September 2025 – Page 2

📽️ Elena Jurado, born on May 19, 1901 in Sibonga, Cebu, made history as the first Filipina to star in Hollywood during America’s silent film era.

At just 18, Elena sailed to San Francisco to study radio—but fate had bigger plans. She caught the eye of filmmakers, acted in silent films, and wrote her own “photoplays.” American newspapers hailed her as the “Island Cinderella” and the “First Filipina Movie Star in Hollywood.”

📽️ Elena was a child of the Philippine-American War. Her father, a 22-year-old lineman of French ancestry assigned to install telephone poles in Sibonga, fell in love with her mother, Placida, a local Cebuana. Though unmarried, they raised Elena, who spent her early childhood at Camp Jossman in Guimaras, mingling with the children of U.S. military officers and civil officials.

🎞️ On April 13, 1922, Elena signed a contract with the Motion Picture Utility Corporation to star in two films to be shot in the Philippines — “Sunshine and Shadow” and “Wings of Love” — based on scenarios she herself wrote about life in the Philippines under American rule. Her stories impressed renowned actor Hobart Bosworth and novelist Peter B. Kyne.

📽️ Elena once declared:

“The fact that I am the first Filipina to enter the moving picture profession simply demonstrates that the Filipino women, like their sisters of the Caucasian race, will rise up from obscurity to limelight if they are given opportunity.”

💐 Elena Jurado passed away on her 73rd birthday, May 19, 1974, at an elderly home in Los Angeles County — leaving behind a legacy as a pioneer who paved the way for Filipinas in global cinema.

A New Wave of Real Estate Investment Emerges

In recent years, Cebu has witnessed a quiet yet powerful shift in its real estate landscape , the rapid rise of columbaries as a preferred investment and memorial option. Once seen merely as sacred resting places, columbaries are now gaining ground as high-value properties, attracting both end-users and bulk-buying investors who recognize their long-term potential.

At the forefront of this trend is the True Vine Garden Columbary, an architecturally striking, Kenneth Cobonpue-inspired garden columbary envisioned to be one of the most luxurious in the country. True Vine has been drawing attention not just for its serene ambiance but also for its impressive investment performance. Inurnments at the property are steadily picking up, and investors are flocking in, purchasing niches in bulk.

Market watchers note that prices at True Vine Garden Columbary have appreciated by an average of 15% per year, a figure that rivals returns from some traditional real estate sectors. This consistent growth has fueled a surge in confidence, turning what was once a sentimental purchase into a strategic addition to many investors’ portfolios.

Adding to the momentum are two newly launched columbaries that have entered the Cebu market within just 60 days. Golden Gate Memorial Garden and Columbary in Daanbantayan, and the San Vicente Parish Columbary in San Vicente, Liloan. Their swift emergence signals a strong and growing demand for memorial spaces in northern Cebu, a region that is also seeing a rise in residential and commercial developments.

Golden Gate Memorial Garden, Daanbantayan, Cebu

Industry insiders say the rise of columbaries is being driven by several factors: increasing land scarcity, the shift toward more sustainable and space-efficient memorial options, and a cultural shift in how Filipinos approach end-of-life planning. For many Cebuanos, pre-need columbary investments are becoming as normal as buying a condominium or memorial lot.

With prices climbing, demand surging, and new players entering the scene, the columbary sector in Cebu is no longer a niche. It has become one of the fastest-growing segments in local real estate, and for many, a lasting legacy that also makes sound financial sense.