TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Sadly, Santo Nino Basilica lost its Belfry in the 7.1 Philippine Earthquake

Monday, October 14, 2013

Sadly, Santo Nino Basilica lost its Belfry in the 7.1 Philippine Earthquake

Here are pictures of the Santo Nino Basilica in Cebu with its belfry intact. I took these pictures last July 2013. I'm also posting a recent picture of the damaged Santo Nino Basilica.

While I realize the recent Philippine earthquake has caused more serious catastrophes (people have died, and other churches in Bohol have collapsed and cannot be saved), I have a special attachment to the Santo Nino. It was here where my mother danced her prayer when I was newly born and dying from beri-beri. My mother credits the miraculous Child Jesus of the Santo Nino Basilica for my healing.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.