It all started during early 1900’s, before the emergence of the Second World War. It was a government-owned land known as Banilad Estate. Nicomedes Burgos and his family were the first settlers in the land. And because they were the first to live in the vicinity, he owned mostly the entire fields. His family lived near the old well (presently located in Riverside St.), which served as their source of water. He and his sons usually spent their day in their garden planting a variety of crops and flowers in the vast fields of the western side of the land (presently known as Sitio Cahipa). They surrounded their garden with tall banana trees which served as a boundary marker. Nicomedes and his family lived productively and peacefully for quite some time, but not until the World War II broke out.
After the World War II ended, a tall man named Atty. Briones and a companion negotiated with Nicomedes’ son, Jesus, to procure the land. The negotiation went well and the land was transformed to a hippodrome which is an open-air stadium with an oval course for horse and chariot races.The place was famous and frequently visited by horse racing aficionados not only from the city but from all over the entire Cebu province. After that, the Burgos clan continued to live in the hippodrome and Nicomedes’ sons worked as caretakers of horses. The entrance road of the stadium started from what is presently called Pacific Foundry and ended to the Cahipa Basketball court. Before, they called this path as “Stairway to Heaven”. Then, the Grand Stand was located from the presently well-known Blue House to St. Jude St..
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An old hippodrome |
In the year 1965, squatters from Ponce Compound and Moryo-moryo, a place near Villagonzalo, were relocated to the hippodrome. The population of the land began to increase in number and houses were built. Subsequently, a resolution of the City of Cebu declared to encompass Barrios (now called as Barangays) in each area. One of the Barrios is Hipodromo and this marked the start of Barangay Hipodromo. With this, people in the barrio agreed to have an elementary school constructed in the center of the hippodrome.
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| Brgy. Hipodromo with its perfect oval shape |
At present, no traces of horses and chariots can be seen in the entire neighborhood but instead concrete and sometimes wooden houses of the people living in the place, including the Burgos clan. Barangay Hipodromo is the only village in the city that has a perfect oval-shaped road. Every 8th of December, the people in the barangay celebrate the Panaghiusa Festival in honor of the Immacuate Concepcion. A street dancing competition is usually conducted with contigents from every sitio of Hipodromo.
A picture of Panaghiusa festival 2008 in Hipodromo, Cebu City
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