Message from Palm Grass Hotel

Pasko sa Kagawasan 2018

December 29, 2018

To everyone of us gathered here today, Malipayong Pasko sa Kagawasan (sa Sugbo)!

 

Today is the third time Palm Grass The Cebu Heritage Hotel celebrates the Cebu Revolution victory against Spanish colonial rule, along with the Christmas and New Year celebration.

We dream that every Cebuano would be able to proudly recall this wonderful feat in our history, when all freedom-loving Cebuanos united to build a new Cebu and  a new Philippines.

It is our dream, that there will come a time, that every Cebuano, young and old, will know about this very significant chapter in Cebu history; that there was a time when Cebuano warriors armed with inferior weapons were able to defeat the superior Spanish enemy armed with powerful guns and cannons.

Palm Grass, as Cebu’s only heritage hotel,  is one with accomplished individuals in bringing this dream to life by continuing heritage-awareness campaigns, using various platforms and art forms.

We are glad to have worked with author Emil Justimbaste whose book on Leon Kilat, Palm Grass published;

with visual artists, led by our Art Consultant Radel Paredes, who created our digital art, stencil art, oil painting, and sculpture;

with authors of literary group, Bathalad;

with music artists who helped Palm Grass produce original Cebuano songs on Cebu heritage and contemporary life;

with  Hong Kong-based video creator Prospero Laput who helped us film and organize our marketing and engineering teams into a versatile production unit along with various groups to produce a history travel interview video, a heritage short film, music videos, culinary heritage videos, interview with our sculptor and others;

with theater groups from UP-Cebu and Cebu Normal University;

with pupils from various Cebu public and private grade schools who wrote their version of the  Leon Kilat story;

with Mass Communication and Fine Arts students of the University of the Philippines and University of San Carlos;

with the USJR Department of Journalism and Communication that helped us reach out to our neighbor, the Barangay Kamagayan,  to  work together in rebranding the Junquera St.;

with the heritage community in Cebu, such as the Central Visayas Association of Museums of which we are a member, the Hambin, the Fort San Pedro, 1730 Jesuit House Museo sa Parian, the USC Museum and many more.

Indeed, today is a celebration of unity, cooperation, victory and freedom. We are excited in continuing this journey with all Cebuanos as we show to the rest of our Filipino and foreign guests and friends, our rich Cebu heritage and history.

We envision that next year, more Cebuanos will be with us in a grander celebration of Pasko sa Kagawasan! Malipayong pagsaulog sa  pasko, sa bulahang bag-ong tuig, ug sa ika-120 ka tuig nga kadaogan sa rebolusyon sa Sugbo! Daghang salamat!

– From the Guivelondo family of Palm Grass Hotel (read by Quirubin Guivelondo)