A Church, A Museum, A Historical Landmark

Intramuros, Manila has many popular sites that have attracted its visitors and among them is the San Agustin Church. The building itself is a historical landmark and it has its own museum attached to it.

The Church of San Agustin is the oldest stone church in the Philippines. It was constructed from 1586 to 1606 under the consecutive supervision of Augustinian Fathers. The building was so stable that the periodic earthquakes produced minimal damage.  Terms for the surrender of Manila to the Americans by the Spaniards were discussed in the church in 1898. Damaged in the Battle of Manila in 1945 when the Americans liberated the Philippines from the Japanese. It was repaired years after the war. The first Philippine plenary council was held here in 1953. One of the four Baroque Churches of the Philippines inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993 by UNESCO.

It is located along Gen. Luna Street besides the CBCP building and just across the Casa Manila. The museum is on the right side where a monastery previously stands. Its visitors during hours where there is no mass are mostly tourist, even non-Catholic tourists. The museum charges 100 pesos for entrance fee.

The entrance room is not that stylish but still stimulates interest. The very first thing a visitor sees is the large bell at the center of the room. It is quite dark so some of the paintings are hard to see.

The museum is a two – story square gallery that you will walk clock-wise and is enclosing a garden with a fountain on the center. Visitors can take pictures with no flash along the walkway. There are a few rooms however where picture taking is not allowed. On the easternmost part of the museum is a burial chamber where the ashes of early Spanish conquerors and former priests now rest.

At the left of the first walkway is an entrance leading to the church. Figures of four saints are placed on this door.

The church walls and ceiling are elegantly designed. Images are artistically made and are on display on each corner of the church. The church choir has 68 carved molave seats with narra inlaid and an artistic book-stand.

The grand stairway of the museum only has a faint light.

The second floor has more lighting making it easy for me to take clear photos. Majority of the exhibits here are paintings but there is a separate room for artifacts. The religious library is also located here although its conservation and organization is still on-going.

The entire visit to the church and its museum will take about half to one hour, though it might take longer if you wish to know more about the details. Overall the visit to the church of San Agustin is a great experience, especially if you are a devoted catholic.

Walking along the wood carvers road

As I step foot on Paete, stores filled with wooden and resin sculptures has received my eyes. I’m at the town’s center where roads crossed paths.  As I am not yet familiar to the streets, I looked around and see the town’s church and decided to start from there.

On the road to the church, I gaze and took photos upon the shops display. I even saw a porch with carved wooden furniture’s on one of the houses. I guess having wooden carved furniture is a common thing here for the town is known as the wood carving capital of the Philippines.

I passed an alley going to the church’s side door which as luck would have it, was opened that time. The church of Saint James the Apostle seemed reasonably old. I was surprised to see so many religious sculptures inside lined on both sides at the entire length of the wall. It’s not a matter of numbers but the spacing of the images is somewhat short compared to the other churches I’ve visit. It’s like having a parade of images inside.

From there, I asked a few local town people for directions going to the shop owned by Justino Cagayat Jr ., also known as Mang Paloy. I’ve known him because he was featured several times on the national news two years ago as the man behind the official wooden statue of Pedro Calungsod. Pedro Calungsod is the second Filipino Saint canonized in Rome on October of 2012.

His shop is far so I have to ride the jeep. Unfortunately, the shop was closed when I got there. I ended up having a chat with the owner of the shop beside it. Danny informed me how to find Luisito Ac-Ac, another famous sculptor of Paete.

Store of Danny Austria

So, I ride a tricycle going to Mr. Ac-Ac’s place only to find out that his shop is only a stone’s throw away from the town church. I regret that I have not learned it sooner because his shop is just along the road where I first walked and could have saved time.

Carving of Luis Ac-Ac, #28 J. V. Quesada St., Paete, Laguna, Philippines

Feeling a bit tired, I thought of having a drink first at a nearby store before meeting Mr. Ac-Ac and request for an interview. Not anticipating the arrival of a group of students on their educational field trip with a plan to take photos of Mr. Ac-Ac and his artworks. They beat me to him. Luckily the teachers called them to hurry up on taking pictures for the bus will be leaving soon.

When the students were gone, I approach Mr. Ac-Ac feeling nervous for I will be requesting for an unscheduled interview. But as soon as I introduced myself that uneasy feeling disappeared. I realized that he is a very welcoming and responsive person. He asked me how I found his place. I told him that I asked people for where would I find the most experienced and talented sculptor in town, and they lead me here. He joked on the most experienced as the oldest sculptor in town.

He allowed me to take photos inside his small gallery. His unique sculptures have made a fan out of me. Here, I picked-up information about him on paper cut-outs of publications that featured him in the past. “Luisito Ac-Ac is a multi-awarded sculptor who has done over a thousand pieces and are collected by art enthusiasts even from the US and Europe. He was labeled as Sculptor Par Excellence. He is the artist who sculpted the Jubilee Cross for the World Youth Day in 1995. Some of his prominent artworks are exhibited at the Philippine consulate in San Francisco, USA.”

After taking photos of his latest work, we resumed our talk about his most recent exhibit at PHACCI and Pinto Art Museum. Sadly I’ve never been to those places before so I could not relate that much. Aside from wood carving, Mr. Ac-Ac can also make sculptures of ice which he said is a lot easier for it does not need a lot of details. At present, Mr. Ac-Ac is at the age of 62 years and still active in wood carving. I see him as a man of humility and he’s passion as a sculptor will never fade. I am very pleased that I met him.

As I was about to leave town, I passed by another interesting store. It sells wooden pigs and sculptures of children playing a native Filipino game. In my youth days we called it luksong baka.

The tour around Paete is really special. It gives life to Filipino culture and arts. It can help children to dream and to desire to become great artists someday.

The town of Paete is located at the northeastern part of Laguna Province. Along the shores of scenic Laguna de Bay. About 2 to 3 hours of travel from Metro Manila.

For inquiries on Luisito Ac-Ac’s unique items, portrait and religious items, call or send a message at +63906-340-0390 or email to marygrace_acac@yahoo.com


Have you ever been in a place whose residents’ are artists? Please tell us your experience.

Casa de Segunda: An ancestral home of a hero's first love

Everyone falls in love, even heroes. Everyone has a unique love story, but only few gets documented such as the love of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal. Have you ever wonder where his first love, Segunda has lived or what is the condition of her house now? Are you curious about what happened to Segunda when she got married? Well that's what we're gonna find out on our travel to Casa de Segunda.

It was almost twelve noon when we prepared to travel to Casa de Segunda and decided to have lunch along the way. There was eagerness on our part for this much awaited travel.When we got there, we noticed a bell on the right side of the gate that has to be rung for us to get inside. My daughter smiled while pulling the string. Inside, we were approached by the secretary of Mrs. Lilet Malabanan who will give us a tour inside the house. Mrs. Lilet Malabanan, is a great granddaughter of Segunda Katigbak. 

Casa de Segunda was named after Segunda Solis Katigbak, who was considered Jose Rizal's first love. Segunda married Manuel Luz, a member of one of Lipa's prominent families in 1886, and the house was blessed with nine equally bright and gifted children.

Casa de Segunda is Spanish in architecture, yet essentially a tropical house. Here, their children and grandchildren were trained in music, as it is common then to play the piano and sing songs after dinner.

The ground floor of the house was used to park the carriage and as storage for the produce. It is now a lobby with reading materials and a logbook for visitors. The portrait of Segunda Katigbak and her family are also on display.

Segunda Katigbak

At the left side of the lobby is the dining area that shows the original dining table and hat rack. The long table suggests that families during that time has many children and the hat rack or bastonero is a sign of prestige.

The living room is on the second floor. Our host shows us the original chess table where Jose Rizal and Manuel Luz has played chess. Jose lost that game. Jose Rizal was quoted in saying that he lost to Manuel twice. The first was on Segunda and the second was on chess. I wonder how Segunda has felt during that time when Jose and Manuel were playing. It must have been really awkward.

Paintings of Segunda's Grandchildren are displayed on the entire house. It significantly describes the Luz-Katigbak clan as a family of artists.

Then we were led to the bedrooms. The masters bedroom still has the original bed of Segunda. The other bedrooms also has their original beds but mattress were placed on top because relatives choose to sleep here when they are on vacation.

The azotea or balcony has a wide space and the tree besides it gives the balcony a relaxing shade and breeze. From there, we have a nice view of the ground.

The tour ends at the fountain at the center of the garden. Here, we took a souvenir photo with Mrs. Lilet Malabanan.

And certainly, the turtle living in the fountain can't escape our souvenir shot. We also took notice of the Alagao tree near the gate. We learned that this tree was personally planted by Segunda herself. This is also the tree were Jose ties his horse when he visited the Katigbak Mansion.

My family are thankful to Mrs. Lilet Malabanan for accommodating us and to her secretary for doing the tour. Casa de Segunda is located at 198 Rizal Street, Lipa City, Batangas.

Walking inside the walls of Fort Santiago

My visit to Fort Santiago was full of excitement and enthusiasm. As I entered the gate, my first impression was like I was entering a place from a different era. The first thing I saw at the frontage were horses and carriages, an old tranvia, trellis with vines and a fountain at the center of  a small park. There were also a group of young students on their educational tour and a group of tourists.

A replica of the pre-war Manila street cars.

The park, walkway and picnic areas have changed this fortress into a peaceful and comporting place to spend your vacation or spare time.

Repairs are currently ongoing on the right side of the walls of Fort Santiago and the Rizal Shrine but they are kept clean and safe so that visitors will not feel uncomfortable. The Rizal Shrine inside the fort is a reconstruction of the colonial period barracks where the patriot, Jose Rizal, was confined during his trial for sedition. It is now a museum where reminders of the hero can be viewed.

Rizal Shrine

At the entrance of the stone wall, I immediately noticed the shoe prints embedded in pavement. I got curious onto whom it belongs and what does it represent. So I followed the trails and see what it leads to.

The trail leads me to an old building with iron bars. Behind the iron bars is a statue of a man whose arms are tied. When I got closer, I learned that it was a statue of Jose Rizal and those trail of shoe prints represents where he passed on his way to Bagumbayan from Fort Santiago and immortalizes his brave path to martyrdom.

From here, I walked to the other part of Fort Santiago, The Baluarte de Sta. Barbara. Named after the patron saint of artillerymen and was built to protect the entrance to the Pasig river. At the side of Baluarte de Santa Barbara are the dungeon and a cross monument. On the cross monument lie the mortal remains of approximately 600 Filipinos. It serves as a memorial to all these unknown victims of the Japanese Imperial forces.

Baluarte de Santa Barbara

In Memory of the victims at Fort Santiago

An Entrance to the Pasig River

Dungeon

The Dungeon is a restricted area for visitors. I don't know the real reason but I think it's for safety measures. The dungeons used to be the storage vault for powder magazine of the Baluarte de Santa Barbara. Because of dampness caused by the humid weather and the nearness to the Pasig River, the Spaniards decided to built a new powder magazine on top of the baluarte. The vaults were converted into prison cells and storerooms. It must be hard to breath inside that dungeon.
At the top of the stronghold is a view of Pasig River. The Rizaliana Furniture Hall can also be found here.

The Rizaliana Furniture Hall showcases the furniture's used by the Rizal Family. Paintings related to Jose Rizal are also on display.

O Sei San, A woman Jose Rizal fall in love with while in Japan.

Going out of the Fort, I took the route that leads to Medio Baluarte de San Francisco. This route offers a view of the Pasig River on the left and the Rajah Sulayman Theater on the right. This route also reminds me of the game Temple Run.

I passed by some old Spanish cannons on my way to Intramuros visitors center. These Spanish cannons were used in 1875 and recovered on May 18, 1966 by the underwater operations unit, Philippine Navy at Cebu. The visitors center provides information assistance, Souvenir Shop and Coffee Shop.

Visitors Center

Old Spanish cannon

Fort Santiago is really worth my visit. I recommend it to students for their school educational tour for it's rich in history and culture. If your a tourist who loves history and architecture, then Fort Santiago and the rest of Intramuros is the place to go.

Fort Santiago is located at Santa Clara St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines.
For Inquiries, you may call at: (632) 527-2961 or (632) 527- 1572

Open Daily at 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.