RAFI Releases Book on Iconic Casa Gorordo

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) released the new edition of Casa Gorordo in Cebu by Resil B. Mojares last Dec. 15.

Dec 15 is also the anniversary of Casa Gorordo Museum since it opened on the same day in 1983.

The first edition of the book was first released in 1983, in time for the opening of the museum.

It enjoyed several reprintings before it became out of print. Now, 34 years after it was published, RAFI released an updated version of the book with a new cover and layout.

The book received the National Book Award, the most prestigious award given for books produced in the country, for the Social Science category.

The book is an attempt at a socio-historical construction; a documentation of the changes in the life of both a house and the Parian district in the closing decades of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century.

Dr. Mojares, who is one of the country’s leading cultural scholar, said in his message during the launch that RAFI with the opening of Casa Gorordo became the forerunner of museums in Cebu, especially since in the 1980s museums were almost unheard of.

Casa Gorordo in Cebu is the first offering of the Research & Publications division of RAFI’s Culture & Heritage unit. Several books are in the pipeline and scheduled for release in 2018.

In her opening remarks during the launching of the book, Ms. Dominica Chua, RAFI President and Chief Operating Officer, said that RAFI sees publications as instrument of documenting past knowledge and practices so they will not be just relegated into memory.

At the same time, publications, she said, are means of imparting the Cebuanos’ story which has to be proudly shared to the world.

“Sharing our story (begets) pride in our identity and heritage,” Chua said.

Ms. Amaya Aboitiz-Fansler, RAFI Board of Trustees member, presented the book to the public, together with Mojares.

Also present in the launch were Ambassador Vicente Bandillo, who is also a poet; cultural scholars such as Dr. Erlinda Alburo and Dr. Madrileña dela Cerna; partners from Cebu’s museum network; members of the academe and the literary circle of Cebu; librarians from different universities of Cebu; and friends from the media.

The new edition of Casa Gorordo in Cebu is sold at the Casa Gorordo Museum shop at Php 500 for softbound copy and Php 1,500 for hardbound copy. For inquiries or reservations of the book, please contact +63 32 411-1700 local 24536.