THE recent fiesta of St. Augustine, the patron saint of Cagayan de Oro, last August 28 was really a success. There were admittedly mixed bittersweet emotions among the residents and visitors during the affair which extended up to a whole month due to quite a number of factors.

First of all, the economic crisis has dangerously seeped into our beloved Northern Mindanao and of course, that included Cagayan de Oro even though by far we are still the fastest growing economy outside of Metro Manila. This can be gleaned through the sorry low number of participants in the Kagay-an Dance Fest. That’s because it is hard for contingents to participate due to the expenses incurred in a troupe of 40 dance members.

Yet people still flock to the city during the fiesta. This can be deduced by the number of people who witness various events from the concert of Rivermaya to the 1^st Pyro Festival. Believe me, I cannot describe to you the tremendous volume of people witnessing the various events since Day One of the festival opened with Mayor Constantino Jaraula banging the agong to signal the start of the festivities via Kumbira 2009.

Xavier Estates Subdivision

LIVING the good life may sound somewhat clichéd but this is really true if you are in Cagayan de Oro City. If you are living somewhere at Xavier Estates for example and you wake up at 6 in the morning, what will greet you is dew and the freshness of air. Life is really laid-back here and the food is so yummy, so Southeast Asian in delight.

Take for example, an everyone’s favorite, dried fish. Dried fish as its name implies is dried and cured with salt so people will love its taste once its fried or sautéed and mixed with other ingredients. There are lots of amenities when you go downtown. One of the shopping malls here is the biggest all over Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines, where you can find virtually anything that you like.

Of course, modern life in Cagayan de Oro City is typically Western-influenced yet the culture here is retained by typical Kagay-anon characteristics which are full of respect indeed. For instance, kids still kiss the hands of their elders. If you want to experience more on that, then live somewhere in Cagayan de Oro.

CAGAYAN de Oro can proudly claim that there is a growing number of expats here in Cagayan de Oro. The bulk of the expats here are South Koreans and Westerners. Of course, they like to be here in the city because the cost of living here is relatively inexpensive over other countries.

And there are lots of homes that expats can choose. Actually, there are two kinds of expats who are living in Cagayan de Oro City. Some still go back to their home countries but come back here either during the Christmas season where it is not too cold or during summer to get that real tropical feeling.

They all agree on one thing – that people here are very spiritual. They hate the fast-pace demeanor of life in urban United States. In here, people are wealthy and happy at the same time. Everywhere you go, people are really hospitable and friendly. After all, that’s one characteristic Cagayan de Oro is well-known for it is called the City of Golden Friendship.

Beauties here are the exotic kind too – not as fair-complexioned as the Caucasians just the right kind of tan. Try to visit Cagayan de Oro sometime.