Wines & Prologues

What better way to go down history than to visit a museum? Hosted at Aduana Building, which also once served as the official residence of the President of the Philippines in Visayas, Malacañang sa Sugbo, the National Museum of the Philippines-Cebu was opened last August 23, 2023.

Entrance is free for everybody, but we were asked to wait outside by the benches, which made me think that maybe it’s going to be guided tour. Well, it wasn’t. I think it was to control the amount of people inside the museum.

When we were finally allowed to go, we had to fall in line by the entrance, get our IDs ready and checked, and listen to one of their staff as she gave us a quick lecture of the history of the museum and what to expect.

Again, no videos allowed, so, well, again, I had to leave my Osmo Pocket in my bag by the baggage counter, shall I call it room because our bags were left in a room under the staircase leading to the second floor? Anyway, I left my device and my bag and only brought my wallet and phone with me.

Ms. Maida of Jumalon Butterfly Garden mentioned coming here if I wanted to have an even more immersive historical experience, it was already in my itinerary, so it was pat on the back when Ms. Maida told me, “That’s very good. Have fun at the museum.”

Gallery 1 featured plants and animals endemic to Cebu.

There was also an installation regarding the now extinct Cebu Tamaraw with parts of its fossils found by a mining engineer named Michael Armas, and is believed to be from 10,000-100,000 years ago.

Gallery 2 and 3 featured a variety of archeological finds, with Gallery 3 focused on the maritime industry and history in Cebu.

What fascinated me at Gallery three were the recovered artifacts discovered at the site where the galleon San Diego sunk. The ship was actually a trading ship docked in Cavite for reconditioning and repair, that was hastily turned into a warship by the Spanish Navy when the Dutch threatened to invade Manila. And because the cannons were too heavy for the ship, the water reached the cannon portholes which caused the ship to sink.

Discovered were some stone and ceramic wares, coins, jewelry, firearms, cannon balls, telescopes, and such, to name a few. But I think the artifacts that really got me fascinated was the Astrolabe, an astronomical device used for navigation and astronomy, the Slate which was the official logbook record of the voyage, and then the ceramic candle holders which I first thought were jars. The mechanism and intricacy of these three just blew my mind. That want to read that slate too was very deep.

One of the other thing I found really amazing was this installation that shows how ceramics are stashed, stored, whatever you call it, on a ship.

And a 1699 Map of Cebu

The last two galleries were dedicated for artworks. One featuring photographs about local delicacies all over the philippines and the last being a whole art gallery highlighting the artistry of Maestro Tinong, the Dean of Cebuano Painters, a reknowed painter from Carcar, Cebu.

This is where I stopped taking photos, because I THINK, I think, I clearly heard during the short orientation not to take photos at the art gallery. I’ve been to another art gallery before this and there was also a sign there that said no photos and videos allowed, so I walked through these galleries, both hands secured behind my back in awe of the paintings lined up before me. The texture, the softness, the colors, the composition—sighs in satisfaction—give me a chair and I’d happily sit there for hours.

The National Museum of the Philippines Cebu is free and open to the public from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

All in all, it was an experience that I would like to experience again. Hoping to back here for another trip soon.

PS. This was actually a funny scene because my driver, Gener, was like, ‘Ma’am Monique picture!’ He had his phone ready before he asked for mine and I slightly panicked because it was out of the blue and I didn’t know where to hide the plastic of museum souvenirs I was holding, hence, the hands at the back.

I’m off to my next adventure! See you there, world!

Bye-bee!