I frequently travel to Los Baños, Laguna but I have no idea that the house of Gen. Paciano Rizal is located here. I just heard from someone that when Gen. Paciano Rizal left his hometown Calamba, he decided to have his retirement home in Los Baños.
Gen. Paciano Rizal was popularly
known as the brother of the Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal. Little has
been known of this man, the shadow behind Jose Rizal’s achievements and one of
the unsung heroes of the Philippine Revolution. Interested in his heritage, I
travelled to Los Baños, Laguna to visit his retirement home near the shore of
Laguna Lake at the side of Los Baños Old Municipal Building.
When I
arrived at the area, I observed that his house is usually unnoticed by the
public. It has a high metal gate and a concrete fence. In the beginning, I
had difficulty entering the shrine because there was no guard or doorbell at
the entrance. I just tap at the gate hoping for someone to hear me and let me
in. After a few minutes, the gate was opened by a young woman. She is the
caretaker’s sister tasked to clean the garden. I asked her if I could enter
the shrine and take some pictures. She
asked me a few questions, and let me in. I learned that Paciano Rizal's family welcomes visitors by appointment. The caretaker and her sister were kind
enough to let me enter without prior arrangement.
General
Paciano’s house is maintained by his great grand children. I like the way they
preserved his house and turned it into a shrine. It has a large facade enclosed
by a garden which makes the sight calm and breezy. I was amazed to find out
that this house was designed and built by Architect Andres Luna de San Pedro,
son of the well-known painter Juan Luna. A monument in honor of Gen. Paciano
was built at the side of the garden. His bones are stored at the center of the
garden together with the bones of his two sisters, Josefa and Trinidad. A
concrete stair with a curve to the right leads the way to the main door.
Inside
the shrine, there is an atmosphere of the past. The wooden floor is well
polished with wax. It brings back memories when I was a little kid where one of
my household chores is to polish the floor with Bunot (a coconut husk cut in half). The living room is plainly
decorated which shows the simple lifestyle of the Rizal family. The Master’s
Bedroom is furnished by a dresser with swinging full-length mirror, a sewing
machine, wooden table and chair and a rattan swinging chair. At the back is a
balcony where I can see a scenic view of Laguna Lake and a playground which was
built by the local government from the property donated by the Rizal family.
Los Baños, Laguna is appoximately 2 hours drive south of Manila, Philippines.To
visit this shrine, you may call or text Ms. Ester at 0919-9227829.
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