It does not seem to be immediate appearances, but Cebu is steep in spirituality. They would require high sensitivity to achieve, but not only to travel to physical destinations. The spiritual world could also be bought with its own vistas and venues.
The nature of local religion is very remarkable. Catholicism came in 1600 with the creation of local Spanish settlements. Before that, it was the practice of Islam and animism. Catholicism has been deeply rooted, but even so, many ancient animistic practices still exist in the system of mythologies, beliefs and rituals that have been practiced so far.
Catholic belief is very easy to appreciate. The city celebrates Sinulog every year in January. Sinulog is a ritual dance traditionally produced at Sto's door. Nino Basilica. The dancer raises the candles in the air while dancing at a tempo of alleged pre-Christian origin. According to some theories, this pace is related to sea currents. But the idea that candles "bless" this dance and have greater power to give the need to light up in a designated area of the Church. So ritual is a kind of transaction. One purchases the blessed candles from the dancer who actually performs a religious function as an alternative to ordinary empowerment to bless the ordinary priest. This practice is in fact the norm where regular Catholicism is now a kind of indigenous spiritual practice.
One of the good ways to appreciate local religion is to rent a car and drive down a group. One of these days the local tourist office is likely to guide the locals through religious practices. But every local may well know the local ecclesiastical monuments. The first stop you have to do is Carcar. The Church Plaza complex is typical here. The central part of Jose Rizal's statement is unusual, dominating the national hero (who is also famous for Freemasonry). The plaza is a collision between religious and civil sculptures that talk about the conflict between religion and civil practice, which has occurred over the past 100 years.
As one enters the beach, a statue of a dignified soldier is immediately visible on a horse. This is the statue Leon Kil, who launched a local attack on colonization in Spain in the late 1800s. Like Rizal, Kilat fought against the abuse of Spanish factions. The rebellious hero had a great deal of metaphysical powers. His followers did not have enough weapons to fight. According to historical reports, they only sharpened the bamboo bets and knives. Convinced by their persuasion, they never wrestled, dressed in dark dresses for cotton spatons for which they spelled different spells into the pig-latin language, so that their bearers could penetrate the enemy's bullets. For a while, he succeeded in this rebellion until he was suddenly murdered. An elite family who lives there, from where this statue is invited to Leon, serves food and drink. During the night, the rebels shot the rebel leader at death and then buried it in a shallow grave from the city cemetery.
This city plaza also contains impeccably maintained wooden buildings for civil or religious use. These include Monastery, Hospital, and St. Louis. Catherine's school. It offers all the good visuals. Local delicacies are a good example (try chicharon, habit, lechon and ampao in the local wet market) before heading down to the next town. You can make a better turn to the hills, but this is another story. This should lead to Sibonga, after driving the famous Carcar rally. This rotunda was designed and made by Martino and Ramon Abellana brothers at the beginning of Fidel Araneta. These three generations of local artists were the most successful and were born after the Second World War.
Go to Sibong directly to the temple and look up toward the ceiling. The paintings here give a good picture of the quality of the local Catholic belief system. Reymundo "Ray" France painted this ceiling in the mid-1930s. He has done a lot of things around Cebu and Bohol, but there is very little survival of the painting. The islands are regularly visited by typhoons, some of which blow up the roof, but they destroy the ceiling paintings. But Sibonga is the best in France. The ceilings above the suspended ceilings represent the 7 days of creation at a charming semicircular table where the Father God occupies the central area. The representation of the devil is definitely surprising and it promotes dark Gothic images in the mid-1900s Christian thinking.
This image allows a good comparison with the Ceuta paintings of the Dalaguete and Argao city. He is behind the town of Argao, but he misses this and leads directly to the next town in Dalaguete. Canuto Avila, who competed in French, abandoned these paintings with their sons and daughters. Avila's style is more classical and the most disadvantageous. It is unfortunate that the papers near the altar have faded quite a bit. As you rejoice in the pictures, you can observe that the paintings on the ceiling are painted over an original wooden planks. A piece of clothing falls off. Soon, these works will have to be restored or lost forever. Look at yourself fortunate enough to see these jobs at all. If they die, much of the local history is lost because these paintings are really examples of how local culture deals with the invasive colonial culture and the way it has mastered at least the art.
Before leaving Dalaguete, try the magnificent beach. From here we go to Argao and see the church. The rule was probably made by France and Avila, though this work is not signed. Here you can really see the stylistic differences between the two artists. Particularly interesting is the battle between angels and devils. It is unfortunate that the statue of the church was actually destroyed by erroneous remediation attempts. But in a sense it is a timely journey. These works can soon be lost if not with natural results, with the most appropriate efforts.
Stay overnight in Argao and ask the local beliefs. Because besides Catholic religion, faith in old animal experiments is a belief. "Dili Ingon Nato" is a generic name applied to all other secular beings, including abat, wakwak, kiik, ungo and others. Any such query will get an instant response. But all the most interesting creatures are sigbin. It seems to look like an Australian kangaroo, it's a mythical pet that gives the owner the power to move quickly from place to place. Other powers are attributed to this creature whose blood has recently been rumored of the healing of AIDs. But do not worry too that many "visitors" are supposed to be still in the long and powerful search for the "other world" creature.