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Cebu
Cebu is one of the provinces of
the Philippines. It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the west is Leyte and
to the southeast is Bohol province. It is flanked on both sides by the straits
of Bohol (between Cebu and Bohol) and Tañon (between Cebu and Negros). Cebu is
located between 9°25'N and 11°15'N latitude and between 123°13'E and 124°5'E
longitude in the center of the archipelago.
Cebu Island is a long narrow
island stretching 225 km (140 mi) from north to south, surrounded by 167
neighboring smaller islands, that includes Mactan Island, Bantayan, Malapascua,
Olango and the Camotes Islands. Of the hundreds of small islands some are
uninhabited which make them the targets of adventure-seeking tourists.
Cebu is known for its narrow
coastlines, limestone plateaus, and coastal plains, all characteristics of a
typical tropical island. Cebu also has predominant rolling hills and rugged
mountain ranges traversing the northern and southern lengths of the island.
Cebu's steep mountains reach over 1,000 meters. Flat tracts of land can be found
in towns of Bogo, San Remigio, Medellin, and Daanbantayan at the northern tip of
the province.
Its capital is Cebu City, the
oldest city in the country, which forms part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area
together with 6 neighboring cities Carcar City, Danao City, Lapu-Lapu City,
Mandaue City, Naga City and Talisay City and 6 other municipalities. Cebu is
served by Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Mactan Island, thirty minutes
drive from downtown Cebu City.
Cebu is one of the most developed
provinces in the country and the main center of commerce, trade, education and
industry in the central and southern parts of the archipelago. It has five-star
hotels, casinos, white sand beaches, world-class golf courses, convention
centers, and shopping malls. The UK-based Condenast Travellers Magazine named
Cebu the 8th best Asian-Pacific island destination in 2005, and 7th in 2004.
People and culture
The native people of Cebu are
called Cebuanos. Most are descendants from Austronesian people, some have
Spanish and Chinese ancestry. Spanish and Chinese communities play an important
economic and political role in Cebu. Cebuano culture is laid back and has
preserved Hispanic traditions in its culture. The Philippines being under
American rule for the early part of the 20th century, American culture is
pervasive in certain areas of life, with English being retained as the medium of
instruction of most subjects in private schools and, to a lesser extent, in
public ones. American culture also influenced contemporary music, the fast-food
industry, etc. As with other countries, foreign nationals have inter-married
with the locals, with some of these nationalities being American, Japanese,
Western European (British, German, etc.) Australian, and other East Asians.
Languages
Cebuano is the indigenous
language of Cebu. It is also spoken in most parts of Central and Southern
Philippine Islands, including Bohol, western Leyte, Negros Oriental, the
northern and eastern coasts of Mindanao, and parts of Bukidnon, Agusan, Surigao,
Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur. Differences exist but in many of these
places the variations are slight. There are more than 20 million speakers of
Cebuano. Cebuanos are conversant in Tagalog, as well as other Visayan
languages such Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray.
In the Camotes Islands, a
language related to Waray-Waray called Porohanon is spoken. What distinguishes
it from Cebuano is that what is normally "y" in Cebuano is "z" in Porohanon. So
in Camotes, maazo kaazo (very good) is said instead of maayo kaayo
In Bantayan Island, Bantayan
Visayan is spoken. It is closer to Hiligaynon than it is to Cebuano.
Spanish is spoken by its mestizo
and Spanish communities. English is also used on education, media, commerce and
the government; and Chinese is spoken mainly by its Chinese community.
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