Silhouettes of Cagayan de Oro

 

Saturday, June 23, 2007  3:00pm

Here at Taza Coffee at ‘THE SITE’ across the Limketkai Center, I’m patiently waiting for my time to leave Cagayan de Oro for an overnight ferry ride back to Cebu.

There were not so many instances that I get to visit this so-called ‘City of Golden Friendship. And of the 4 or 5 times that I was here, I never had the chance to explore its character and soul. For this particular coverage of Mindanao, I made it a point to expose myself a bit more on the city’s character.

And I’m here in one of its local coffee shop, thinking of some unique description that this city has compared to other urban areas in the Philippines. Should I say that Cagayan de Oro means Limketkai Center or The Whitewater Rafting? Or is CDO equal to Del Monte or Xavier University alone? Or maybe yet CDO is the overlooking Pryce Hotel and the clan of Pimentel as well? Yes these are some immediate items that people can associate with CDO. But is there anything else that we could describe this city with?

I have some observations about this Northern Mindanao city. From the moment I arrived here last Thursday and even until today, I could say that CDO has the following uniqueness:

Most of the taxicabs here are TOYOTA Altis. In Philippine standards, the Altis is a higher model of the TOYOTA Vios or the old Corolla. In simple analogy, ALTIS is like the balcony of any moviehouse while the COROLLA or VIOS is the orchestra. But in Cagayan de Oro, a lot of white TOYOTA Altis taxis pass the major streets. Locals here prefer to take taxis with aircon units that function extremely well.

There are Motorellas or tricycles that are as big as those in Dumaguete but are far different in terms of structure and form. Tricycles are the next option when there are no Altis Taxis in sight. The city jeepneys are equipped with stereos or radio. People will not take a ride if jeepneys don’t have such feature.

There are a lot of Maximo Oliveroses here. In Limketkai alone, I counted at least 30 baklitas stolling with friends.

I don’t know if it’s the time of the year or it’s just that in Cagayan de Oro, it rains in the afternoon and at night.

On my second night in Cagayan de Oro, I visited the San Agustin Metropolitan Cathedral.

The view of the cathedral from Gaston Park

It was at the present location of Gaston Park that Fray Agustin de San Pedro in 1622, persuaded Datu Salangsang to transfer. Datu Salangsang was the leader of the Bukidnons who settled near  Kalambaguhan River. It was at that time that Maguindanaoans led by Sultan Kudarat raided the settlement. But Fray Agustin was able to help the Bukidnons escape from the raids of the tribes from the southwest.

 

 

 

And on weekends, some street sections are closed from traffic so that people could peddle in the streets and that everyone could dine and party under the canopy of the sky. Well Cagayan de Oro City, the former town of Kalambaguhan is Patchada!!!!

In Northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro is the biggest city in terms of commerce and industry. CDO rivals Davao City in the aspect of tourism, convention or seminar location and trade. CDO is also the center for Region X and there are a lot of government and administrative offices located near the city proper.

One of my industrial dealers has a liaison office here in Cagayan de Oro. My boss and I visited their office near Capistrano and Mabini Streets and set up a meeting to address their concerns and problems. I met them again today to discuss the particular plan of actions on their clients in Iligan and Misamis Occidental. I made a little exploration of the city then after.

Foremost of the city section that I explored was the Plaza Divisoria. This park is situated at the old section of Cagayan de Oro that starts with Xavier University on one end and a mini-amphitheater on the other. Plaza Divisoria is like a big concrete isle at the center of A. Velez St. It was built in 1901 as a divider of the town that serves as a breaker from a fire that almost burned down the entire town.

From Xavier University, I walked past the obelisk of Ramon Magsaysay, the ‘Champion of the Masses’.

 

Then to the ‘Hero of the Masses’ Andres Bonifacio.

 

Then to Mayor Borja

    

Before I took pictures of the tall sculpture of the mayor, I walked inside an air-conditioned kiosk of the CDO Tourism and History and read about Apolinar Velez and some early political figures of Cagayan de Oro.

Apolinar Velez, to which the busy street was called, was the commanding officer of the Western Division of the Mindanao Battalion during the Philippine-American War of 1901. He became a governor of Misamis and a then a mayor of Cagayan in the 1920’s.

Just across Mayor Borja’s monument was the small statue of the National Hero Rizal.

Every Friday and Saturday, at about 5pm, Velez Street will be closed to traffic for the Divisoria Night Café and Market. This event is being organized by the local government to draw tourist and locals to Plaza Divisoria to dine and buy. Half of Velez Street hosts the peddlers and the other half hosts the barbecue operators.

This activity extends deep into the night, ending at about 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning. The bands perform at a stage to provide entertainment to the crowd who are mostly students, foreigners and young professionals.

And so it’s almost 4:30pm. I am already packed. I’m going back to the hotel now to pick up my luggage and proceed to the city pier. I’ll be leaving the hotel at 6 pm, in time for A. Velez Street to be closed from traffic. Divisoria will be alive again until the wee hours. It’s starting to rain again.

But now, I’m leaving this city not knowing why it’s the place of golden friendship.

 

I’m leaving CDO and its silhouette. I’ll explore its character and soul more on my next visit.