Dalaguete - Of Buntings, Beginnings, And Endings

It's a bit funny that most of the churches we visited during our SouthWalk had a wedding ceremony ongoing. It wasn't surprising though because it was Sunday when we went. I've been to Dalaguete before but only because it's the famous jump-off for those who wish to climb the highest point in Cebu - the Osmeña Peak.

It was another quick stop at Dalaguete that day. We needed to eat lunch at an eatery just near the church and the heritage park. When we arrived, we spotted some people who were part of the wedding entourage outside the church and it truly felt like we attended the wedding too. At least for me. It was festive and these colorful buntings were hung above! 

I love buntings. They spell festivity, happiness, and celebration! Celebrations in the province are always fun. It was a gloomy afternoon but the colorful buntings made the moment joyous.

The church was called San Guillermo de Aquitania Church (founded in 1711) - a famous structure in the town of Dalaguete. Beside the church is a huge octagonal three-story belfry.

As you might have known, the Philippines was colonized by Spain for over 300 years so it's not quite surprising why most of the architectures we have here had great Spanish influence.

More buntings ahead! As with all the other towns we visited, there's always a park just in front of the church. It seems like the usual thing in most towns. Just right outside the park was the eatery fronting another baywalk. I can already see a pattern. If you've followed my SouthWalk series, you know that there's always a church, a park, and a baywalk.

Interesting, isn't it?

It's probably not odd that right after the wedding in the church, a funeral mass/ceremony was also next in line. I've seen this happen before. The wedding entourage we saw left and it was followed by a drum corp with the performers dressed in purple.

They played what to me was a sad piece that somehow complemented the gloomy afternoon. For a few minutes that we were there, the mood of the place changed.

I am trying so hard to think of the perfect life metaphor for the turn of events but it's 3:18 AM as I'm writing this and I just can't think of any.

But now that I think about it - I guess there's no metaphor. Because a wedding followed by a funeral probably says something about life in general. A beginning. And an end. Or a beginning from an ending. Or like Semisonic's song goes.. every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ♪♫

Is that the metaphor? Perhaps.