Philippine Baroque

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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Leaving the province of La Union and continuing north, we enter the province of Ilocos Sur. Our first stop was the town of Santa Maria, about 355 road kilometers away from Manila, to visit the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion, one of the four Baroque Churches of the Philippines inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993. We arrived at noon, only to discover that the church is closed everyday from 11:30am to 2:00pm. So unfortunately, we did not get to see or take photos of the interiors. The church dates back to 1769 and the separate bell tower to 1810.


Amazingly, the church's buttresses are almost completely intact, surviving the three events (the 1892 earthquake, the 1898 Philippine Revolution, and the end of World War II in 1945) that damaged or destroyed most of the churches and other Spanish-era buildings in the region.


I'm not crazy about the plaster relief of Our Lady of the Ascension added to a wall beside one of the side entrances, but it does identify the patroness of the church, aside from breaking the monotony of the brick.


I was intrigued by the brick outline of a window and a door on one wall which was constructed of stone rather than brick.


The original rectory at the back of the church is still in use by a priest who obviously likes gardening. Isn't it so charming?


The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion stands on a hill surrounded by a defensive wall. Pedestrians have to climb these steps from the street but there is a narrow, winding road at the rear for those who have vehicles.


Another set of stairs leads down to an overgrown path which passes through a tunnel of trees. I would dearly love to know where that path leads—it looks like a lovely walk (but not in the middle of the day).  LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #6

The city of Ferdinand III

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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Home base for our tour of the coastal towns of the province of La Union (Agoo, San Juan and Bacnotan) was Sunset Bay Beach Resort in San Fernando City, the capital of the province. The resort is just outside the city center, with a great view of the little finger of land called Poro Point. If the monsoon rains hadn't decided to come a few weeks early, the view of the sunset would have been great too, since the resort is on the western coast of Luzon, facing the South China Sea (or the West Philippine Sea, if you ask our government and media).


Sunset Bay has big rooms, free wifi, good food, friendly staff, and the casual atmosphere that we like in beach resorts. Our trip to La Union was not for its beaches, but we liked Sunset Bay so much we decided to stay there again on our way back home, still more than a week away.


San Fernando officially became a city only in 1998, but its history reaches back much farther—back to 1786 and the Spanish colonial times. The church of San Fernando, named after Saint William the Hermit, was first constructed then too, but, like many of the other churches in the region, the original structure was damaged during the 1892 earthquake and the 1898 Philippine Revolution, then destroyed in 1945 at the end of World War II. The current church was reconstructed in 1947–49, and St. William Parish Church became St. William Cathedral in 1970.


The facade of St. William Cathedral is almost nondescript, looking like any one of thousands of Catholic churches around the Philippines. The church is also difficult to visit, located as it is in the very busy and heavily-congested center of San Fernando City. I think the small but magnificent sanctuary is worth the bother though.


The resort that has placed San Fernando within the radar screen of Manila's weekend getaway-seeking crowd is the Mediterranean-themed Thunderbird Resort Poro Point. We just had to see it for ourselves, so we decided to have lunch at its restaurant, Olives, which has a wonderful view of the pool and the ocean. For those who are not fond of swimming and water sports, Thunderbird also has a golf course and a casino.


Thunderbird Resort is also the closest one can get to the Poro Point Lighthouse, at least until its rehabilitation is completed and the Poro Point Freeport Zone developed. In anticipation of this and to encourage tourism this early on, a festival centered around the lighthouse was created just this year. Called Sillag (Ilokano for "moonbeam"), the Poro Point Festival of Lights was launched on April 28. We missed it by two weeks!


The weather on our return trip a week later was better, and we were able to put in a few hours of pool time at Sunset Bay Beach Resort. Yes, the ocean's just a few steps away, but even at its calmest, the waters of La Union have too strong an undercurrent for my peace of mind. My photo makes it look like just a wet wall, but the pool's waterfall is strong enough for a vigorous back massage.


Then an early dinner at the resort's restaurant and bar… 


where I discovered the yummy Tanduay Ice while we watched the sun set—behind yet another gathering thundercloud.  LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #5

Slashed

I've already featured some of the food of Wooden Spoon restaurant. My husband and I ate there again recently, and I finally remembered to take a photo of its fun and colorful wall.

Protector

Catholicism and other Christian religions may be dominant in the Philippines, but many Filipinos see no inconsistency in adopting feng shui elements in their homes and commercial establishments. This jade fu dog, which is more properly called a Chinese guardian lion, was on one side of a bakery's display case. I assume there was another at the other side, since they're always supposed to come in pairs.

As long as it's not mine

Red bananas

Banana "ketchup" is a uniquely Filipino product. No, it doesn't have tomatoes; it really is made from bananas, with vinegar, sugar and spices. Think of it as a sweet and spicy banana sauce, similar in taste to Thai sweet chili sauce. Banana ketchup was invented during World War II when there was a shortage of tomatoes (and many other things besides), and its formulation is credited to Maria Ylagan Orosa (1892–1945), a food technologist, nationalist and war heroine. If you've ever mashed bananas, you know that it is light brown in color; banana ketchup is red because of food coloring—to make it more acceptable as a ketchup replacement to Filipinos and Americans in the country during the WWII era. But almost three-quarters of a century after the war, I wish Jufran and other makers of banana ketchup would drop the red food coloring and stop calling it ketchup. It's a flavorful and appetizing condiment which can—and should—be elevated to something more than "fake ketchup."

I Sacred Heart You

The flaming heart circled with thorns is the traditional symbol for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I hope this particular graffiti has the consent of the owner of the house. If it doesn't, I wonder how the artist reconciles his vandalism with his faith.

Say "Cheese!"

I'm afraid that I have to continue my Luzon Road Trip Series some other day, when I have more time to choose among the gazillion photos that I took and organize them into a narrative that makes sense. So until then, welcome back to my busy, messy, noisy and vibrant Metro Manila.

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Moving beyond cakes and pies, the owners of Banapple recently opened a new shop, one that specializes in sandwiches whose fillings have at least one kind of cheese. They named the sandwich and salad shop Sandwicheese. Get it? I didn't for several weeks. Slow.

Brick beauty

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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My husband and I had no plans of stopping in the town of San Juan while we were in the province of La Union, but a small cluster of brick buildings along the highway caught my eye on our way to Bacnotan and I requested that we stop for a few minutes. The cluster turned out to be the town center of San Juan, which, like many Spanish-era towns in the Philippines, are laid out with the town hall and church around a central plaza and park. "Presidencia" seems to be used quite commonly to refer to the town hall, though I have to admit that this is the first time this city-bred girl learned that tidbit. I find San Juan's wood and brick presidencia lovely.


No one knows the exact date of the founding of San Juan; the only sure fact is that it was already a town when the province of La Union was created in 1850. History has not been gentle to San Juan, which was razed to the ground by a fire during the 1896 Philippine Revolution, and devastated during World War II. Again, I cannot find much information about the church. After the 1896 fire, the church was rebuilt in 1902, and my guess is that the current church still has parts from that 1902 structure.


The church and the town are named after San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist), and the scene of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River is painted on the church's ceiling.


A small Marian grotto between the church and the rectory is also a memorial to a 19th century Ilokano poet named Mariano A. Gaerlan.


The town of San Juan lies on the western coast of Luzon and is best known for its earthenware pottery and its waves—waves strong enough for surfing (though not big wave surfing) especially from July to March. So it is not surprising that the coastline is depicted on the mural of the open-air stage in the town plaza. Also in the mural is the ruins of the town's baluarte or watchtower, which can still be seen at the seaside though we weren't able to visit it. The park seems to double as pasture for goats too.  LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #4

Family history

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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My husband and I spent two days in the province of La Union. One of the reasons for that was personal—he wanted to visit the town of Bacnotan, where his mother's family originally was from. He remembers visiting Bacnotan, 243 kilometers northwest of Metro Manila, a few times when he and his siblings were little children and just walking to the beach from the house. We found the house thanks to a map that his mother had drawn for him. Sadly, it is in a very bad state.


All but one of my mother-in-law's family moved to Metro Manila or the U.S. a long time ago and the brother who stayed behind passed away several years ago. Since then, no one has taken care of the property. In the spacious yard, we saw the well where, my husband recalls, their bath water was drawn from.


After visiting the house, we decided to walk around the vicinity and discovered that the town hall was just a few blocks away. A very young-looking town hall, considering the fact that Bacnotan was formally founded in 1599.


The Catholic parish of Bacnotan has existed since 1787, but the original church constructed by the Spanish was completely destroyed in a fire in 1877. The church was rebuilt in 1888–91 and, according to the plaque at the church entrance, was repaired in 1937. For that information to be included in the plaque, I assume that the damage was quite heavy; the plaque, however, does not state why the church needed major repairs. But Bacnotan was a setting for one of the many battles of the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th century, so it may be correct to guess that the church was damaged then.


The complete name of the church is Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, and there is a poorly rendered statue of the archangel in front of the church. Whoever painted it couldn't even distinguish the snake from the rock it was on and painted them the same red color.


The big bronze church bell, green with age, lies under an ivied trellis in the churchyard.  


Without a guide—then and right now on the web—it is is difficult for me to say anything with precision about the church other than the dates that are written on the plaque; I can only make guesses based on observation. And it seems to me that the 19th century church was made of red bricks, and the 1937 repair and reconstruction used marble and other stone blocks. Note the stained glass window here which depicts Mary carrying the infant Jesus with a dove representing the Holy Spirit—we will get back to it at the end of this post.


In many parts of the church, the bricks have been reinforced by concrete.


The exterior of the church may be a mix of 1891 and 1937 construction, but the interior of the church looks much, much newer than 1937. Like the Agoo Basilica, the ceiling is made of wood, but the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel is simpler. No arched aisles, no transept even, which I find unusual for a 19th century church. I have to admit, I find the simplicity of the ceiling and walls soothing. The retablo (reredos) behind the altar and the two similarly-designed iconostasis flanking the sanctuary are the most ornate items inside the church.


But even the retablo is simple compared to those of other churches in the country, having only three niches aside from the tabernacle. In the topmost niche is an icon of Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of the parish.


The stained glass window over the church's main doors depicts the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the remaining eleven of Jesus' apostles, described in the Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14 and 2:1-8.


Now we get back to the stained glass window on the church's facade. My husband and I discovered that there is a second one behind it, which can only be seen from the loft inside the church. It depicts Saint Michael the Archangel slaying the devil, not just a snake which symbolizes him—a much more powerful image befitting the history of the church than that awful statue. Unfortunately, the parish has not gotten around to repairing the loft yet, which means that very few people get to see this gem. The floorboards of the loft are very old and weak, and I had to walk right beside the wall where the wood was strongest—hence the skewing. I don't think we were even meant to be there; the gate of the stairs to the loft was unlocked but a chair was blocking it. My husband and I didn't know better, and there was no one to stop us, so we just moved the chair. I think the image was worth the risk. LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #3

Agog in Agoo

From May 12 to 24, my husband and I went on a road trip through the Central Luzon and Ilocos Regions, stopping at cities and towns that we've never visited before. My Manila goes outside Metro Manila for the next few days. I hope you enjoy the trip.

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After leaving Tarlac City on day two of our road trip, we spent a couple of hours in the town of Agoo (pronounced with three syllables), 200 kilometers northwest of Metro Manila on the western coast of Luzon, and one of the oldest towns in the province of La Union. It was already an important port and trade center populated by local Pangasinense and Japanese settlers before the Spanish, led by Juan de Salcedo, "founded" it in 1578. Salcedo was accompanied by two Franciscan missionaries, Fray Juan Bautista Lucarelli of Italy and Fray Sebastian de Baeza of Spain.


The Basilica of Our Lady of Charity, better known as the Agoo Basilica, was constructed only in 1976–78. The original church built by the Spanish was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1892.


The church was designed by Architect Ignacio Palma Bautista. The architecture is unusual because of its two bell towers. The left bell tower is hexagonal and has four layers, though the actual belfry seems to be only the top two layers, and I'm not really sure about the top layer. The second layer from the bottom seems to hold only horn loudspeakers.


The right bell tower is designed after an espadaña or bell-gable, which is less expensive than full towers and is more often used for smaller churches and parishes.


The main doors are etched with what look to me to be Hebrew characters. I cannot read what they say, but the two doors remind me so much of the two tablets on which God inscribed the Ten Commandments which he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. I will have to ask the help of Dina for these doors.


For worshipers who may have forgotten their things at home, candles, rosaries, scapulars and medallions are sold just inside the doors. It may be just me, but I wish the parish would build a special kiosk outside the church for this; I keep thinking of the story of Jesus going ballistic against the money changers and animal sellers in the Temple. 


Inside, what I found most striking was the church's wooden ceiling. Isn't it gorgeous? 


The ceiling over the aisles—which always have pews in our churches because of the number of church-goers—are just as beautiful and made even warmer because of the stained glass windows beside them.


The confessionals are designed to match the ceiling. One stands in front of the stained glass window showing the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves. It is near the entrance, hence the holy water font on its right. The framed marble relief on the left shows Jesus falling while carrying the cross to Golgotha, one of three times he does so in the Way of the Cross.


A small plaza in the grounds is dedicated to the Blessed Pope John Paul II, who elevated the church to a basilica minore in 1982. 


Across the church is the Jose D. Aspiras Civic Center, from where I took the first photo. It is named after a former Philippine Tourism Minister and major benefactor of the church who was from Agoo. It made me smile to see that it echoes the design of the church. However, the O-C in me wishes that the pole-lined brick path was also centered on the civic center's entrance and not just the church's.  LUZON ROAD TRIP SERIES #2