Category Archives: Ancestral Houses

Laperal White House (Baguio City, Benguet)

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Laperal White House

The Laperal White House, also known as  Laperal Guesthouse, is known today as the “White House” due to its noticeable white exterior paint.  It was built by Filipino businessman Roberto Laperal, Sr. (1890-1966, he also built the Arlegui Guest House in 1929) in the 1930s. He and his wife Victorina (nee Guizon) Laperal made the house as their summer vacation home.

The narrow and elongated house, made with narra and yakal wood, was designed in Victorian style with its wooden planks and gables and steep roof. Inside are four rooms and a narrow, winding staircase.  The house withstood many natural and man-made disasters, such as the July 16, 1990 Luzon earthquake.

In 2007, the house was sold, by Roberto Laperal Jr. and his wife, Purificacion Manotok Laperal, to  Chinese Filipino billionaire tycoon Lucio Tan who had it renovated and refurbished, with proper maintenance, then made it into a tourist attraction. From then on, the house was opened to the public.

In 2013, the tycoon’s Tan Yan Kee Foundation transformed the ground floor of the house into a Philippine Bamboo Foundation (PBFI) museum (Ifugao Bamboo Carving Gallery) which houses Filipino artworks made of bamboo and wood. Today, it is the home of a new, upscale fine-dining restaurant called Joseph’s (owned by the older brother of ABS-CBN News broadcast journalist, Bernadette Sembrano) which was opened in December 2022 and serves Continental and contemporary French cuisine.

According to believers, the house is haunted, with stories of sightings of a little girl (said to be the three-and-a-half year old child of the owner who was killed while running, across the street, towards her nanny) standing motionless on the third step of the staircase fronting the house; a woman (said to be the nanny who killed herself in one of the bedrooms) looking out the third floor glass windows; and a white figure coming down, from the attic, down to the front entrance.

During World War II, the basement of the house was used by the Japanese as a garrison where, if stories are to believed, many were brutally tortured and executed, including members of the Laperal family.  Don Roberto survived the war but accidentally slipped, and fell to his death, from the stairs in front of the house.  He, as well as ghosts of family members, the torture and execution victims, as well as Japanese soldiers (seen in the upper bedrooms), still haunt the house.  These spirits are believed to violently push and scratch visitors to the place.

The front porch of the house. Don Roberto died here and the ghost of a little girl also appears here

Lucio Tan never stayed in the place during his trips to Baguio.   The 2010 horror movie White House, starring Gabby Concepcion, Lovi Poe, Iza Calzado and Maricar Reyes, was shot inside the building.

Laperal White House: 14 Leonard Wood Rd., Baguio City, 2600 Benguet. Coordinates: 16°24′40″N 120°36′17″E.

The Ancestral Houses of Juban (Sorsogon)

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Part of Sorsogon Countryside Tour

After breakfast and checking out of Residencia del Hamor in Casiguran, we again boarded our coaster for the 56.4-km. (one-hour, 15-min.) drive to Matnog Port. Along the way, we passed by the town of Juban and made a short stopover as we saw some well-preserved ancestral houses along the highway. The old bahay na bato (“stone houses”) of Juban were once the residences of some of the town’s richest families – the Bendillos, Guevaras, Grajos, Alindogans, Guarins, Lasalas and Gorospes.

Casa Feliz

One such structure that still exists is Casa Feliz. Built in 1898, the first owner of the house was Don Leoncio Grajo who was gifted this house by his father when he passed the bar exams in the early 1900s.  Leoncio was elected the First Representative of Sorsogon in the Philippine Assembly of 1912. One of the most beautiful old houses in Juban, it became Don Leoncio’s district office during his incumbency.

Casa Feliz

After his death, his son, Leoncio Grajo Jr., inherited the house. However, to pursue his career in Manila, the young Leoncio had to sell the place to his sister Lourdes Grajo Hubilla. As she grew old, Lourdes decided to transfer ownership of the house to Dr. Teresita Lasala-Ruth, a neighbor.

Lasala-Guarin Ancestral House

With the help of National Historical Commission of the Philippines, she really spent so much effort to restore this once almost dilapidated ancestral house. The restoration took over a year.  It was named after Dr. Teresita’s mother, Felicidad.  Jesus N. Lasala is the current owner of Casa Feliz.  The house was converted into a bed and breakfast with eight rooms.   Casa Feliz has annexes –Ann’s Garden (a function hall) and Café Jeronimo (a bar and restaurant), located a block near the old house.

Casa Feliz is not the only ancestral houses we saw along the highway in Juban. There are 3 more old houses nearby but these ancestral houses are private and do not accept guests.

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

Like most bahay na bato, the foundations of these two-storey, gaily painted houses are made from Spanish-style, solid stone blocks or bricks where the overhanging wooden upper-storey rests on. The exteriors typically have exquisite and tall capiz shell or persiana sliding windows, double eaves supported by diagonal brackets, ventanillas (small shuttered windows below the large windows with wooden balustrades),wooden moldings on the walls and calado (lace-like fretwork or latticework).

Today, the threat of demolition hangs over their heads to make way for the road widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highway’s (DPWH).

AUTHOR’S COMMENTS

These old houses, one of the well known tourist attractions of the province, are rich historical and cultural heritage sites in the idyllic town of Juban that are considered priceless gems that can never be replaced by road widening and progress. In lieu of the road widening, the solution I suggest is a bypass or diversion road be built a few kilometers before the town proper on vast tracts of idle or unproductive land that can be acquired, at a minimal cost, by the provincial government.

These ancestral houses should also registered as Presumed Important Cultural Properties under the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.  For the time being, the provincial government can install their own plaques recognizing them as a Provincial Cultural Treasure.  These houses have survived World War II and natural calamities such as typhoons, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Let’s hope they survive the wrecking ball.

Casa Feliz: Pan-Philippine Highway cor. L. Grajo St., AH26, South Poblacion,  Juban, 4703 Sorsogon. Mobile number: (0919) 991-2297. Website: www.casafeliz.org.

How to Get There: Juban is located 545.3 kms. (a 13–hr. ) drive from Manila and 30.6 kms. (a 40-min.) drive from Sorsogon City, all via the Pan-Philippine Highway/AH26.

Sorsogon Provincial Tourism Culture and Arts Office: Ground Floor, Capitol Building, 4700 Sorsogon City. Mobile number: (0968) 624-6279. E-mail: tourism@sorsogon.gov.ph.  Facebook: www.facebook.com/sorsogonprovincialtourismoffice.

Juban Municipal Tourism, Cuture and Arts Office: E-mail: jubanturismo@gmail.com.  www.jubansorsogon.com.ph. Facebook: www.facebook.com/JubanTurismo 

Ur Place Travel & Tours: OLV Pangpang, Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.  Mobile number (Viber): (0927) 950-3927 (Ms. Annie Gueb).  Facebook: www.facebook.com/urplacetravel

Casa Byzantina (Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, Bagac, Bataan)

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Casa Byzantina

Our land tour, via coaster, of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Spanish for “Acuzar’s Philippine Houses”) ended at Casa Byzantina .  Also known as the “Don Lorenzo del Rosario (a signer of the Malolos Constitution and one of the numerous building contractors in Binondo) House,” it is a three-storey, intricately designed mixed-used “floral” bahay na bato (stone house) originally located at the corner of Madrid and Penarrubia Streets at San Nicolas, Binondo, Manila.

Designed in 1890 by Catalan architect Joan Josep Jose Hervas y Arizmendi , it is the only existing building designed by him in the Philippines.

Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1851, architect Joan Josep Jose Hervas y Arizmendi got his degree in 1879 and, from 1892 to 1898, became the municipal architect (or arquitecto municipal) of Sitges and Tortosa in Spain and in Manila, Philippines. Some of his works were private residences such as Casa Perez Samanillo (Circulo Ecuestre at present), owned by the Perez-Samanillos, former Manila residents (they owned the Perez Samanillo building at Escolta, Manila), in 1910, for which he was awarded the 1911 Barcelona City Council Prize.   His other works include Hotel de Oriente and La Insular Fabrica de Tabacos y Cigarillos.  He died in 1912.

The Moorish door transom at the exterior

So called  because of its Byzantine ornamentation, it has a half-moon opening above the large entrance with grill works, arches above the windows of the third floor, engaged columns, and appliqued carvings. However, the house reflects more of the Neo-Mudejar (Spanish-Moorish) architectural style  as seen by its Moorish door transom on the exterior, which is echoed in the interior wooden arches and transom traceries.  A mirador (balcony) crowns the roof above the interior’s stairs with turned balusters. The stairs, leading up to the second and third floors, provides access to both wings of the house.

Media group posing in front of Casa Byzantina

In 1869, as the streets at the commercial concentrations at Binondo and San Nicolas districts in Manila were narrow, corner buildings were mandated to be built with a chamfer (or chaflan) and, in compliance with this municipal building regulation (which also led to the creation of eight-sided open spaces, or plazoletas, at every street corner), the house was built with a chamfered corner.

Historical plaque

Its first storey (which served as commercial spaces) was made of adobe stones and bricks while the two upper storeys (which served as residential spaces) were built with various sturdy Philippine hard woods.  Galvanized iron sheets were used for roofing.

Used as commercial and residential space, during the 20th century, the house was occupied by a succession of tenants. In 1914, it was the first home of the the Instituto de Manila which rented it for elementary and high school classes until 1919 when the institute moved to Sampaloc, Manila, eventually becoming the University of Manila. In 1939, despite its neglected state, it was cited by Tribune magazine.

The hotel lobby

After World War II, the nearby community decayed and the land reclamation for the North Harbor. The old houses became tenements and some were torn down to make way for commercial buildings. Casa Byzantina was leased to various tenants.

By 2000, it was in a miserable condition. After eight years, the house was declared structurally unsound. Yet, despite its condition, more than 50 informal, urban poor families were still occupying the house. In 2009, the house was sold, dismantled, and brought to Bagac, Bataan.

Grand staircase

Now transformed into an elegant first class hotel, it is now considered as the most expensive hotel in the resort. This luxurious six-bedroom accommodation, complete with luxurious amenities, 24/7 butler service and free cocktails, has 7 bathrooms and sleeps 16.

Casa Byzantina: La Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, Brgy. Ibaba, Bagac, 2107 Bataan. Tel: (632) 8833-3333 local 116-117.  Mobile number: (0917) 872-9361. E-mail: reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com. Website: www.lascasasfilipinas.com. Coordinates:  14°36′09.6″N 120°23′06.9″E

How to Get There: It is a three-hour drive from Manila via NLEx and SCTEx. There is a shuttle service plying the Manila-Bataan route daily with New World Hotel Makati and Astoria Plaza as pickup and drop off points. For inquiries, call (63-2) 332-5338 and (63-2) 332-5286. The resort is accessible from the southeast through a two-lane road from the poblacion of Bagac.

Arrival at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Bagac, Bataan)

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Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

From Le Charme Suites, we all boarded our coaster for the 68-km. (1 hour and 45-min. drive), via the Gov. J.J. Linao National Rd., to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (Spanish for “Acuzar’s Philippine Houses”) in Bagac, Bataan province’s newest and certainly most upscale beachside resort.  This beach resort, hotel, convention center and heritage destination rolled into one was designed to resemble a historic Filipino town, was to offer us a taste of the Philippine’s past come to life.

The gated stone entrance, with its keystone jauntily carrying the resort’s elaborate coat-of-arms, welcomed us. The resort, covering an area of around 40 hectares (99 acres), lies in a vast sand-filled estuary bisected near the beach by a small river, with seaside farms stretching off to the north.

Casa Maranao

From the driveway, we espied, across the Umagol River, Casa Maranao, a torogan (a Maranao royal clan house) from Lanao in Mindanao. Built in 1873, it was owned by Sabino Lakowa and its last owner was Dimaawan, the second child of Sabino.  It features panolong, wing-like carvings that flare out from its floor beams, symbolizing the wealth and importance of its occupants.  There are also okir, beautiful carvings that depict the naga (serpent or dragon from Sanskrit literature), and pako rabong amarilis (asymmetrical growing ferns).

Arrival at Casa New Manila

This resort was painstakingly built up in over ten years of intermittent construction.  It has a vast, open-air depository of planks, stone blocks, and tiles salvaged from their original owners or bought from junk shops in Manila.  From these materials, future houses and structures in the complex will be constructed.

Comprised of a collection of several dozen “heritage houses” and buildings, each representing an aspect of national Filipino history, they are an outcome of an organic process of selecting and emplacing salvaged ancestral houses from all over Luzon that were specifically evaluated and chosen based on their individual cultural, historical and architectural value and features.

The buildings at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar range in style from mansions to wooden stilt houses. With its rear ringed by the forests of nearby Mt. Natib and its front splashed by the South China Sea, these ancient wood, tile and stone structures were given a new lease in life, reincarnated as vacation houses, offices, restaurants, and hotel suites and facilities in Las Casas.

It had its beginnings in 2003 when real estate magnate and architect Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar, the owner of New San Jose Builders, Inc., decided to open an estate just outside of his hometown of Balanga.  Ultimately settling upon a 400-hectacre tract of land near the fishing village of Bagac, he built a quaint manor home and a series of small cottages.

When he was young, Jerry, on his way to school, had memories of passing by the decaying mansions along F.R. Hidalgo Street in Quiapo.   In 2008, he was fatefully offered parts of a historic home from the Cagayan Valley. Subsequently, in an effort to restore it back to its former glory, he dismantled and reconstructed the building on his estate.

Our raft ((balsa) awaits ….

Later on, he was offered heritage homes that were being sold and he decided to transplant these endangered specimens of colonial heritage architecture to his beachfront property. Acquired and transported from varying locations across the country, each historic structure was meticulously dismantled from their original location before being reassembled and carefully restored inside the premises of the Las Casas Filipinas by a skilled group of architects. In cases where an authentic reconstruction was not possible, materials that were as close to the original were used to complete the project. Needless to say, each building’s legacy is as unique as its architecture.

However, this method of heritage conservation has been contentious among conservationists since they believed that their original communities could have benefitted from the structures had they been restored on site. The heritage park’s proponent Gerry Acuzar claimed that he went with the method in order to save the structures from decay and neglect.

While the estate remained private, many heard about what he was doing and wanted to see his reconstructed heritage houses. Seein an opportunity to make the location accessible to the public, Acuzar continued financing his work in restoring the heritage houses. As Acuzar’s team of artisans grew, the destination gradually expanded into 63 heritage homes and 34 structures built in the style of the historic houses on-site.

In March 2010, Acuzar debuted his private estate as a beach resort, opening it to the public as the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar and placing it under the management of Genesis Hotels and Resorts Corporation.  It has since established itself as one of the most luxurious holiday destinations in the world, every year hosting hundreds of enthusiastic cultural heritage visitors. In early 2020, due to community quarantine measures imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Las Casas Filipinas temporarily closed but eventually reopened in July 2020.

The Umangol River

The work accomplished by Acuzar and his team had earned the resort great praise. In 2021, the heritage park was lauded and recognized for its preservation efforts and their continued stewardship by the Department of Tourism, under Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.  That same year, Historic Hotels Worldwide also bestowed the resort with its Award of Excellence for “Best Historic Hotel in Asia/Pacific.” Since 2017, this fantastic historic resort has been a member of Historic Hotels of America.

View of Casa New Manila across the Umangol River

We first registered ourselves at Casa New Manila, an American-era house built in 1926 by Italian-American Joseph Francisco.  It once stood at Balete Drive for 90 years and was bounded by Espana Extn. (now E. Rodriguez Ave.) and Campanilla, Sampaguita and Ilang-Ilang Sts..  It was later bought by Manuel Alcuas y Tuazon and Rosario Araneta y Zaragoza, scions from two prominent families in Manila. It had wide open verandas (where we had scenic views of the Umagol River and parts of the resort), extended eaves and its original fireplace.  From here, we were to tour the resort by raft.

La Casas Filipinas de Acuzar: Brgy. Ibaba, Bagac, 2107 Bataan. Tel: (632) 8833-3333 local 116-117.  Mobile number: (0917) 872-9361. E-mail: reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com. Website: www.lascasasfilipinas.com. Coordinates:  14°36′09.6″N 120°23′06.9″E.

How to Get There: It is a three-hour drive from Manila via NLEx and SCTEx. There is a shuttle service plying the Manila-Bataan route daily with New World Hotel Makati and Astoria Plaza as pickup and drop off points. For inquiries, call (63-2) 332-5338 and (63-2) 332-5286. The resort is accessible from the southeast through a two-lane road from the poblacion of Bagac.

Bonifacio Trial Museum Revisited (Maragondon, Cavite)

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Bonifacio Trial Museum

Part Two of “Drive, Dine and Discover” Cavite Caravan

After our visit to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Maragondon, we were next driven about 500 m. to the nearby Bonifacio Trial Museum.

The author

This would not be my first viist to the museum, having visited it during my 2017 visita iglesia of Cavite.  However, since it was a holiday, the museum was closed.  This would be my first time to explore its exhibits.

Check out “VIsita Iglesia 2017,”  “Bonifacio Trial Museum (2017)” and “Church of the Assumption of Our Lady”

Historical plaque installed by National Historical Institute (NHI) in 2000.  The name “Teodorico” should be “Roderico”

This two-storey bahay-na-bato (stone house), formerly known as the Roderico Reyes House, was built in 1889 by Roderico Reyes (not Teodorico as stated in NHI plaque by the front door) who was married to Juana Viray. From May 5 to 6, 1897, it was the site where revolutionary leader and Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio and his brother  Procopio Bonifacio were court martialed by a military court, presided by Gen. Mariano Noriel, and found guilty of treason and recommended execution.

Gen. Riego de Dios and Col. Crisostomo Riel, both natives of Maragondon, refused to sign the final court judgment.  Reyes was absent during the trial as he was in his mountain retreat.

Grand staircase

This stone, brick and wood ancestral house now belongs to Mr. Jose Angeles (it was sold to him by Reyes descendants in 1994) who generously signed an agreement with the NHI to turn it into a museum open to the public. It was designated, on June 4, 1997, as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute and, in 1999, it was fully restored and declared as a National Heritage Site.

Stair foyer

On November 28, 2014, it was formally inaugurated as a museum and shrine called the Museo ng Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio or Bonifacio Trial Museum, administered and managed (the third in Cavite) by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (formerly the National Historical Institute).

Gallery 1 (Maypagasa)

The 80 sq. m. museum has five galleries.  Gallery 1 (Maypagasa) provides a short background on Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan.

Gallery 2 (Pagsalubong)

Gallery 2 (Pagsalubong) focuses on the conflict between the two Katipunan factions in Cavite, the Magdalo and Magdiwang.

Gallery 3 (Pagdakip)

Gallery 3 (Pagdakip) narrates the events leading to Bonifacio’s arrest, by Col. Agapito Bonzon and Maj. Jose Ignacio “Intsik” Paua, in Barrio Limbon in Indang. Bonifacio was wounded when he shot in the arm by Bonzon and stabbed in the neck by Paua.  Andres’ brother Ciriaco was shot dead.

Gallery 4 (Ang Paglilitis)

Gallery 4 (Ang Paglilitis), at the living room (sala de visita), re-enacts the Bonifacio brothers’ court martial through a light and sound presentation.  The audio recording of the interactive diorama, with dimmed lights adding to the gloomy atmosphere, recounts the trial proceedings.

Statues of members of the military court

Life-size, polyester resin  3D figures represent members in this tragic event – Gen. Mariano Noriel, Col. Crisostomo Riel, Col. Tomas Mascardo, Col. Esteban Ynfante, Col. Mariano Riego de Dios, Sulpicio Antony, Placido Martinez (Bonifacio’s attorney), Procopio Bonifacio, Gregoria de Jesus and Andres Bonifacio  (seated in a Vienna-style love chair).

Statue of Gregoria de Jesus (right) with seated Andres Bonifacio

Gallery 5 (Kadakilaan) recounts the anguish of Bonifacio’s widow, Gregoria de Jesus, upon learning of her husband’s death. It has a replica of a statue of Gregoria de Jesus sculpted by Julie Lluch.

Replica of a statue of Gregoria de Jesus sculpted by Julie Lluch at Gallery 5 (Kadakilaan)

This modernized museum contains various interactive displays on events that led to the trial and execution of Bonifacio and the special bond he shared with his young wife Gregoria de Jesus.  An electronic map shows the 12 Cavite towns under the Magdiwang, while 10, including the town of Bagumbayan (now Laurel) and Talisay in Batangas province, belong to the Magdalo .  It also has an audio-visual corner offering a brief documentary about the trial and death of Andres Bonifacio and an e-learning room for online lessons on the history of the Philippines.

Participants of the Cavite Caravan

At the museum foyer is a replica of bust of Andres Bonifacio sculpted by Julie Lluch in 2014.  Past the staircase is a wall lined with artworks on the 10 commandments of  the Katipunan painted by Robert Alejandro.

Ten Commandments of the Katipunan (Robert Alejandro)

Bonifacio Trial Museum: Col. Crisostomo Riel St., Brgy. Poblacion 1-A, Maragondon 4122, Cavite. Mobile number: (0969) 516-6992 and (0917) 553-7375.   Museum curator: Mr. Melanio Guevarra. E-mail: mpab@nhcp.gov.ph and bonifaciotrialmuseum@gmail.com. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8 AM – 4 PM. Admission is free.

Maragondon Municipal Tourism Office: G/F, Municipal Bldg., Brgy. Poblacion 1-A, Maragondon, 4112 Cavite.  Tel: (046) 686-3139. Mobile number: (0926) 237-6537.

Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP): AAP Tower, 683 Aurora Blvd., Quezon City 1112. Tel: (632) 8723-0808 and (632) 8705-3333. Website: www.aap.org.ph. E-mail:  info@aap.org.ph.

AAP Lakbay, Inc.: G/F, Sea Tower Bldg., 332 Roxas Blvd. cor. Arnaiz St., Pasay City.  Tel: (32) 8551-0025 and (632) 8403-543.  E-mail: aaplakbay.caravan@gmail.com.  Coordinates:
14.5456531, 120.9914728.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Quiapo, Manila)

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Bahay Nakpil Bautista

Our Quiapo Heritage Walk ended at the stately and elegant Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Nakpil-Bautista House), one of the old heritage houses found in the district of Quiapo, Manila. As it was still open, Jandy and I, as well as other participants of the Quiapo Heritage Walk, decided to explore it.

Check out “Quiapo Heritage Walk”

The house is typical of its period,with wood and stone as primary construction materials.  Typical of many Manila houses of the period, it had two entrances–a large wooden street door (postigo) and a large iron gate that leads to the Estero de Quiapo behind.

Estero de Quiapo

A perfect example of “adaptive reuse” (where old structures find new life and new uses so they remain relevant to the present time), Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was a bahay na bato built in 1914 by Arcadio Arellano (architect of the Gota de Leche Building) for Dr. Ariston Linpingco Bautista (1863 – 1928), a known physician, patriot (he was a member of the Propaganda Movement), philanthropist and patron of the arts.

Check out “Gota de Leche Building: A Heritage Conservation Success Story”

Ariston Bautista

Dr. Ariston Bautista was also one of the first professors in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. He discovered a treatment similar to paregoric, which helped end the cholera epidemic that plagued the country in 1880.  He was also the founding President of Germinal Cigar and Cigarette Company. His wife, the painter and jewelry designer Petrona Nakpil, was one of the first women artists in Quiapo.

National Historical Institute (NHI) Plaque

Originally, there were two houses sitting on two lots (with a total area of 500 sq. m.). On August 25, 2011, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the house as a National Historical Landmark.

The Tahanan ng mga Katipunero exhibit at the zaguan

Today, the house is a museum showcasing items of the Katipunan, paintings, among others. After a long closure due to the COVID pandemic, the museum reopened last November 30, 2021.  The exhibits were set up by architect Dr. Mary Ann Venturina-Bulanadi, a UST interior design professor, interior designer and cultural heritage restorer.

The zaguan or garahe

We first entered the lower storey of the house, with its thin (21 cm.), narrow, brick walls pressed together by wooden studs.It now houses the Tahanan ng mga Katipunero, a permanent exhibition which was curated and opened in 2014, during the 100 years celebration of the house. Before that, the house used to be a dorm, a halfway house and even a pansiteria.

The altar housing the replica of the Nazareno.  At the back is the old workshop (plateria)

Upon paying the admission fee, we were assigned a lady volunteer guide for our 45-min. tour.  The cavernous zaguan or garahe (parking area for horse-drawn carriages and, later, cars) has flooring made of piedra china (stones used as weights in trade ships that disembarked in Manila).  A mirror, a traditional innovation (similar to a modern-day CCTV camera), was propped on the ceiling (near the wooden guide), enabling the house occupants to see anyone standing outside the door.

Replica of the Black NNazarene

On the farthest side was a replica of the original Black Nazarene (Nazareno) statue of Quiapo Church which was brought to the zaguan areaof Nakpil-Bautista House during the bombings of World War II to prevent it from being destroyed or looted.  Behind the statue was the plateria (old workshop for designing jewelry).

The old plateria (workshop)

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was the home of fine jewelry makers (Plateria Nakpil). Before World War II, he atelier’s artisans handcrafted outstanding pieces of gold-and-diamond jewelry (such as Art Deco, flower-inspired pieces set in white gold) which were highly prized by Manila society from the 1900s until it closed in the 1960s.

Puente de Claveria, Tuberias and Tranvia, El Renacimiento and La Quinta

Visual aids also illustrate the history of Quiapo and its notable landmarks, some still existing and others long gone, such as the Quiapo Church, Puente de Claveria, Tuberias,Tranvia, El Renacimiento, La Quinta,schools, the Enriquez and Santiago Houses, Golden Mosque, Life Theater and Main Theater.

Julio Nakpil

Ariston and Petrona were a childless couple so they invited her brothers Julio and Ramon, with their families, and Francisco (a life-long bachelor) to share the house.  Francisco Nakpil (1865 – 1906), an expert platero (silversmith), was a member of the reform movements La Liga Filipina and Cuerpo de Compromisario.

Machuca Tiles

Machuca tiles from Mexico led us to a short flight of stairs going up to entresuelo (raised area or mezzanine floor) whose the cuarto (bedroom), sala (living room) and patio served as the residence of musical composer Julio Nakpil (1877 – 1960)

Antesala leading to Julio’s and Gregoria’s quarters

Julio was the president of the Northern Council of the Katipunan who was a pianist who composed Marangal ng Dalit ng Katagalugan (“Noble Hymn of the Tagalog Nation,” this would have been the national anthem had Andres Bonifacio lived to be president).

Gregoria de Jesus

After Bonifacio’s death, he married his widow Gregoria de Jesus (1873 – 1943), organizer of the women’s chapter of the Katipunan (nicknamed Oryang, she was the “Lakambini” or First Lady of the Katipunan).

Julio and Gregoria’s bedroom

Gregoria and Julio had six children.  The children’s room, with persiana (sliding louvered panels), has now been converted into an activity area for local kids where they can read books and listen to stories.

Children’s Room

Juan Felipe Nakpil (1899 – 1980), their son and godson of Francisco, was the architect of Quiapo Church after the 1929 fire.  In 1973, he became a National Artist for Architecture. At the southern side of the zaguan, a staircase leads to another suite of apartments where Ramon, Julio’s youngest sibling, lived with his family.

Juan Nakpil- National Artist for Architecture

Angel Nakpil

According to our guide, the house was not called Tahanan ng mga Katipunero because it was a meeting place of the Katipuneros.  Instead, it was called such because it was the home of these key figures in Philippine history. Other prominent people who lived there include Angel Nakpil (1914 – 1979), the first cousin of Juan, who was the architect of the National Press Club Building and the Picache Building (Manila’s first skyscraper).

Grand Staircase

Visual aids at the zaguan also tell the story of these famous house residents. After our tour of the ground floor, we all proceeded to the descanso (main stairway landing), then went up to the caida (hall) of the second floor (measuring 22.45 by 15.9 m. excluding the kitchen and azotea) which was built with wood (to resist earthquakes), aired by large calados and shaded by sufficient media aguas. Two orchestras (the doctor loved to throw parties) could play in the public rooms.

Top of the staircase

In the past, ladies who ascended the stairs would have to carry the extended hems and frills of their saya over their arms.  Upon reaching the top steps of the caida, they would make their grand entrance by letting down (incidentally, the word caida means “fallen”) the trains of their dresses and then wait at the ante sala (anteroom) before they could proceed to the sala or comedor.

The Red Roof (1971, crayon on collage) by Fernando N. Zialcita, son of Mercedes Nakpil-Zialcita, daughter of Julio

Two Forest Birds (1964, print woodblock) by Milagros Sy Faustino, daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola,

The house is also decorated with contemporary works of art by Ral Arogante, Egai Roxas, Fidel Sarmiento, and Manny Garibay as well as Nakpil descendants such as Assunta Nakpil, Mark L. Mallari, Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola, Fernando N. Zialcita,  Arlene de Castro, Francisco J. Nakpil, Tapales, Maria Milagros Sy Faustino and Dominic Sy Faustino.

Exhibit of Ding Royales paintings. In the foreground is “Sueno Eterno” while on the left is Cefiro, 1888 (15 x 20, mixed media – collage)

One room displays a number of paintings of Marcos Antonino “Ding” Royales XI, a volunteer artist for Bahay Nakpil-Bautista since 2013.  He also conducts art classes there.  

Sala (Living Room)

The hall had doors on all four sides leading to the surrounding rooms – the comedor (dining room), sala (living room) and the two suites of cuartos (bedrooms).

Two sets of doors slide, like Japanese shoji screens, on sills, to be pushed on the sides, creating a wide room with a series of doorways opening vistas extending from street to the estero behind the house.

The wide exterior window, made of Philippine hardwood with capis shell panes, brought in plenty of light. Ventanillas allow air to circulate at feet level.

A butaka

Juan Luna’s celebrated Impressionist painting, “The Parisian Life,” a gift of Juan Luna to Dr. Ariston Bautista, was originally displayed on the wall of the sala. The original painting, formerly displayed at the GSIS Museum, is now at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Replica of “The Parisian Life” of Juan Luna

Today, in its place, a reproduction hangs in the same spot while a life-size cut-out of the lady in the painting, identified as a courtesan or prostitute (representing “fallen womanhood”), is seated at the sofa.

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

Life-size cut out of the seated courtesan featured in “The Parisian Life”

The comedor houses an antique 24-pax dining table and display cabinet with fine china.  It leads to azotea overlooking the estero where, during formal dinners, the children had their own table.

The Comedor (Dining Room)

The nearby pantry houses  an antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder and hand-carved kitchen utensils such as kutsaron (small dipper), sandok (medium dipper), sandok sa kawa (large cauldron dipper), sandok (ladle), panghalo (cauldron ladle), palu-palo (mallet), paleta (spatula) and a salaan (srainer), all belonging to Oryang.

The antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder of Oryang

Here, one could simply shout out to peddlers on passing provincial cascos (merchant boats) when interested in buying their goods. Oryang would also fish at this then clean and abundant Pasig River estuary.

China cabinet at Comedor (Dining Room)

The Dambana ni Oriang has three oil on paper paintings, done by Fred Esquilo, of Gregoria de Jesus-Nakpil.

Dambana ni Oriang

The first painting, Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary), highlights her role as a revolutionary and keeper of the Katipunan’s documents.

Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary)

The second painting,  Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages), highlights her role as wife to Andres Bonifacio and Julio Nakpil.

Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages)

The third painting, Ang Ina (The Mother), highlighted her role as a doting mother who loved to cook.

Ang Ina (The Mother)

It was said that she could recreate a dish after she had tasted it just once. Framed reproductions of hand-written recipes of her morcon are hung on the wall.

Oryang’s payneta, an ornamental, tortoise shell hair comb

She is also portrayed reading to her grandchildren stories from Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (published in Liwayway Magazine) at the azotea of their house.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan,  with flags of the Katipunan and a portrait (left) of Andres Bonifacio on the wall.  The table doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan, displays paintings, by the Contempo group, of Katipunero soldiers; vitrines showcasing the Kartilya ng Katipunan,  a collection of Katipunan flags, documents written in blood, a vintage safe, a sky roof; plus other memorabilia of the revolutionary movement.

Vitrines showcasing Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan

A timeline cabinet here shows the Philippine Revolution vis-a-vis the democratic revolutions in the West and Asia .

Paintings of Katipunan Soldiers (Contempo Group)

Furniture within includes an interesting table which doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box, and three chairs where Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and Jose Rizal sat when the La Liga Filipina was founded in 1892. 

An antique wall safe

Dr. Bautista inkwell and jewelry case of Petrona.

The Joyeria Nakpil (southwest corner room), the oficina (office) next to the library, used to be the office for the Nakpil’s jewelry business.  Here, Petrona , who handled customer relations and sales for Plateria Nakpil, would meet clients in this special room.

Joyeria Nakpil

During our tour of the second floor, we met and chatted with Ms. Ma. Paz “Bobbi” Nakpil Santos-Viola, current president of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation, Inc., who now manages the house.  She used to work at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City, USA but decide to return to the Philippines over 10 years ago.

The author with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

She is also the middle daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos Viola, the youngest daughter of Gregoria de Jesus and Julio Nakpil.  Her father, Carlos Santos Viola, the nephew of Maximo Viola, is known and recognized for his Gothic-inspired Iglesia ni Cristo houses of worship.

JJandy with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

The house does not have ornate decorative details. Its inspiration is the Vienna Secession, a 1900s European art movement style with a contemporary character not well known in the Philippines during this time. The Austrian version of Art Nouveau, it was made known by Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner. It encouraged plurality and favors clean lines, symmetry and geometry.

Natural forms, such as vines and flora, were reinterpreted in a very linear manner and abstract fashion than the representational, curvilinear forms of the Art Nouveau preferred by Filipinos. After Ariston Bautista and Petrona received a gift, from the Prieto family, of Secession furniture (high-backed chairs, low sala table, a desk, vitrines and glass-walled cabinets to display porcelain and crystalware), Ariston asked Arellano to designed their entire house around the furniture motifs.

Vienna Succession-inspired grille

The window grilles, overlooking the estero, have vertical floral stems with flowers sized to small squares.  The ventanillas (grilles) facing the street display abstract interpretation of the highly stylized lyres. The upper exterior wooden wall, as well as the wooden stair railings and window grilles, are simply decorated with a band of small, recessed square insets on long vertical bars. On the calado (tracery) of the interior transom walls are abstract interpretations of the kiyapo plant.

Kiyapo-inspired calado

After the house was finished, Dr. Bautista designed new furniture with the same motifs and had them executed by his Pampango carpenter in residence. However, in the 1970s, these original furniture were divided among the heirs. Some of the present pieces were commissioned to suit the museum’s purposes.

Room which could be used for seminars

Today, the Bahay serves as an arts and culture space for select events (Php4,000 for two hours, inclusive of electricity and water), photo shoots and activities for the community, hosting cultural performances, lectures, and discussions on history and heritage, and art exhibits.  The type of event to be held is studied to ensure that it is respectful to the house’s history.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista: 432 A. Bautista St.(formerly Barbosa St.), Quiapo, Manila 1001.Tel: (632) 8731-9305. E-mail: info@bahaynakpil.org. Website: www.bahaynakpil.org. Mobile number: (0917) 851-7455.  Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (except holidays), 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.   Admission: Php80 (Php50 for senior citizens and students).  Coordinates: 14.598404°N 120.984739°E.

How to Get There: Board a jeepney bound for Quiapo and get off at the corner of Hidalgo St. and Quezon Blvd.. Walk towards Hidalgo St. (east side going to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian) and then turn left at A. Bautista St..

World Heritage Environs Area Precinct (Melbourne, Australia)

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Rows of terrace houses along Nicholson Street

Nicholson Street is home to several Melbourne landmarks including Parliament House and the Princess Theatre, at its southern terminus, and the Royal Exhibition Building (REB) and the Melbourne Museum, both in Carlton Gardens, just to the north.  Adjacent to the REB and Carlton Gardens is the World Heritage Environs Area Precinct (WHEA), a precinct is of architectural and aesthetic significance as it retains substantially intact nineteenth century streetscapes, particularly on Nicholson Street (north of Gertrude Street), the south side of Gertrude Street, Carlton Street, and Rathdowne Street north of Pelham Street.

Check out “Royal Exhibition Building,” “Melbourne Museum” and “Carlton Gardens”

It incorporates important and intact areas of residential, commercial and institutional development within the early Melbourne suburbs of Carlton and Fitzroy, and institutional development in the northern area of Melbourne’s Central Business District.

The precinct is home to a number of terrace rows dating from the later nineteenth century. Melbourne’s flat terrain has produced regular terraced house patterns and the generic Melbourne style of terrace is distinguishable from other regional variations.

Many Melbourne terraces, featuring a unique style of polychrome brickwork heavily influenced by the early work of local architect Joseph Reed, are often highly detailed (though in many terraces this distinctive feature has been later painted or rendered over, although some have since been sandblasted or stripped back), incorporating decorative cast iron (Melbourne has more decorative cast iron than any other city in the world) balconies (of the filigree style).

Rather than built to the property line, Melbourne-style terrace houses are often set back from the street, providing a small front yard with decorative cast-iron fencing, regularly dispersed with rendered brick piers.  The party wall of the end terraces would, sometimes, but not always, extend to the property line to join the fence.

Due to their proximity to the CBD, terraced houses in Melbourne are highly sought after and are often expensive, much like terraces in New York City.

The Royal Terrace (50–68 Nicholson Street Fitzroy, VHR H0172), the oldest surviving complete row and one of the largest and best known early terrace building surviving in Melbourne, was started in 1853 and completed in 1857, three years after the Glass Terrace (72–74 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, 1853–54), the earliest surviving terraced house in the city.

Royal Terrace

This row of ten completely intact terrace houses, erected by the Bryant family (who also maintained a residence at No. 68) to a unique design attributed to colonial artist John Gill, epitomizes early terrace house design in Melbourne with its austere classical decoration, simple composition, and extensive use of bluestone. It has housed notable figures such as politician and three-times Premier John O ‘Shanassy, and artist Nicholas Chevalier.

At the national level, it is significant for architectural and historical reasons as the most important terrace in Melbourne. An outstanding feature of the Nicholson Street precinct, it complements the nationally significant Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens located opposite.  Although modified over time, the flagstone paving, at the footpath in front of the terraces, is important as one of the few remaining examples of this once common 19th century paving in inner Melbourne. Laid when the terraces were built, it is perhaps the oldest such example.

Grantown House (82 Nicholson Street, c. mid-1850s) and Osborne House (40 Nicholson Street, c. 1850, VHR H1607) are significant examples of mid-nineteenth century residential development, and are also prominent buildings within the streetscape.

Grantown House

The two-storey Grantown House, an outstanding example of Victorian terrace house architecture and of considerable importance in the Nicholson Street streetscape, is of considerable interest for its unusual veranda joinery, very fine cast iron decoration, very elaborate door joinery, grand and richly detailed cast iron fence and the way in which the different eras of construction (the 1850s and the 1870s) are visible in the ornate façade.

Exhibiting notable creative and technical achievement, elaborate decoration are seen at the four urns on the piered and balustraded parapet, urns to the veranda walls, a row of bearded masks under the pediment, four delicate iron lace balconies under the top-floor windows and arched iron decoration to the two-storey verandas (a mixture of timber and iron). The columns and the spirals that edge them are timber. Although decaying, it still has elegance and presence amid the cracks, peeling paint and soot. It is currently a boarding house.

Osborne House

Osborne House, the oldest documented dwelling in this municipality and one of the oldest surviving in Melbourne, is a rare example of the Regency town house in Victoria. Its central section erected in 1850 by builder William Pelling for wealthy squatter John MacPherson, was acquired in 1887 by Melbourne merchant and speculator George Nipper who converted this private residence to a boarding house (operated for 93 years) via the construction of two flanking three storey wings with encircling iron verandas. The additions of this establishment (named Osborne House in the Jubilee Year of Victoria’s reign) are in the conservative Classical mode.

This notable brick structure, part of an important early Melbourne precinct which includes nearby ‘Royal Terrace and the Carlton Gardens, is essentially intact although minor alterations have been made to partition rooms or enclose external verandas. It had a variety of distinguished tenants including John A. MacPherson, Premier of Victoria in 1869 – 70.  Although the work is not positively attributed to important Melbourne architect Charles Webb, the transformation of 1887 is a characteristic work of his.

Other notable terrace houses within the precinct include Dalmeny House (21 Queensberry Street, c. 1888, VHR H0525), Cramond House (23 Queensberry Street, c. 1888, VHR H0482), the two-storey Elsmere Terrace (70 Drummond Street, 1882),  Elim House (18-20 Carlton Street), Annie Villa (22-24 Carlton Street) and Canning Terrace (46-50 Carlton Street).

Academy of Mary Immaculate

World Heritage Environs Area Precinct includes a number of key heritage buildings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some of which are landmarks in their own right.  They include the Cable Tram Engine House, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Royal Society of Victoria Building, the Convent of Mercy, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Academy of Mary Immaculate Chapel.

Memorial chapel

The Academy of Mary Immaculate (88 Nicholson Street), the oldest Catholic school in  Victoria, was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1857. It has a collection of largely intact, elegant 19th century religious buildings, including two almost identical regency houses (erected in 1850 to designs by architects Newson and Blackburn for John Watson and Edward Wight, merchants in partnership), some of the earliest stone houses in Melbourne. Its sandstone memorial chapel, on the corner of Palmer and Nicholson Streets, was built in memory of Mother Ursula Frayne and dedicated on March 26, 1889.  It was designed by Reed Smart and Tappin (also responsible for the Convent of the Good Shepherd in Abbotsford).

Cable Tram Engine House

The former Cable Tram Engine House (1021-1029 Rathdowne Street and 440 Park Street Carlton North, Yarra City), built in 1889, consists of the brick engine house (designed by MTT architect Robert Gordon) built for the Melbourne Tramways Trust (MTT), located on the corner of Rathdowne and Park Streets, and the neighboring unadorned, utilitarian brick  car shed (designed by architect Frederick Williams) built for the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company (MT&OC)

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

The monumental Greek Revival-style Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Building (250-290 Spring Street and 2-40 Victoria Parade, VHR No. H0870), designed by architects Leighton Irwin and Roy Stevenson and built by J.C. Taylor, was opened in 1935. The east and west wings to the rear were added in 1963.

Dapitan City Plaza (Zamboanga del Norte)

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Dapitan City Plaza

In front of the Church of St. James the Greater is the  Dapitan City Plaza (“Liwasan ng Dapitan”), also known as the City Square.  During his exile, Dr. Jose Rizal beautified and developed this plaza.  With the assistance of Spanish Politico-Military Governor of Dapitan, Gov. Ricardo Carnicero, he made the plaza comparable to the ones he saw in Europe.

Check out “Church of St. James the Greater”

With an estimated land area of 1 hectare, the plaza was laid out in the traditional rectilinear Spanish colonial manner. The plaza was already in existence when Dr. Jose P. Rizal arrived in on July 17, 1892.

With the P500 one of his patients paid him, Rizal equipped the town with lighting system, as part of Carnicero’s project, using coconut oil lamps hung on trees and cut tree trunks placed around the plaza. Rizal also beautified Dapitan by planting white santans, red gumamelas and acacia trees.

Relief Map of Mindanao

With the help of Francisco Paula de Sanchez, his teacher in Ateneo de Manila (he studied here from 1872-77), he also made a huge relief map of Mindanao (based on the map done by French Jesuit Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1752) out of earth, stones and grass during his first two months in Dapitan. Located in the southeast part of the plaza, he intended it to be a teaching aid for geography and history lessons. On June 20, 2005, the Relief Map was declared by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure.

The Jose Rizal Monument (center). On the left is the kiosk

Before Dr. Jose P. Rizal became the country’s National Hero, a kiosk was located in the center of the plaza. Later, the kiosk was moved to the northwest side to give way to the monument in honor of Rizal. The two cannons, formerly placed on top of Ilihan Hill, can now be found in the north of the plaza. Except for its elevated border (constructed in 1996), the City Plaza has maintained its original design.

Dr. Jose Rizal Monument

The plaque at the Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s monument has snippets from one of his letters written in Spanish in 1893. It states: “Yo estoy dispuesto a hacer todo lo que pueda en obsequio de este pueblo. No tengo inconveniente ninguno en quedarme para siempre en este distrito” (“I’m willing to do everything I can for the sake of the people. I have no problem to stay forever in this district”).

Casa Real Historical Plaque

Near the plaza is a plaque marking the site of the Casa Real where Dr. Jose P. Rizal stayed with Governor Ricardo Carnicero, from his arrival until he moved to Rizal Shrine at barangay Talisay in March 1893.

Check out “Rizal Park and Shrine”

Pablo Page Ancestral House

Around the plaza are a number of old structures and ancestral houses, all part of t he Dapitan Heritage Zone or Dapitan Historic Center. Most are in dire need of major repair.

Office of the Sangguniang Panglungsod

They include the Antera Adaza Bajamunde residence (Justice Florentino Saguin St.), the Philippine Coconut Authority Office, the Public Services Division of Dapitan, the Office of the Senior Citizens Association and the Office of the Sangguniang Panglungsod.

Office of the Senior Citizens Association

Philippine Coconut Authority Office

The Antera Adaza Bajamunde Residence, more popularly known as the Pablo Page Ancestral House, was built in 1919.

Public Services Division of Dapitan

Dapitan City Tourism Office: Josephine Bracken St., Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.  Mobile numbers:(0977) 803-1497 (Globe) and (0908) 884-1650 (Smart).

Adaptive Reuse in Taal (Batangas)

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Villa Tortuga

During a lull in the proceedings of media coverage of Historia, Culinaria, Y Cultura, I took the time to check out two ancestral houses in Taal that have been given relevance through adaptive reuse – Villa Tortuga and Paradores del Castillo.  Adaptive reuse is defined as the repurposing of old buildings or sites for a function other than its original purpose.

Check out “Historia, Culinaria, Y Cultura: A Celebration of Philippine Independence Day Through Food, Fashion & Culture”

Grand stairway of Villa Tortuga

Villa Tortuga, a 150 year old ancestral home, was meticulously restored by eminent fashion designer Angelito “Lito Perez, Perez, a fashion and interior designer and owner of Camp Suki (Quezon City), the country’s pioneer costume rental company which provided period costumes for special events in schools, companies and individuals, fashion and theater productions.

Antique turntable

The name of the establishment was derived from the Spanish word “Tortuga” which translates to “turtle” in English. The house is located along the banks of  the Pansipit River where turtles dwell.

Antique upright piano

The house, with Philippine mahogany floorboards, ventanillas and wooden capiz windows, is furnished with four-poster beds, Art Nouveau mirrors, antique blue-and-white jars, objects d’art, an old upright piano, hardwood dining table, religious icons, heavy, bright crimson brocade drapery, vintage Italian candelabras and assorted old sepia photos in old wooden frames.

Hardwood dining table

From his heritage home, Lito organizes, by prior arrangement, the Villa Tortuga Colonial Experience which features Taal town day tours, small turn-of-the-century-inspired Taaleño meals, served in turn-of-the-century china, for a thematic 5-course lunch or dinner (Php1,500 per person) at the second floor dining area, and nightly accommodations with a colonial ambiance.

Ground floor studio and curio shop

The ground floor antique curio shop and photo studio also houses a collection of rent-to-wear 18th century period costumes (trajez typicos or traditional clothing”) for fun cosplay pictorials at Php250 per costume.

18th century cosplay

Women can dress up as the quintessential Maria Clara while men can appear as an illustrado in an all-white suit and Panama hat or a monk in a brown-hooded or simmering red robe. Their sepia souvenir photo makes one feel you lived during those times. Entrance fee is Php50 (for house visit only).

Paradores del Castillo

On the other hand, Paradores del Castillo, while still adhering to the footprint and Spanish-American-Colonial style of the Filipino bahay-na-bato, was turned into a bed & breakfast facility.  Originally built in the early 1900’s, this ancestral house underwent a restoration that in started in late 2014 and was completed on March 9, 2015.

Located just a few steps away from the Villavicencio Ancestral House (Casa V) and the San Lorenzo Ruiz Steps, their rooms, all airconditioned with cable TV and fridge, have either ensuite or shared baths. Cucina de Jardin, their restaurant, serves Italian, Taaleño, and Ilocano dishes.  The bestsellers are the Taal specialties.  They also have a swimming pool. 

Interior

Villa Tortuga: Calle Marcella M. Agoncillo cor. V. Illustre St., Taal.  Mobile numbers:  (0927) 975-1683 (Lito Perez) and (0917) 824-6900.

Paradores del Castillo: 28 Dr. H. Del Castillo St., Poblacion Zone 14, Taal.  Tel: (043) 740-4060.  Mobile number: (0917) 526-1098 and (0917) 500-6041. Open daily, 7 AM – 10 PM.  E-mail: paradoresdelcastillo@yahoo.com.  Website: www.paradoresdetaal.com.

The Jesuit House (Cebu City, Cebu)

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The author at The Jesuit House

The grand opening of One Central Hotel & Suites had just ended and, as we still had a little over an hour to make it to the Jesuit House (claimed to be the oldest dated house in the Philippines), Rona, Rhea and I took a taxi to quickly get there. However, the driver only spoke Cebuano, which none of us spoke, and, coupled with that, didn’t know the destination.  But, thanks to Waze, we were able to make our way there.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: One Central Hotel & Suites“

The entrance to the Jesuit House (also called Museo de Parian sa Sugbo) was through the main gate of Ho Tong Hardware along Zulueta Street. A streamer, with the words “Welcome To The Jesuit House of 1730,” hangs on the hardware gate. Most people, including us, would probably  have just passed by the area, ignorant of the historical treasure inside as a towering fence, built to protect it from theft (it still is a warehouse for the present owner’s business),  hides the house from street view.

At the office, we paid the admission fee and waited, at the adjoining coffee shop, for museum curator Christian Joseph Bonpua who was to guide us through the museum. The knowledgeable and versatile Christian was well versed in the history of the Jesuits in relation to the Philippines (considering he was a graduate of the Dominican-run University of Sto. Tomas), sharing a lot of historical and current facts. 

Museum curator Christian Joseph Bonpua

He  presented a birds eye view of the history of the Jesuit house during the Spanish and American periods of history via a video presentation.  The Jesuit House is actually two houses connected by a bridge.

“Ano de 1730” plaque atop the entrance (photo: Ms. Rhea Vitto-Tabora)

During our guided tour, Christian pointed to a low relief plaque, bearing the date “Año 1730,” on the inside wall above the main house’s entrance door, an artifact in itself. However, the house’s history remains murky, even contentious.  Some historians argue over the exact year of the house’s construction, some saying that the date on the relief plaque was not 1730 but 1750, pointing out that the third number from the left resembled “5” more than “3.” One piece of evidence hints that the house was built even earlier.

Airconditioned ground floor gallery

In his book Pictorial Records and Traces of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines and Guam prior to 1768, published in 1936, Fr. William Repetti, S.J. (1884-1966), a seismologist (he was Chief of the Section of Seismology and Terrestrial Magnetism of the Manila Observatory, 1920 to 1936) and archivist of the Jesuits, noted the existence of this house, identifying this old structure as the “Jesuit House of 1730.”

It is also widely believed that a tower once stood beside the house. An old, badly damaged painting of the house showed that it was attached to what is believed to be a watchtower for spotting seafaring raiders. In his book, Fr. Repetti also included a reproduction of this old painting of the house. Today, pictures of Fr. Repetti’s visit as well as a framed drawing of that painting hangs on the Jesuit house wall.

However, recent restoration works proved that the house could even be older than 1730. A coin, found buried in one post of the original house, was dated to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).  Broken ceramics, also pointing to the Ming Dynasty, were also dug out.

Display of pottery shards

It gives the idea that the house may have gone through a number of transformations and that its first owner may  have been Chinese (the Chinese were among the early settlers in the area). In her book Life in Old Parian, memoirist Concepcion G. Briones happily noted that the house has now come full circle – somehow it is back to Old Parian hands (as the current owner is Filipino-Chinese).

Japanese porcelain shards

Chinese influence in the house construction can be seen in rafters that feature a design resembling a pagoda plus the intricate carvings on the trusses also show that Chinese artisans may have worked on it.  Sy believes the Jesuit house is even older than the Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House because its second level, like the ground floor, is still made of cut coral stones, indicating it was built before a Spanish decree disallowed this practice.

Statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola

The decree, indicating that the second level of all houses should be made of wood, was made to prevent the loss of life after a number of houses using coral stone on both floors were destroyed and many lives were lost during a strong earthquake.

Check out “Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House“

The remarkably preserved house, sitting on around 2,000 sq. m. of land, served as the residence of the second highest official of the Jesuit society in the Philippines.  Other priests of the order or deacons going to or coming from other provinces for missions were also received here. Historians say that the Jesuits were indeed in possession of the house until 1768 when, following their suppression in Europe, they were expelled from the Philippines. The Jesuits are credited to have introduced masonry construction to the Philippines.

Old movie projector

In 1910, after having been built and occupied by the Jesuits, this huge stone-and-tile mansion bordered by two streets on a lot in old Panting, adjacent to Parian, was bought by Don Luis Alvarez y Diaz, the Alvarez family patriarch.  The Alvarez family, originally from Asturias (Spain), settled in Cebu via Lawis, Leyte.

Scaled model of a Chinese junk

Who Don Luis brought it from is still mystery but, based on a lead provided by Edwina Link-Harris (Don Luis’ granddaughter), it is surmised that it may have been from Don Cristobal Garcia, a Spaniard and a Tabacalera agent of the then municipality of Cebu who returned to Spain. At one point in time, Don Jose Alvarez leased the house to Gov. Sergio Osmeña who used it as a meeting place for Cebu’s elite. The Alvarez family are the current owners of Montebello Villa Hotel.

Diorama of the the old Parian area, showing the now non-existent Church of St. John the Baptist, the Jesuit House and other landmarks.

During World War II, the house was also used by the American forces.  In the 1960s, the house was leased to Peping “Jap” Rodriguez, an Alvarez kinsman, for use as a club. Within the decade it again changed hands, this time going to the Sy family. Jaime “Jimmy” Sy, the current owner, inherited the property from his father.  Jimmy, who operates Ho Tong Hardware, is married to the former Margie Vaño of the Old Guard, related to the Sanson-Velosos, the Coromina-Fortiches, and the Escaños.

Stairs to second floor

Dr. Michael Cullinane (associate director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies), an American historian on the Philippines, has a different version of the house’s history. Unearthing the earliest record on the house, he revealed that it once belonged to the pious Villa family of the Chinese mestizo principalia (local aristocracy). Around 1880, the Villas gave the house to the Jesuits on certain conditions, including one on the dedication of specific prayers for living and dead members of the family.

Azotea

Jimmy questioned this claim, saying that, even before 1880, the house was already in the possession of the Jesuits as indicated on the Jesuit seals, carved in two separate places in the house, which are definitely in the 18th-century style, as well as the legend “1730,” which is definitely in 18th-century calligraphy. Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ, a Jesuit art historian and professor based at the Ateneo de Manila, supports Jimmy on his contention as the Jesuit presence in Cebu was not reestablished until the erection of Our Lady Queen of China, Sacred Heart Parish in 1952, debunking the 1880 deed.

The two-storey house, along the defunct main entrance on narrow Binakayan Street, has cut coral stone walls with original molave (tugas) hardwood floors of alternating planks of dark and light shades, carved decorative corbels that support the ceiling, stout posts made from the trunks of trees, and a terracotta clay tile roof (a double row of tiles, with each row with a tile atop the other, facing down and cupped by a single tile facing up in the kulob-hayang pattern).

Antique sala set and television

The ground-level interior space (zaguan) has terracotta flooring.  It has 3 m. high ceilings and big door and window openings. Its second floor is connected, by a covered wooden walkway, to a smaller house.  The smaller house is the building we entered. A bipartite building, the smaller house’s lower storey is of coralline limestone while the upper portion is wood, typical of Fil-Hispano colonial houses.

Antique cash register

Antique typewriter, cameras and telephones

According to a 1989 essay written by Fr.  Javellana, the smaller house is believed to have served as an azotea or recreation area.  Another possible explanation, according to Sy, for why this structure was built separately but close to the main house and connected to it at the second level through a wooden bridge, is that it could have functioned as a kitchen situated outside of the house in case of fire.

Jukebox

This house annex, though still retaining its original wood reliefs, the corbels that support the ceiling, the huge, uncut tugas posts and big planks of tugas floorboards lined side by side, already has a galvanized iron roof and renovated modern walls. The presence of disjointed smaller corbels indicates that the ceiling was much higher today than when it was first built.

Tugas (molave) post and coralstone wall at second floor

The original wooden staircase leading up to the livable space on the second floor, described by Fr. Repetti as having a newel post and decorated with intricate carvings or motifs (similar to the monastery of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño), is also gone. It is said that, when they left, the Alvarez family brought the banister and post with them and used these in a house they had built in Bohol.

A towering concrete fence, resting on the original fence of coral stone (said to be older than the house), hides the house from street view. The original entrance to the property, through a narrow road called Binakayan near Colon, has been closed off to protect, on the gate’s lintel, the monograms of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Though the Sys do not live in the house anymore, they turned the house into a semi-public museum in 2008, making it as a repository of antique furniture and other items (including a jukebox, old GE electric fan and an antique payphone) they’ve collected over the years, thus preserving it as a testament to Cebu’s rich cultural heritage.

Kitchen

In addition to the antiques collected by the Sy family, the museum also features a diorama showing the house during the Spanish era as well as the old furniture owned by the previous owners and items (Ming Dynasty coins, pottery shards, animal bones, etc.) that were unearthed at the location and displayed at the airconditioned ground floor gallery.

Cross at fence

Typical of its time, everything about the house was generous, almost grand and made to last generations. Even with the clutter of warehouse items, the innate importance of the Jesuit House was immediately apparent to us visitors.

Bas relief at the coralstone fence

The Jesuit House: Hotong Hardware, 26 Zulueta St., Brgy. Parian, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu. Tel: (032) 255 5408.  Admission: PhP50/pax (PhP15 for students). Open daily, 8 AM – 12 noon and 1 – 5 PM.  The museum is one of the stops of the annual Gabii sa Kabilin where locals and visitors alike can take a tour of the rich heritage of Cebu City.

How to Get There: The Jesuit House, across the Heritage of Cebu Monument built right on the old Parian plaza, is a few steps away from the obelisk that marks the start of Colon Street at its northern end. Taxi drivers may not be familiar with the Jesuit house so just say you want to go to the Parian Fire Station, which is 10-15 mins. away from Fuente Osmena.  From Ayala Center, take a 13C jeepney and drop off at the Heritage of Cebu Monument. From Colon, take the 01K jeepney and also drop off the monument.