Echoes of the living past

Echoes of the living past

By NOEL F. DE JESUS

May 19, 2011, 8:30am

Calle Crisologo (Photo by RONALD JAYME)

MANILA, Philippines -- By plane, the trip takes an hour and a half. By land transport, the journey lasts a minimum of seven hours.

Through history, however, you’ll be travelling over four-and a half centuries back in 1572. This was the year Captain Juan de Salcedo “discovered” this northwestern coast of Luzon during a reconnaissance mission. The captain from Castille was attracted by the region’s topographical similarity to his hometown. He thus decides to make Vigan his second home.

In the tradition of his grandfather, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, first governor-general of Spanish Philippines, Salcedo subdues the confederation of Ilocano barangays to found a settlement. He named it Villa Fernandina, after the young son of Philip II. Later, in recognition of his brilliant “pacification” of the Bicol Peninsula and Catanduanes, the crown deeded to Salcedo the entire region as an encomienda or fiefdom. In 1574 Salcedo returned to villa Fernandina to lead the tranquil life of a feudal lord. Transforming the sitio into a replica of his hometown in Spain, Salcedo built a church, a munisipio (municipal seat of government), a school and a commercial area around a central plaza – the Spanish pattern that was to become the model for countless Philippine towns.

Salcedo did not live long enough to witness the realization of his plans, having contracted the illness which eventually caused his death. He was only 27 years old. Yet, characteristically, the man left nothing to change. Having laid down a blueprint, Salcedo was not so improvident as to die intestate. He named the Ilocanos on his encomienda as his heirs. In grateful remembrance, the Ilocanos erected a monument to him at the Vigan town plaza, named in his honor.

Only one of Salcedo’s plans failed to take hold; the name he had chosen for the settlement – Villa Fernandia – fell into disuse. Vigan was named after the biga (Alcosia indica), a coarse plant with very large and ornate leaves that once grew wild in the region. From the Tagalog kaibigan meaning “a place where there is biga,” the name was shortened and Hispanized to Vigan.

In the 1650s, Vigan became the center of Spanish culture and influence in Northern Luzon. The Augustinian fathers, assigned in the Ilocos region, presided over its gradual Hispanization. They made Vigan the hub of their missionary activities and constructed a grand cathedral to replace the wood and thatch chapel that Salcedo built. They also influenced the building of immense houses with red tile roofs and spacious balconies of ornately carved wood, of which some still stand today, narrow cobblestone streets. The town’s source of income was from corn and tobacco products. Vigan later became the seat of ecclesiastical and civil power in religion.

Although Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte were one province until 1818, the people of Ilocos Sur bear more evidence of Spanish heritage. Compared to their northern brothers, Ilocos Sur natives are generally fair complexioned. They are likewise reputed to be industrious, thrifty and migratory.

A few abandoned mansions in Vigan are mute evidence of upper strata migration, but over 30,000 Vigan folk remained to work in industries that probably even antedate the Spanish colonization. These industries include weaving, pottery, salt and sugar-making and the production of staple foods.

Vigan today is the most preserved Spanish town in the Philippines. It has become one of the richest, historically. Its sons and daughters figured in several abortive anti-colonial uprisings, the best known of which was Diego Silang’s anomalous collections of taxes and the venal monopoly of provincial commerce by alcaldes mayores (representatives of provincial governors). The revolt was eventually quelled by the Spanish soldier’s superior weaponry and its leaders executed. When Diego Silang was assassinated at the height of the revolt, his dauntless wife, Gabriela carried on the battle. The two are now in the roster of Filipino heroes immortalized in town plazas of Vigan and elsewhere.

Another hero from Vigan is Fr. Jose Burgos, who, along with two other priests, was executed by the Spaniards on suspicion of complicity in the Cavite Mutiny of 1872. The town’s Plaza Burgos is a memorial to him.

The town’s principal attraction today is its colonial houses, seemingly hunched together like proud old ladies along the town’s main street. These houses are rich in repositories and an infinite trove of period furniture, historical mementoes and Ilocano artifacts. On their walls hang faded oil paintings which recall the affluent taste of a nineteenth century bourgeoisie.

Vigan’s most splendid moment unfolds in the quiet, early morning hour just before the sun bursts from behind the Cordilleras. In the still diffused light, the old town exudes a seventeenth century ambience. Slight imaginative effort can conjure up its Hispanic Majesties in plumed helmet and cuirass, marching between stately rows of stone houses. It takes no effort at all to hear the hoofbeats of their horses on the once cobbled streets.

Soon, fingers of light will probe the chipped tile roofs and crumbling stone walls of the colonial houses, tracing the outline of a door which any moment now, may fly open to reveal a magnificent carriage. But there’s only an old lady, veiled and on her way to morning Mass.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your retirement and real estate needs.