Casa Gorordo holds Semana Santa house tradition



The Casa Gorordo Museum of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will hold its Semana Santa house tradition on April 3 and 6, which are Holy Tuesday and Good Friday, respectively.

            This house tradition features the use of Casa Gorordo’s carrozas and life-size image of the Nazarene and Veronica in the Holy Tuesday and Good Friday processions of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

It begins with the installation of pasos (tableaus of life-size images depicting scenes of Christ’s passion and death) and decoration of the carrozas (carriages) on which they are set up in the morning. These pasos will be included in the processions of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in Cebu City’s downtown district. The procession on Holy Tuesday started at 5:00 pm; and on Good Friday at 4:30 pm.

            According to Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of Culture and Heritage of RAFI, this had been a religious observance of the Gorordo family, former owners of the Casa Gorordo, which was adopted by the museum as part of RAFI’s advocacy to conserve intangible heritage traditions of the family.

            Casa Gorordo Museum’s curator, Florencio A. Moreño II, said that one can see in the Semana Santa house tradition a remarkable dynamism between the family, later, the museum, and the larger community that it belongs to. He added that by engaging the public through this long-held tradition, Casa Gorordo Museum makes itself a living museum.

            An exhibit entitled “Semana Santa: A Casa Gorordo Tradition,” located at the museum’s chapel, was launched last March 22 to anticipate the holding of the house tradition and to explain it to the public. It also highlights the Passus tradition in Bantayan town which has become a prominent tourist attraction.

            The exhibit will run until April 15.

            Semana Santa is one of the four house traditions of the Casa Gorordo Museum. The other three are Sinug sa Casa Gorordo in January; Pista ni San Juan in June; and the displaying of the Gorordo Belen in December.

Culture & Heritage is a focus area of RAFI, believing that a confident community begins with a strong sense of identity. Its other focus areas are Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Citizenship, and Education.
For more information on the house tradition and the Semana Santa exhibit, please contact 418-7234 loc. 703 and look for Florencio A. Moreño II, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.
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