Leisurely Walk in Pila, Laguna

I will admit that I envy towns or cities that still preserve a portion of its past: be it structures, food, tradition, or even ambience. Pila, Laguna still has the last one. Although more famous for its well-preserved and well-maintained ancestral houses (which fortunately survived the last world war), the town is unique for that old times ‘feel’. The houses reinforce that feeling, add to that the silent watcher that is the town church. One brief rest at its center, at its town plaza would definitely remind you that it still good to have those things from the Spanish era. Despite the busy street on all sides (one being a main thoroughfare for both jeepneys and buses), the town center is surprisingly peaceful in general. Of course these are the views of a visitor and I hope such views can be maintained and be seen as well by the others.

 

On a different note, upon closer examination of the houses, one may want to make detailed study of their designs as well as treir similarities. I have come across a book in National Bookstore that  discusses house designs in the Philippines but then, ‘localized’ historical researches would not ne bad at all I believe.  For now, the aesthetic aspects of the Pila ancestral houses would suffice.

What remains to be seen and visited are: 1) the Pila Museum (‘di ko pa maabutang bukas), and the original location of the town.

  

Food for the Trails: Patio Sophia in Pila, Laguna

Food is ever present in travels and tours. And so if you are looking for some quick chow in Pila, Laguna, you may want to visit Patio Sophia. Situated just across the street from the Pila Church, the visitors are offered with food common to the Filipino palate. Yes, the usual stuff – pasta-based snacks and Filipino ulam – but the surrounding enables you to imagine a Spanish-era setting as you eat. One only has to look outside and see neighboring houses and stores. In our case we choose the favorites: baked macaroni topped with cheese and clubhouse. Pushed with cold drinks, and merienda time was well satisfied. 

 

Patio Sophia is located at number 30 Rizal Street, Barangay Santa Clara Norte, Pila, Laguna. You may contact them at these numbers: (049) 559-5032, 0932-8778783. You may also send them an e-mail to: patio_sophia@yahoo.com.ph

 

A Walk through Sta. Cruz, Laguna

* a simple monument (probably for a prominent person from Sta. Cruz) found as one enter the town proper of Sta. Cruz

* the usual words of celebration found in almost all parts of Laguna

* a marker commemorating the bravery of the guerillas of Sta. Cruz who fought during World War II

* a view of the town park: simple yet relaxing, especially if you take a breather there at sunset

* a towering monument of Jose Rizal, one that identical to the monument found in Nagcarlan, Laguna

Sta. Cruz shows that a capital does not necessarily have to be literally in the center of a town or city or to be the hub of all economic activities. True, Sta. Cruz now has all the establishments it needs to thrive but at first glance, it would seem that its distance (as compared to Calamaba for instance) is a turn-off to business ventures. But it has held the title of Laguna’s capital and despite the distance it is a fast developing town. I wonder if there is already a move to elevate it to a city.

Another good thing about the town, similar to the towns after Bay (that is, Victoria and Pila), is that it was able to maintain the town atmosphere. In common language, the bayan feel. I don’t know if a chance reader can relate to it. You try to take a short rest at the town’s park around sunset and you’ll get a blast of a relaxing view: small stalls selling merienda; children playing on the ground; and the beautiful sky turning into crimson as the sun sets in the west. Jeepneys are present on one side of the town center but for me, they are not as bothersome as the jeepneys in Calamba, Los Baños, or San Pablo. Someone may chance upon this entry and contradict this observation, but I can counter that how you see a town or any other place is something that is personal in nature. Kanya-kanya ‘yan.

* one thing I find lovely about the shops in Sta. Cruz: the display windows!

* one of the many stores in the town market selling native products; it seems that the town is specializing in such products

* a night scene at a busy street in Sta. Cruz

* an arc put up at a bridge that traverses the Sta. Cruz river

* I would concede that this shot is not so informative, but the view of the Sta. Cruz river the night we visited it was simply overwhelming

At the park is a marker saying that it was the place where Wha–Chi guerillas (Philippine-Chinese Anti-Japanese Guerilla Force) fought against the Japanese that led to the liberation of the town on January 26, 1945. The town church where the Japanese confined themselves was successfully captured through the combined forces of the HUKBALAHAP and Hunter’s ROTC.

As I have said earlier, a revisit to Sta. Cruz is necessary. I am yet to allot time for full-blown trips to places in the country which shall primarily deal on walking through streets and digging into details of churches and old houses and structures and (hopefully) spending a few days in the places we are to visit.

The Houses and Structures in Sta. Cruz, Laguna

* definitely a once magnificent house; found just across Sta. Cruz church

* a detail of the mansion showing its decaying state

* a larger view of the mansion,
showing a staircase that could have been magnificent in its heyday

* I am still in the belief that this is an old public toilet as this one is found just along a street!

* one compact, old house; much like the ones found along the main road in Pila, Laguna town proper

The seeming distance of Sta. Cruz, Laguna from the towns of busy industries such as Calamba or Sta. Rosa is not a disadvantage at all. After all, it has kept its identity as the province’s capital since 1885 and is not lagging behind the other progressing towns and cities in Laguna.

* might have been a magnificent house; this one now houses the Provincial Disaster Operation Center, PDCC-Laguna

* a closer look at the balcony of the mansion

* the Sta. Cruz Town Hall; from its general appearance, it must have been constructed during or around the American period, much like the old San Pablo City Hall; too bad I was not able to find a note about it

* Colum-what?: Columbia? Columbus? It seems to me like a former theater

* the Resilient Wall: this might have been part of a once big house, found along a street going to the market place; I wonder if the house was destroyed during WWII

During our visit to this town capital, I suddenly got lost in thought, thinking at that time that I was in Lucena. It was because of the crisscrossing streets which are laid-out in a large land area. If I may venture to speculate, it was this spread-out street outlines that helped the old houses survived. Unlike in San Pablo City, where a main street, called by the a war veteran I have interviewed as Avenida Rizal, served as a pool for building the elegant houses. No such houses survive today probably because of the fire of 1938 or of the need to build business establishments along the avenue. I cannot identify one such main street in Sta. Cruz, and so the mansions are dispersed.

* a breath-taking view of a mansion along the Sta. Cruz river, the place is named Villa Valenzuela

* the lights of the restaurant that now houses the villa gives it a different feeling to me; should have made them a little more fitting, lamps should do the trick

* a detail of a window in the villa

I would leave out for now the historical details, as in reality we went there to do some unplanned shopping. I have searched the internet for some details but I feel that it would betray the aims of Back Trails to repost them. I have mentioned anyway a plan to revisit the town. Much more can still be learned about its past. I hope that by that time I shall be able to share more here.

[How to go to Sta. Cruz, Laguna: If you're from Manila, simply look for buses bound for Sta. Cruz via Calamba and College. There are bus stations along EDSA and near the Gil Puyat LRT Station.]

Land on the South: Lucena City, Quezon 1

The sheer size of this city and its distance from the capital city of Manila are sufficient enough to treasure one’s visit to this place found in Quezon. Not that I am one of those who has to travel from the country’s capital just to see the city; I am just from the neighboring province of Laguna. Perhaps it’s the travel, no matter where you have come from. For the time consumed on road alone could be a big and satisfying trade-off for the view of the place, for the sceneries of the place.

* the bridge, under which a river flows – whose name I was not able to identify – connecting the city proper (that is, the market place and the modern establishments) with the part of the city where SM Lucena can be found

* a marker for the completion of a street in Lucena during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos

* a street mural spanning the street where the church is found

Without resorting to the ever helpful internet, I believe the name Oroquieta (I hope I got the spelling more or less right) has some intimate association with the place, as it was chosen as the name of the organization of UPLB students from Lucena. Indeed, as I go and proceed with this Back Trails enterprise, I see again and again the insufficiency of just being a mere traveler, a mere tourist to a place. To admit, I have been to this place for quite a number of times already yet I only found the occasion for a more meaningful ‘look’ at the city, its places, and people the last time I visited it. Perhaps my sentiments can be best expounded as an appendix to this two-part entry.

Size-wise, the city is big; a day is not enough to roam its streets. Even in earlier years, the city is already a tourist hub. I can still remember frequenting a place called Ocean’s Palace, which was their prized ‘mall’ at the time. Unfortunately the place was forced to be closed when an SM branch was erected at the city. If my memory still serves me right, onwards to a place called Cota, one can find a river and some wooden boats anchored, the styles of which are more or less native to the place. Definitely, a revisit to these places should be done. On the other side, towards the place called Iyam, a number of lodgings can be found where visitors can take their rest.

* the church of San Fernando

* inside the chapel of the saints, or is it the chapel of the virgins?

* a view of the interior of the church

* a tomb found outside the church

* the church tower

As to their church, I believe it’s one of the most important havens for examiners, especially teachers. I cannot fully attest to this, for I only have this general idea that the licensure examination for teachers for the regions and provinces around Lucena is done there yearly. I remember attending a mass there; most of the attendants were probably aspiring licensed teachers. The place was packed, and I do remember hearing the blessings of the priest for them. Shameful to admit but I was at the time amusing myself by memorizing the inscriptions on an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a chapel adjacent to it.

The parish of San Fernando was established on March 1, 1881. A certain Father Mariano Granja was its first parish priest. The first church was built on May of the next year and was completed on July, 1884. It caught fire on May 24, 1887 and later renovated by November. It was only in 1950 that the Diocese of Lucena was established.

The church must have been an important place, especially for the upper class, as I still found some tombs, curiously outside the walls, as opposed to the ones I found in Pila.

* one heck of a mansion found as one approach the provincial capitol

* another big house, only this time it is a restaurant of some sort

House Preview

I can, I believe, make an admittedly weak argument connecting the houses and the church of a certain place. This has been my observation, anyway, from the Back Trails I have treaded so far.

Imagine a place in the Philippines, a pueblo perhaps, during the 19th century. And imagine in addition that it is a relatively wealthy and vibrant place, with enough industries (which meant enough sources of living for the people) and relatively vast plantations or lands (take for example Batangas, Negros, or Tarlac and neighboring provinces). Of course, the picture would not be complete without the usual media clase, the middle class that put on the spice, the color, the intrigue, of this time. And with their stature comes the usual regard for them, even in death.

So off to church go their body, where during those times the church itself is a power, an influence to behold. So the wealthy of the time find some nice little place inside (or outside) the church in which to lay to rest. To cut this monologue short, we would usually find crypts where there was (or is) a significant presence of the aristocrats, or wealthy, or whatever they may be called. On a final note, it goes to show that during the Spanish times, or even shortly after their period, wealth, social status, and the church (with all its complexities and influences) are interconnected.

* a haggard Trailer Pransis lounging outside the church grounds of the church of Lucena

This one last photo serves to pacify my annoyance over being doubted (it seemed to me) about my travels to the places I post here. I believe, this pattern of posting a picture of me at the end of each entry (although I do not wan to do so when I started this thing) would be a regular appearance here in Back Trails.

Casas de Pila, Laguna II

* the main thoroughfare

* a street sign in the town proper

* Pila Delight’s, too bad they do not offer much food that Pila has produced, or was it that we did not look for it?

* Plaza Delight’s

* a Pila plaza delicacy – mami!

* sunset at Pila

* the most important feature of the town, its people