, the bone marrow so rich that instead of slurping it directly I combined it in the broth. I was glad that my last official meal in Bacolod during that trip was Cansi. By coincidence, it was slightly raining when we went to the eatery so having that Cansi with a little bit of cold weather was just perfect.

I would certainly plan another trip to Bacolod since I still have a long list of food items that I would want to eat and taste.

14/04/2026

Echoes of Intramuros Manila: Tombstones on the Streets

During the 250 years of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, Chinese merchants sold almost every item for which they could earn money. Even the blocks of granite that were used as ballasts to keep the Chinese junks balanced and steady throughout the journey from China became big business. The merchants would arrive, sell their wares, and then go back to China with their ships filled with Philippine hardwood, rice, silver, beeswax, and other products.

These granite stone ballasts became known as piedra china (piedra de china). The demand grew because these stones were used as flooring for houses, buildings, and even as roads.

Read the full article via the link found in the Comments Section.

10/04/2026

Commemorating the Filipino nurses who served in Corregidor and Bataan during the final days and hours before surrendering.

20/03/2026

Alejandro's Crispy Pata is one of Cebu's Originals. This might be my last one for awhile because of gas prices.

14/03/2026

NAIA Terminal 3 in Manila is having a renaissance...More food choices, more restaurants. In this video, enjoying my Tonkotsu Ramen.

13/02/2026

The Visual Traveler

A Short History of Cebu's Osmeña Waterworks System
Posted by Margaux Camaya, The Visual Traveler January 04, 2020

Fuente Osmeña Fountain, American Colonial

William Cameron Forbes started working in the American Colonial Period in 1904 as he was appointed by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1909, he was named Governor-General by President Howard Taft. He would serve as governor until 1913. One of his key projects was to develop the waterworks system in the Philippines. The cholera epidemic of 1909 hastened the decision to go ahead with the projects.

The year 1910 would be pivotal to the first waterworks project in Cebu. It would be led by Harry F. Cameron of the Public Works System in Central Visayas. His Chief Assistant was E.J. Halsema who would design the dam and the reservoir.

Halsema described the Buhisan project as such, "a concrete dam 27 meters high that blocked the gorge and a long spillway that allowed overflow water to escape safely when the gates in the dam were raised. A pipeline over two kilometers long led to a distribution reservoir through tunnels and viaducts. From this reservoir, a pipeline over four kilometers long went to the northern part of Cebu City. Over twenty-one kilometers of pipes were laid to distribute water in the city."

The entire cost of the dam and reservoir project was pegged at Php 550,000 in 1911.

The Osmeña Waterworks System (Aguas Potables de Osmeña) in Cebu will be completed by February 1912. It brought piped water from the Buhisan Dam to Tisa, Labangon, and then onwards to the other northern parts of Cebu City.

It was years later at the insistence of Manuel L. Quezon that the Cebu Waterworks System would be named after Osmeña.

They tested the piped water coming from Buhisan Dam in Cebu City through the newly-installed fire hydrants on January 3, 1912. The Cebu governor and other government officials were on hand to be witnesses of this engineering marvel.

Buhisan Dam spillway

In her book, Life in Old Parian, Concepcion G. Briones detailed the day of the inauguration on February 13, 1912.

Governor-General Forbes arrived in Cebu to celebrate the official opening of the Waterworks, a public holiday was declared on that February day. Great fanfare, parades, and speeches marked the special occasion. He was accompanied by Cebu's leading politician, Sergio Osmena Sr.

Cebu Governor Dionisio Jakosalem, Jaime C. de Veyra, Venancio Concepcion, Isauro Gabaldon, Manuel Roa, Adolf Wislizenus were just some of the politicians who welcomed and accompanied the inauguration party.

It was a jampacked day for Governor-General Forbes. Upon arriving in Cebu, he proceeded to the Forbes bridge located on Magallanes street to mark the opening to the public. The bridge linked the city proper and the San Nicolas district. He then visited the Buhisan Dam and reservoir, had a luncheon and siesta. And in the afternoon watched a baseball game and checked on the progress of the new Southern Islands Hospital.

The fountain that is now a familiar landmark in Fuente Osmeña was the star of the celebration. Governor Forbes led the way in turning on the fountain to signify that the Osmeña Waterworks was now operational.

A grand ball in the evening culminated the day-long festivities.

February 13, 1912

The Osmeña Water Works was formally inaugurated on February 13, 1912, marking a major development in Cebu's public water infrastructure.

Source: Progress Newspaper. (1912, February 3). Official Program
Inauguration of Osmena Water Works, February 13, 1912

Photo from the Fuente Osmeña fountain, inaugurated in February 1912, an iconic historic waterworks landmark in the center of Cebu City, Philippines, sourced from A Short History of Cebu’s Osmeña — https://www.thevisualtraveler.net/2020/01/a-short-history-of-cebus-osmena.html

26/01/2026

There are 3 Kapampangans in this photo...

Professor Ambeth R. Ocampo signing some of my Ambeth Ocampo Book Collection, myself, and Claude Tayag (who painted and donated the St. Nino Suite Series found in the background).

Will be making a longer post about my Ambeth Ocampo Experience at the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu later. 😍

17/01/2026

Viva Pit Señor Santo Niño!

Sleepy Santo Niño 400 Years After was created by Cebuano sculptor Fidel T. Araneta in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, his expeditionary forces, and the beginning of Spanish Colonization in the Philippines.

It was also a symbol of how Christianity particularly Catholicism became ingrained in the historical, cultural, religious, and social consciousness of the Filipinos.

This wooden sculpture by Araneta was originally displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines Fine Arts in Manila when it was donated by the family of the artist.

It is now on exhibit at the National Museum of the Philippines - Cebu since 2023.

Sculptor Fidel T. Araneta was born in Bogo, Cebu in 1911. He studied at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts but was unable to complete his studies. He studied under National Artists, Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino. He became an early mentor to National Artist Napoleon Abueva. He had a successful career as a commercial wood sculptor in Cebu. He died in 1975.

The veneration of the Santo Niño in the Philippines especially in Cebu can be traced to the year 1565 when a religious icon of the Holy Child Jesus was discovered by a Basque sailor, Juan de Camus. The sailor was part of the Lopez de Legazpi expedition who successfully reached Cebu. The holy icon was found in one of the burnt houses of the local Cebuanos after the bombarment done by the Spaniards to the coastal settlement of Cebu.

"A sailor from San Pedro, Juan de Camus, a native of Bermeo in Vizcaya, accompanied by an artillery man of the same ship, Pedro de Alorga, entered the house where a slave was staying. They found two boxes tied up with cord from Castile, ready to carry out together with the owner's belongings. They opened one of the boxes and found only the tusk of a wild boar and a large bowl. When they opened the second box, made of pine (this wood is not found in these islands) and tied with cord from Castile, they discovered inside it the carving of the Child Jesus. Ecstatic beyond himself, Camus ran out screaming about the find, allegedly crying in his native Vizcayan tongue: "For the Body of Christ, Son of Saint Mary has [been] found." Quote from Santo Niño De Cebu 1565 - 2015 (450 Years of History, Culture and Devotion) by Fr. Pedro G. Galende, OSA

Cebu's Santo Niño is known as the oldest religious artifact in the Philippines and is being kept in the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu by the Augustinian Order.

Read the complete post via the blog link found in the comment section.



̃odecebu

09/01/2026

Viva Jesus Nazareno!

The Black Nazarene of Quiapo
Oil on Canvas
1937
Ricarte M. Puruganan
National Museum of the Philippines

30/12/2025

One of the things that I wanted to see when I visited the National Museum of the Philippines Fine Arts was Jose Rizal's Spanish copy of Thomas Kempis' widely-popular devotional and spiritual book, De la Imitacion de Cristo y Menosprecio del Mundo.

Rizal's copy was printed in Barcelona in 1895. The Christian book composed by a German monk, Kempis, is second to the Bible in terms of being translated into several different languages. The original version was written in Latin between 1418 to 1427.

Jose Rizal's Devotion to Josephine Bracken
Posted by Margaux Camaya, The Visual Traveler December 29, 2019

One of the things that I wanted to see when I visited the National Museum of the Philippines Fine Arts was Jose Rizal's Spanish copy of Thomas Kempis' widely-popular devotional and spiritual book, De la Imitacion de Cristo y Menosprecio del Mundo.

Rizal's copy was printed in Barcelona in 1895. The Christian book composed by a German monk, Kempis, is second to the Bible in terms of being translated into several different languages. The original version was written in Latin between 1418 to 1427.

Rizal's handwritten dedication

What is unique about this display is that it shows the dedication that Rizal wrote for his paramour, Josephine Bracken, and that it was written on the day of his ex*****on.

To my dear and unhappy wife Josephine
December 30th 1896
Jose Rizal

This simple handwritten message to Bracken shows how devoted Rizal was to her.

For conservation purposes, The National Museum only shows the dedication page on two occasions, Rizal's birth anniversary in June and his martyrdom on December 30th.

Full article: https://www.thevisualtraveler.net/2019/12/jose-rizals-devotion-to-josephine.html

The dedication that Jose Rizal wrote on his copy of Thomas Kempis' The Imitation of Christ shows his love for Josephine Bracken.