Ben Zubiri's "Sa Lungsod sa Buenavista"
The lullaby sung by parents to their children decades ago in Visayas and Mindanao that tells the story of three sisters where the youngest got married ahead of her elder sisters was written by the famous Cebuano songwriter Ben Zubiri.
Zubiri wrote the song while he was stationed in the town of Buenavista, Bohol, during the Second World War as part of the guerilla resistance movement. It was in the town of Buenavista where Zubiri met his wife, Luz del Rosario Butalid (born on January 2, 1917 and died on May 2007). Luz was the daughter of Claudio Remolador Butalid, a District Supervisor of the Bureau of Instruction and Bibiana del Rosario. The elder sisters of Luz were Carolina and Caridad.
Ben Zubiri, whose real name is Wenceslao, was born on September 28, 1911 and died on November 9, 1969. He was called "Iyo Karpo" and lived in San Nicolas, Cebu City, and composed the songs, foremost of which is the immortal song "Matud Nila", "Ikaduhang Bathala", "Katulog na Inday", "Tuhoi", "Mituo Ako", and "Pasayawa ko Day".
Ben was the son of Jesus Zubiri and Sergia Dacayana of San Nicolas, Cebu City. Jesus was from Mindanao and died on July 5, 1956 and left Ben with two commercial lots in Iligan City. Ben and Luz produced the following children: Elnora, Edna, Elvin, Eleanor, and Edwina.
The town of Buenavista, Bohol, is the third town after Tubigon, the port town facing Cebu. The first town after Tubigon is Clarin, named after the first civilian governor of Bohol, Don Aniceto Velez Clarin, who is of Cebuano descent from the Old Parian District. The son of Governor Clarin, named Jose A. Clarin (A stands for Aniceto) became a lawyer and senator representing the 11th Senatorial District composed of the provinces of Bohol, Misamis, and Surigao. When the American Congress enacted the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 more known as the Jones Law named after its author, Congressman William Atkinson Jones of the State of Virginia, the Senate was established with the Philippines divided into 12 senatorial districts, with Cebu as the 10th Senatorial District. Senator Jose Clarin also belongs to the Butalid Clan as his mother was a Butalid, making him a relative of the wife of Ben Zubiri. Senator Clarin served in the Senate from 1916 to 1935 (a town in Misamis Occidental is named after the Boholano Senator).
The second town is Inabanga, the birthplace of Luz Butalid, and next is the town of Buenavista (translated as good view), the town setting of the song composed by Ben Zubiri. The town's present chief executive is Ronald Lowell G. Tirol and the Vice Mayor is Dave R. Duallo.
Another member of the Butalid Clan became Governor of Bohol, his name was Rolando Gatal Butalid (he became a lawyer on January 22, 1955) he married Enriqueta Borja. When you hear the song "Sa Lungsod sa Buenvista" let it be remembered that it is not a myth or a legend as it truly happened that resulted in the marriage of Cebuano lad and a Boholana lass.
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