Tartanilla Festival

12th of June (Cebu City)
The Tartanilla Festival is Cebu City's way of preserving the tartanilla (horse-drawn carriage) heritage by reviving the oldest mode of transportation to ply some of the city's streets. The festival coincides with the city's celebration of the country's Independence Day starting from June 1 to 12. gaily decorated tartanillas driven by kutseros ply the streets of some of the city's barangays and compete for several awards.

Kalesa [Tartanilla]
 
Kalesa in Manila

A kalesa or calesa (sometimes called a karitela) is a horse drawn calash (carriage) used in the Philippines. The word, also spelled calesa, predates the Spanish conquest and descends ultimately from an Old Church Slavonic word meaning "wheels." This was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford.They are rarely used in the streets nowadays except in tourist spots and some rural areas. The Kalesa driver is commonly called as “Cochero” or “Kutsero”. When “Cochero” direct the horse to turn right he says “mano” and he says “silla” to direct the horse to turn left .

Levi Celerio, a National Artist of the Philippines in music, composed a song entitled "Kalesa".

Physical description

A kalesa looks like an inclined cart. It has two round wheels on each side and two rows of seats that can accommodate four persons. The driver sits on a block of wood located at the front of the cart near the horse.

 Uses for transportation

Kalesas parked in front of Vigan Cathedral.When the kalesa was introduced in the 18th century during the Spanish colonial period, it became one of the modes of transportation in the Philippines, especially for commerce. Rich Filipinos known as the ilustrados used the kalesa for personal travel as well as for the transport of goods to nearby areas.

Although the kalesa has become a rarity, some century-old examples are still preserved in areas of the Philippines, such as the city of Vigan and Laoag.[4] Kalesas can also be found in Intramuros where they serve tourist purposes and Binondo (the original calesas) in the city of Manila and also in Iligan City, which has a street where decorated kalesas can be taken for a ride. In Cagayan, kalesas are common, especially in Tuao and many other municipalities. In Tuguegarao City, they are mixed in traffic with private cars, motorcycles, sidecar motorcycles, jeepneys, trucks, and bicycles.

Commonly called the kalesa, in downtown Cebu it remains an attraction parading its design of antiquity, color, gentle speed and the engine that breathes life into it.

According to a kutsero (kalesa driver), a minimum fare of only 5 pesos will take you to nearby Carbon Market or even up to the southern barangays of the city like Mambaling and Cogon, Pardo. But they are also open for a pakyaw (full service) especially for tourists who want a ride to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the City Hall or Fort San Pedro.