CEBU TOUR, Part 11 Meeting New Friends and A Renown Painter in SM Cebu

The Artworks in front of SM Cebu

At the evening of our second day in Cebu, after visiting the Fort San Pedro, the Basilica of the Pit Senyor, the Taoist Temple and the Mactan Shrine, we proceeded to SM Cebu in order to meet the friend of Ms. Carpio. And when we finally met her she is no other than Mrs. Gabatingan.

A Painting inside SM Cebu depicting Traditional Filipino Family: Deeply religious, with strong family ties and hardworking

Mrs. Gabatingan is a gracious lady. She treated us with hospitality for which the Cebuanos are known for. She brought us to a very nice restaurant and ordered the food which are specialties of the Cebuano people. And while we were eating she delighted us further with stories of faith in Cebu, of the life and culture of the people, gave us suggestions where to go and visit and the best place to shop in and around the City.

Mrs. Gabatingan [in blue] and her sister [left] treated us in a restaurant at the second floor of SM Cebu. Ms. Carpio was the one who introduced us to Mrs. Gabatingan.

She also informed us about Mr. Romulo Galicano. The reason why the Lady Governor of Cebu, Gwen Garcia, was present in the Gallery as well as the Who's Who in the society and in the media was due to the homecoming of Galicano, Cebu's beloved son.

The Restaurant we've been through

After the meal, Mrs. Gabatingan introduced us to Mr. Galicano himself unfortunately we didn't get the chance to have photos taken with him because his schedule interview with ABS-CBN reporte was about to start. Instead, we roamed around the gallery in order to see his works and indeed they are impressive and very beautiful.

The portrait paintings presented here in are all works of the famous Filipino artist Romulo Galicano who hails from Cebu. We were all wondering about the lines right inside the portraits and we were told that it is actually the unique and distinctive characteristics of Gallicano portraits. He is the first artist who have done portraits with lines.

The paintings are hereby presented here. My only regret is that my ignorance of professional use of camera really manifested that night because some shots really blurred the paintings due to improper use of flash. Real expert knows how to tame the camera in order to bring the best possible pictures.

Some materials used for the portraits are displayed in the gallery

I present these paintings here as a salute to Romulo Galicano. To tell him that as Filipinos we are proud of his national and international success. It is also a paean to the greatness of our Cebuano brothers, especially the Cebuano artists, whose God-given talents are truly worldclass.

Several prominent ladies and figures in the society have posed before Galicano While we were eating, I suddenly noticed that a very good Soprano was singing in the Gallery. She was singing the Visayan classic "Usahay" beautifully. When I asked Mrs. Gabatingan about the identity of the Soprano, she smiled and answered: "Never mind Father. Such talent is very common here in Cebu." Of course she is right. Musical talent is truly very common in the country. It is no wonder that Filipino artists are making wave from Broadway to West End and our singers are gaining world-class recognitions.

Classic theme -- Mother and Child. For sure the Evangelicals will not claim that this painting is pagan in origin. Yet they are doing that when the characters depicted are Mary and the Child Jesus.

Cebuano musicians serenading the people viewing the Gallicano gallery right in the main hall of the newly built SM Cebu extension.

Mr. Romulo Galicano himself being interviewed by a reporter from ABS-CBN

The Galicano Gallery in the SM Cebu ground hall