The Falls Town: The Houses in Pagsanjan

* flowers for the dead being sold on the streets;
you can now guess when we actually visited Pagsanjan

* first big house you’ll see if you walk down the street on the right side of the church; too bad I was not able to take note the name of the street

* recently built but definitely has old style/look in it

* another house; nearby is a marker for Conrado Benitez y Francia

* more houses! the upper left picture shows the headquarters of the Lahing Kayumanggi Folk Arts Association, Inc.

The houses shown here are found on the street leading to the town of Lumban. One thing we were not able to clarify was the location of the house of Pagsanjeño Conrado Benitez y Francia. A marker about him is found near a big, white house. But behind it, hidden by some trees, is a rickety house, but a big one too. And we were brainstorming which of the two is the house of Benitez. I believe it was the rickety one. If the Benitez house is the white one, they should have put the marker closer to it.

Benitez was born on November 26, 1889. He founded the Philippine Columbian Association in 1909. He was the first Filipino dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of the Philippines in 1918. He was also a co-founder and dean of the College of Business Administration of the said university. He was also the first Filipino to be appointed as editor of the Philippines Herald. Benitez was a participant too in the Constitutional Convention of 1935. He is actually an important person during his time. More can be discovered about him if one shall dig in the net.

Next: the houses of Calle Real (now Rizal Street)!