The country’s oldest and most precious Christian relic, the
Santo Nino, is with Magellan’s Cross, the most popular symbol of Cebu. Expressive of the pleasing oppositions in Cebuano culture, it is at once both foreign and native. In history, it was made by Flemish artisans, brought to the island by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In local tradition, it is a miraculous piece of wood, cast out of the Visayan sea, worshipped from “times immemorial”.
On the other hand, it is a powerful deity that, in the colonial period, was called Capitan General and honored with a 21-gun salute when taken out from the church for a procession. On the other hand, it is an icon that “disappears” to become a playful and innocent child cavorting with peasants and fishermen. Invoked by rulers and subjects to the present day, enshrined in business suites and cardboard shanties, it is metaphor for Cebuanos as a people and for what they desire.
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