Belen sa Casa Gorordo: More than a Christmas symbol

By MIER VILLEGAS, RAFI intern
January 10, 2013

CEBU CITY  –  Belen is one most favorite Christmas symbols in the Philippines. In Cebu, residents show their devotion for the belen by setting up intricately designed miniature depictions of the Holy Family, such as the ones found in the Casa Gorordo Museum.

The belen at the Casa Gorordo Museum showcases not only the nativity scene but also the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, which recounts Christ’s nativity and boyhood from the Annunciation to the Finding in the Temple.

It also include some passages from the Old Testament – Methuselah, David and Bathsheba, and Cain and Abel. The Gorordo Belen was meant both to recount the story of the coming of the Messiah and to relay moral values to younger people, especially among children.

The exhibit, which opened last Dec. 6 and will run until Jan. 15, is composed of two-century old statues and images made of plaster, paper machete, ivory, and clay.

“Putting up the belen at the Casa Gorordo Museum is meant to continue the tradition of the Gorordo family, which is something RAFI pledged to do when it acquired the house in 1976,” Florencio A. Moreño, Casa Gorordo Museum curator, said.

As a household tradition, the Gorordo family would set up the belen together and invite neighbors to view and learn from it. The belen has been with the Gorordo family since the 19th century.

Moreño pointed out how significant the tradition of the family is since it recounts the story of the coming of the Messiah and reminds the Filipinos of the lessons and moral values the belen relays to the public, especially children.

"We also want to retain and maintain the house as a living museum wherein it retains the living qualities because of its different traditions," Moreno added.

The Belen sa Casa Gorordo is one of four house traditions of the Casa Gorordo Museum. The other three are Sinug sa Casa Gorordo in January, Kuwaresma during Lent, and Pista ni San Juan in June.

Aside from setting up the belen, the Christmas tradition of the Gorordo family would not be complete without the traditional serving of food.

Rosalina Patalinghug cooked and served bam-i the way her late father, Urbano, would cook it for the Gorordos. Rosalina, now the cook of the fourth generation Gorordo family, happens to be the daughter of the cook of the Gorordo family in the past generations.

Best courses were served during the revealing of the Belen sa Casa Gorordo, which was graced by Josefa Revilles, a descendant of the Gorordo family and a former resident of the house. They had torta, which was freshly ordered from Argao, and bibingka that was also specially baked from Mandaue City.