CASA GORORDO MUSEUM

CASA GORORDO MUSEUM

A House in Parian

 

Casa Gorordo is a historic house museum in Cebu, the oldest city in the philippines. It is located in the Parian district, a locus of vibrant economic and cultural activity throughout centuries of colonial rule and in the modern times. Inhabited by Chinese immigrants upon its founding in 1614, it was already a suburb of wealthy mestizo families by the early 20th century.

This fine example of a traditional Filipino house known locally as “balay nga tisa” was built in the 1850’s. It was occupied by the Gorordo family in 1863, the year Cebu opened to world trade.

The museum encapsulates the lifestyle of a household in an increasingly cosmopolitan provincial city from the colonial era up to the outbreak of world war II . In its spaces and objects, one is invited to discover and enjoy the history and culture of a Filipino city, of a dynamic people, of a house in the Parian.

The Casa Gorordo Museum is centerpiece of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation. Inc. (RAFI). It aims to promote awareness and love for Cebuano-Filipino history, culture and arts to local and international patrons. This is in line with the foundation’s vision of “touching people, shaping the future.”

 

SILONG / ZAGUAN

The ground floor

The ground floor of the house called the silong or zaguan was mainly used as a storage area. Agricultural produce from the family’s plantations, farming implements, and the tartanilla or horse drawn carriage, were kept here.

           

Today, the silong is subdivided into various museum spaces. There is a lobby, a receiving area and an audio-visual room. The exhibits here introduce visitors to the social history of the city and the community that Casa Gorordo is a part of.