Monthly Archives: April 1999

Church of St. Bartolomew (Nagcarlan, Laguna)

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From the Nagacarlan Underground Cemetery, we proceeded to the Nagcarlan town proper. A notable feature of this town is its old and narrow 3-storey Spanish-era houses surmounted by small watchtowers.  In those days, ostentatious displays of wealth were frowned upon so that the lot sizes were made quite small.  To get around this restriction, the wealthy residents built up rather than outward.  Hence, the tall structures. 
      
Church of St. Bartolomew
 
Opposite the market is the town’s tiered-wall St. Bartholomew Church.  It was first built of light materials in 1583 by  Fr. Tomas de Miranda.  The second church, of brick and stone, was built in 1752 by Fr.  Cristobal Torres but was badly damaged by fire in 1781.  It was repaired by Fr. Atanacio de Argobajo soon after and continued by Fr. Fernando de la Puebla who also built the four-storey bell tower. Fr. Vicente Velloc restored it in 1845 in “Laguna Baroque” style and added a choir loft.   
       
The church’s facade has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked and topped by semicircular arched windows.  The super-positioned orders consists of coupled columns on the first level and single columns (reaching only halfway on the walls) on the second.  Its pediment has a Baroque-inspired slightly curved raking cornice. The unusual bell tower is topped by Muslim-inspired crenelations.  Built on alternating layers of stone and brick, its blue and white tiles impart a Moorish tone to an interior which features fine woodcarving in its 3 tableaus of antique santos, stained glass windows depicting Jesus Christ and the saints and a unique depiction of Purgatory in mural.

Underground Cemetery (Nagcarlan, Laguna)

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Underground Cemetery

Jandy and I left San Pablo City early in the afternoon of Easter Sunday.  It was just a short 14-km. drive from the city to Nagcarlan, passing by the tuba and lambanog-producing town of Rizal (formerly a barrio of Nagcarlan called Pauli).  Along the way, you can’t help but notice bamboo scaffolding linking coconut trees used by tuba gatherers.  Nagcarlan is Laguna’s vegetable garden and is the  biggest supplier of sweet lanzones (harvested  September to November) to Manila.  

Legend has it that the town’s name was a corruption of the name of Ana Kalang, a rich and generous benefactress much love by the townspeople.  Her name was eventually corrupted by speech to the more mellifluous Nanang Clara and Nang Clara before it became Nagcarlan.  In time, the town bore that name.   

Our first stop, before reaching the poblacion, was the Underground Cemetery, the first and only one of its kind in the country.  We parked our car at the service station opposite it. From this vantage point, I couldn’t help but admire its restored scrollwork-decorated octagonal red brick walls and  elaborate wrought iron gates.  Upon entering, we were ushered into an  enclosed circular garden surrounded by 240 above-ground crypts similar to Manila’s Paco Cemetery.  At the opposite end of the red tiled walkway is a dome-like chapel atop a hillock.  Quite spooky.

Entrance to Underground Cemetery

The first thing we saw upon entering the chapel is the Sto. Entierro, the glass bier of the dead Christ, at this time enshrouded.  The planked ceiling was water-damaged and in dire need of repair.  We were welcomed by the caretaker who narrated the history of the place.

An exclusive burial ground for Spanish friars, the cemetery was built in 1845 by Franciscan Fr. Vicente Velloc (or “Belloc” as spelled by some artifacts or documents). The crypt was a secret meeting place of Katipuneros in the 1890s and the historic Pact of Biak-na-Bato was first planned here by Pedro Paterno and Gen. Severino Taino in 1897.

In 1898, Emilio Jacinto, the “Brains of the Katipunan,” was captured here after being wounded in an encounter in Mahabang-Tanaw in Majayjay.  The Underground Cemetery was made into a National Shrine on August 1, 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260 and again by Exec. Order No. 1505 on June 11, 1978. 

Still in use until 1981, the chapel was built in a strange arabesque style and has blue and  white tiles.  We went down the  stairs leading down to the underground crypt which contain tombs and burial plaques. I was, however, not allowed to take pictures or videos.   According to the caretaker, Fr. Velloc  also  built an  underground passage leading to 5 underground chapels where he was said to have held solitary masses.  Very spooky indeed.  It is also said to have continued all the way to Mt. Banahaw. The passage was then sealed off and its location now unknown.  Our visit ended, we signed the customary guest book and left.

Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery: open Tuesdays to Sundays. Admission is free.  Donations are needed and welcomed.

The Lakes of San Pablo City (Laguna)

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San Pablo is also known as the “City of the Seven Lakes” and number one on my list of places too see is these lakes.   Within the city limits are 7 (actually 8 including a very small one) crater lakes of extinct volcanoes, all with scenic charm and worth seeing.  Total aggregate area is 210 hectares.  Leaving our car at the cathedral grounds, Jandy and I walked towards the City Hall where, as told to us by residents, the 105-hectare Sampaloc Lake could be found. It is the largest, nearest and most accessible of all the lakes.  The other lakes have an aggregate area of 34 hectares.

Sampaloc Lake

We viewed the circular Sampaloc Lake from the massive stone balustrade off the street above the lake.  It is also best viewed from the stone benches and picnic tables of the small Dona Leonila Park located adjacent to the City Hall and accessed by an 89-step concrete stairway (built 1912 to 1916).

According to legend, there once lived a well-to-do but childless couple with a large orchard of tamarind (sampaloc) trees which bore the sweetest fruits in all the land.  Proud and selfish, they fenced in the orchard and placed a big watchdog to guard it.  God was not pleased with the selfish couple.

He sent a fairy disguised as an old and hungry woman beggar to beg for some of their fruit.  They refused to give her any and instead let the watchdog loose to bite the woman.  Before turning away from the inhospitable spot, the old beggar touched the tree with her wrinkled, skinny hands and told the couple “You shall be punished for your selfishness.”

After she left, a terrible storm broke out with heavy rain falling throughout the night.  The following morning, a vast expanse of water covered what used to be the couple’s orchard.  Through the transparent waters, the dark mass of the tamarind trees still rooted to the sunken ground, could be seen.  From that day onwards, it was called Sampaloc Lake.

The lake is 1 km. across and 27 m. deep and has a fairly large river flowing through it.  A 4-km. cemented peripheral road (Dagatan Blvd.) encircles the lake which also serves as a walking path.  Around the lake are floating fishpens and cages (bangus and tilapia), water hyacinths (a special variety used for sandal weaving) and several lakeside restaurants (serving Filipino and Chinese cuisine) standing on piles along the shore.  The massive silhouette of Mt. San Cristobal forms a beautiful background on the east.

Lake Calibato

After exploring Sampaloc Lake, we retraced our way back to the cathedral and our car.  Driving south along Narcarlan Road, we parked within the entrance of Villa Reyes in Brgy. Sto. Angel (within is Kalibato Lake Resort).  From there, we made a 500-m. walk along a dirt track to the edge of Calibato Lake. It also has fishpens and has a fine view of Mt. San Cristobal and Mt. Banahaw.

According to legend, hundreds of year ago the place was once a beautiful valley with many kinds of verdant trees beneath which are numerous stone-covered paths called Cali-Cali.  It was inhabited by simple, peaceful and hardworking people who gathered firewood, picked fruits and hunted wild animals in the nearby mountains using the Cali-Cali.

The time came when no more wild animals were left.  Diwata, the goddess of the mountain, was deeply concerned.  She disguised herself as an old woman, going from place to place and observing how the people lived.  To her dismay, she found out that the people were living luxuriously beyond their means.

To punish them she sent a big storm into the valley, creating a fearsome flood that poured from the mountain and submerging everything in its path – trees, people, houses and the Cali-Cali.  Diwata followed this up with a strong earthquake.  The next day, people from the other side of the mountain saw a lake where the valley used to be. They named the lake Calibato after Cali-Cali and bato, the stones that covered the path.

With our limited time, we were not able to visit the other lakes (Malabunot Lake, Mohicap Lake, Palakpakin Lake,Pandin Lake and Yambo Lake) as we had to return to Manila.  Visiting the lakes involve varying amounts of hiking and some tourists may need the local guides to get there.  Just the same they are all worth visiting.

San Pablo Cathedral (San Pablo City, Laguna)

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Jandy and I were on our way back to Manila from Sariaya (Quezon) when we got caught up in a horrendous traffic jam in San Pablo City.  Quite tired and hungry, we decided to leave the traffic, stay overnight in the city and leave for Manila the next day.  We went around the city looking for a place to stay before deciding on the City Inn Hotel.  Here, we got an airconditioned room with bath and TV.  After watching the Kirk Douglas classic Spartacus, a Holy week staple, in the comfort of our room, we retired to sleep.

The next day, Easter Sunday, we decided to explore, in detail, what this rapidly developing Southern Tagalog city had to offer.

San Pablo Cathedral

Upon departing our inn, we first decided to make a belated visita iglesia to the city’s San Pablo Cathedral for prayers.  The church was first built with light materials by Fr. Mateo Mendoza in 1586 and the second, made of brick and stone, was built in 1629 by Fr.  Hernando Cabrera.  The present building was built in 1714 by Fr. Francisco Eloriaga on a foundation laid down by Fr. Juan Labao in 1680.

Its Neo-Classical facade has superimposed coupled Doric columns and windows crowned with triangular and segmented pediments on the second level.  Two balustrades, mounted on rectangular piers, flank the unique pediment embellished by a centrally located decorative round window.  On its left is a 4-storey bell tower with semicircular arched windows and topped by a pointed roof.

City Inn Hotel: 126 C. Colago Ave., San Pablo City, Laguna.

Rodriguez/Gala Residence (Sariaya, Quezon)

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Saturday was a rest day, so we decided to go swimming at the  private swimming pool of the Rodriguez/Gala Residence.  Designed by Arch. Juan Nakpil, this American-era residence was built in the 1930s by Dr. Isidro Rodriguez (a relative of Jun) and Dona Gregoria Gala and its furniture was designed by Gonzalo Puyat.

Rodriguez/Gala Residence

In the 1940s, during the war, its second floor was occupied by Japanese Army officers (the family stayed at the ground floor) and was bombed during the liberation.  The first bomb exploded in the front gate, the second blasted a huge, 20-ft. deep hole (from where the big swimming pool was built) and the third, a dud, went through the roof and got stuck in the stair banisters.

Swimming at the Rodriguez/Gala Residence

Before leaving Sariaya, we decided to take home some of the  towns famous mazapan sweets for pasalubong. Sariaya’s other pasalubong options include pinagong apas (turtle-shaped bread), espasol, broas, ube halaya and agit-it and woven buntal and buri products.  We also visited the Sina-Una Arts and Antique Shop along the national highway (in front of the public market).  Antiques sold here include wood carvings, period furniture, cherubs, aparadors, ceramics, angelitos and santos.  

Rodriguez/Gala Residence: 44 Rizal St., Sariaya, Quezon

Good Friday Parade of Carrozas (Sariaya, Quezon)

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The Sto. Entierro
After our visita iglesia in Tayabas and Lucban, we drove back to Sariaya, in time for the traditional Good Friday parade of carrozas (carriage) at 5 P.M..  This parade, a tableaux from the ministry, passion and death of Christ, was accompanied by a huge crowd of devotees.
 
 
At the parade were about 15 tastefully-designed, silver-plated and antique carrozas (or andas) of different sizes, some grand and ostentatious beyond comprehension, and festooned with floral arrangements.  All are pulled by devotees as they navigated the streets of Sariaya in a long and winding procession after attending the late afternoon holy mass.  
 
 
Each carroza carried different images including colorfully decorated statues of heirloom santos (saints), the town’s patron saint Francis of Assisi among them, all resplendently attired with expensive finery, and the Sto. Entierro (meaning “holy burial”), glass case of the dead Jesus Christ in state.  According to Jun, one of the carrozaswas donated by his family.  The parade ended at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.  After the procession, eager Sariayahins try their best to get the decorations and flowers (which they place in the altars of their homes) from the carrozas, especially those from the Sto. Entierro.

Visita Iglesia (Tayabas and Lucban, Quezon)

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Today being Good Friday, Jandy and I also joined Jun and Jane’s relatives for the visita iglesia, the traditional visit to 7 churches.  We motored to the nearby town of Tayabas, just  23 kms. from Sariaya, and dropped by the St. Michael the Archangel Minor Basilica were we recited the 14 Stations of the Cross.  The longest Spanish colonial church in the country and also one of the oldest, this 103-m. long church was first built by the Franciscans in 1585, repaired in 1590 by Pedro Bautista, changed into brick in 1600, destroyed by an earthquake in 1743 and later rebuilt and enlarged in 1856 by building a transept and cupola. The church’s roof was changed to galvanized sheets in 1894 and its belfry contains an 18th century clock, the only one of its kind in the country, that chimes every 30 minutes.  It was made into a minor basilica on October 18, 1988 and has an antique organ, a balcony over the altar and a now unused tunnel from the altar. 

St. Michael the Archangel Minor Basilica
Our second and final stop of the visita iglesia was the town of Lucban, a quiet old Franciscan town of 35,128  people whose name was derived from a delicious fruit of the same name which looks like a small pomelo or suha. The “poor man’s Baguio,” Lucban lies 1,500 feet above sea level at the cool, damp shadow of Mt. Banahaw de Lucban whose clear, ice-cold waters flow through the little canals of the town.  It is almost as cool as  Baguio City in December.  There are also has numerous old and stately Spanish colonial houses.
 
Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
Here, in front of the town’s shady plaza, is the moss and vine-covered Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.  It was first built in 1593, ruined in 1629, reconstructed between 1630-1640, seriously damaged by fire in 1733 and reconstructed in 1738. Its convent was built in 1743.  It was partially destroyed in 1945 during World War II and finally reconstructed by the Philippine Historical Commission in 1966. However, it’s somewhat modern interior, which enshrines the venerated image of San Isidro Labrador, doesn’t blend in with its centuries-old exterior (my opinion).   The church is surrounded by gardens and grottos and fenced in by old stone walls called quince-quince.

 

Church of St. Francis of Assisi (Sariaya, Quezon)

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We next walked towards the town’s church and plaza.  A typical Spanish town, the town’s church (St. Francis of Assisi) and the municipal hall all face the plaza.  The plaza has a circular patio flanked by a row of 8 torch-bearing statues of the Muses of Liberty as well as a statue of our National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, inaugurated on December 30, 1924.

Church of St. Francis of Assisi
The present St. Francis of Assisi Church was first built in 1599, the second in  1632 and the third in 1641.   The structure, on its new site after the earthquake of 1743, was built in 1748.  Ruins of the original church still remain in Brgy. Tumbaga.   Inside the church are some fine old santos and the venerable image of the famous Crucified Christ of Burgos (Sto. Cristo de Burgos).  An object of pilgrimage every Friday, the image was sent from Spain by galleon and installed in the old church at Tumbaga.  The church and the village was burned after a Moro attack but the image was found intact amid the ashes.  When the settlement was transferred to its new location, the image was wrapped in white cloth and carried by four men.  After resting under a great tree, the four men found the image  to be extremely heavy and could not lift it even with help from the other townspeople.  Taken as a sign from God, they built the new church on the site.

The Ancestral Houses of Sariaya (Quezon)

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The next day, Good Friday, Jandy and I explored the town’s ancestral houses in detail, bringing along my point and shoot camera and videocam.  Sariaya is known for its ornate and imposing American-era mansions built by illustrados (landed gentry) like the Cabunags, Enriquez, Gala, Luna, Obordos, Ramas and Rodriguez clans, all coconut planters who once grew rich from 1919-30 from the once profitable coconut industry.  In 1945, the town was set afire by Japanese troops, destroying many of its stately ancestral homes.  A big fire also occurred in the 1960s.  

Dona Margarita Rodriguez Ancestral House

The burnt-out shells of these homes can still be seen around town.  Surviving ancestral homes are scattered around the town plaza and along Rizal St., perpendicular to the highway.  They create a beautiful and nostalgic setting that reflects the town’s illustrious past.  Beside the house we stayed in is the old, and equally stately, ancestral home owned by Jun’s grandmother, the late Dona Margarita Rodriguez, an old maid who died in the 1950s.

Enriquez Mansion
Beside the town’s church is the impressive Enriquez Mansion at the corner of Gen. Luna and Rizal Street, along the national highway.  Formerly owned by Natalio Marquez, Quezon’s former governor, it was sold to Bienvenido Marquez.  An American-style house, it has a red-tiled roof and Spanish-Moorish inspired arches and twin turrets.     At the back, along Rizal St., is the then Alvarez Residence.  Built in 1703, it is the oldest in the town and it once served as the town’s municipal hall. 

The Rodriguez Ancestral House (Sariaya, Quezon)

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Prior to Holy Week, I got an invitation from Celso “Jun” and Jane Segismundo, my friends from Couples For Christ, to join them and Jane’s relatives to visit Jun’s ancestral home in Sariaya, Quezon.  For company, I decided to bring along my son Jandy.  Our convoy of cars departed 1:30 AM, Holy Thursday (April 1) to avoid the Holy Week rush.  It was an uneventful, leisurely but very rainy (unusual for Holy Week) 2.5-hr. (124.64-km.) trip (including 2 stops) via the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) up to its terminus (Calamba City), then passing by Mt. Makiling, Sto. Tomas and Tanauan City in Batangas, Alaminos and San Pablo City in Laguna and then Tiaong and Candelaria in Quezon.  We arrived at the town by 4 AM.

Rodriguez Ancestral House

Sariaya is located 1,200 ft. above sea level near the foothills of 2,177-m. high Mt. Banahaw, an active volcano shrouded in legend and mysticism.  The town’s name was derived from Sadiaia, the former name of the Lagnas River. 

The second floor sala (living room)

The house that we stayed in was featured inside brochures concerning Quezon province and in pages 138-141 of the book “Philippine Ancestral Homes” by Fernando N. Zilacita and Martin I. Tinio, Jr..  Newly restored, it was built during the Spanish era by Jun’s maternal ancestors, the Rodriguez’s.  The house was enlarged in the 1920s and was partially burned during the Japanese rampage.  It had about 7 huge bedrooms, a huge second floor sala, an equally spacious dining room and kitchen and quarters for the caretakers.  Like most houses made during that era, it has a grand stairway, tall doors, high ceilings (even inside the bathrooms), antique period furniture, huge stained glass and capiz windows, verandillas, narra plank flooring and wall paintings.  

The ground floor zaguan

Upon our arrival, Jandy and I opted to sleep at the mansion’s ground floor bedroom (1 of 4).  It had its own lavatory and a silohiya bed which didn’t actually fit my 5′-10″ frame.  I found out later that it was for the children’s bedroom.  For reasons I never bothered to ask, all the others slept together at the second floor sala.  Fear of ghosts maybe?

Rodriguez Ancestral House: cor. Rizal & Daliz St., Sariaya, Quezon.