Real Bacolor-layout - Holy Angel University

www.hau.edu.ph/kcenter
The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY
for Kapampangan Studies
ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES
1
RECENT
VISITORS
MARCH & APRIL
F. Sionil Jose
Ophelia Dimalanta
Mayor Ding Anunciacion, Bamban,
Mayor Genaro Mendoza,
Tarlac City
Joey Lina
Sylvia Ordoñez
Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Angeles
Vice Mayor Bajun Lacap, Masantol
Ely Narciso, Kuliat Foundation
Ching Escaler
Gringo Honasan
Maribel Ongpin
Crisostomo Garbo
Museum Foundation of the
Philippines
MAY
Senator Tessie Aquino Oreta
Mikey Arroyo
Mayor Mary Jane Ortega,
San Fernando City, La Union
Cecilia Leung
Ariel Arcillas, Pres, SK Natl
Federation
Mark Alvin Diaz, SK Nueva Ecija
Tessie
Dennis Felarca, SK Zambales
Oreta
Brayant Gonzales, Angeles City
Council
Vice Mayor Pete Yabut, Macabebe
Vice Mayor Emilio Capati, Guagua
Carmen Linda Atayde, SM
Foundation
Estelito
Efren de la Cruz, ABC President
Mendoza
Col. Agripino Razon
JUNE
Ben Cabrera, visual artist
Patis Tesoro
Atty. Estelito P. Mendoza
Vice Governor Mikey Macapagal
Patis Tesoro
Arroyo
Mayor Buddy Dungca, Bacolor
Mayor Dennis Pineda, Lubao
Vice Mayor Tiger Lagman, City
of San Fernando
Rosve Henson
Ben Cabrera
Ingrid Sala Santamaria
Maestro Reynaldo Reyes
Efren “Bata” Reyes
Javier Nepomuceno
Bunny Fabella
Dir. Jerry Pelayo
JULY
Nestor Mangio
Joey Lina, DILG Secretary
Sen. Gregorio Honasan
Rep. Zenaida Ducut
Rep. Willie B. Villarama
Roberto Pagdanganan, DAR
Secretary
Eric Domingo, DOH Usec.
Zenaida Ducut
Arturo Naguit, Minalin Vice Mayor
Nestor Mangio, Lakeshore
Gen. Vidal Querol, Camp Olivas
Robin Nepomuceno
Hannah Bauzon, CL Times
John Pangilinan MBP Alabang
Carmelo Lazatin
Araceli and Tessa Aldeguer
Titos Bernardo, Alabang
Corito Ocampo Tayag
Bacolod City Local Government
Photos by Jimmy Hipolito
2
Kayakking among the mangroves in Masantol
Dennis Dizon
River tours launched
THE Center sponsored a multi-sector
research cruise down Pampanga River
last summer, discovered that the river is
not as silted and polluted as many believe,
and as a result, organized cultural and
ecological tours in coordination with the
Department of Tourism Region 3, local government units in the river communities,
and a private boatyard owner.
The
project
was
launched last June 28 to
coincide with the fluvial
procession marking the feast
of Apung Iru (St. Peter),
patron saint of Apalit. Rep.
Rimpy
Bondoc
of
Pampanga’s Fourth District,
Masantol Vice Mayor Bajun
Lacap, DOT Region III
officials and members of
local and national media
attended the launching and
press conference. Ivan
San Luis
Anthony Henares, San
Fernando City tourism officer, and Engr.
Robert Canlas, owner of the boatyard,
coordinated the affair. The Holy Angel
University brass band, rondalla and polosa
performer Renie Salor provided
entertainment.
Congressman Bondoc promised to
convert a portion of his fishponds into a
mangroves nursery and to construct a port
in San Luis town where tourist boats can
dock. The town’s centuries-old church is
part of the planned itinerary for church
heritage river cruises. Other cruise options
include a tour of the mangroves in Masantol
and Macabebe, and tours coinciding with
folk festivals like the batalla of
Macabebe,
kuraldal
of
Sasmuan, Apung Iru fiesta of
Apalit, and the aguman sanduk
of Minalin.
The
University’s
Community Outreach Program
will also participate in DOT
Region 3’s skills enhancement
training program on basic tour
guiding and other livelihood
projects to help boost tourism
and other economic activity in
the river communities.
Church
The HAU Department of
Hospitality and Tourism Management will
take charge of booking and promoting the
tours in coordination with DOT Region 3,
while the Center, which prepared the tour’s
itinerary, will also train tour guides from the
local communities.
Singsing is published quarterly by The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies
of Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines. The opinions expressed in the articles are
solely their author’s and do not reflect official position of the Center. For inquiries, suggestions
and comments, please call (045) 888-8691 loc. 1311, or fax at (045)888-2514, or email at
rptmt@yahoo.com.
Editor: Robby Tantingco
Contributors: Dr. John Alan Larkin, Prof. Lino Dizon, Alex Castro, Ivan Henares, Dr. JeanChristophe Gaillard, Erlita Mendoza, Kaye Mayrina Lingad, Joel Mallari, Arwin Lingat
Editorial Assistants: Sheila Laxamana, Ana Marie Vergara, Iza Salazar, Erlinda Cruz, Gina Diaz
Classical piano concert
held at Betis church
THE SANTIAGO de Galicia parish church of
Betis, one of the few churches in the country
declared National Treasures by the government,
was the setting of the free concert of world-class
pianists Ingrid Sala Santamaria and Maestro
Reynaldo Reyes held early last month.
The concert was part of the Pampanga leg of
the concert series entitled A Romantic Journey
which Ms. Santamaria and Maestro Reyes have
taken across the archipelago to educate their
fellow Filipinos on classical piano. The Center for
Kapampangan Studies, which sponsored the Betis
concert in cooperation with the Betis Pastoral
Council, invited students from various schools in
Pampanga and Tarlac as well as three busloads of
HAU students.
“Originally the concert was planned for the HAU
campus, but we had this vision of merging beautiful
music and beautiful venue, so we transferred it to
the loveliest church you can find, the Betis Church,”
says Robby Tantingco, Director of the Center.
On exhibit at the Center
Kapampangan beauties of yore
Ongoing at the Center’s gallery is an exhibit of
photographs of Kapampangan women who won local and
national beauty contests in the early 20th Century, specifically
in the Manila Carnival, the forerunner of Miss Philippines
pageant. It is curated by Alex R. Castro, the Center’s
new museum curator.
Rare photographs of early Kapampangan beauty
queens like Socorro Henson of Angeles (the first
Kapampangan to win a national beauty title in 1926),
Corazon Hizon (1933), Carmeling del Rosario of San
Fernando (1935), Cleofe Balingit of Macabebe (1936), Elisa
Manalo (1937), and Cristina Galang of Tarlac, Tarlac (1953),
after whom the Maria Cristina park was named.
Baro’t saya from the early 20th Century, on loan from
Leonor “Denden” Sanchez of Betis and Jojo Valencia of San
Fernando are also on exhibit.
Center to
publish
book on
translation
THE CENTER for
Kapampangan
Studies will launch
the book Gloria:
Roman Leoncio’s
Lost and Found
Kapampangan
Translation
of
Huseng Batute’s
Verse Novel next
month. It is the third
book published by the
Holy Angel University
Press, after Lino
Dizon’s An Epistle of
a Friar Prisoner 1898-1901 and Dr.
Luciano Santiago’s Laying the
Foundations: Kapampangan Pioneers in
the Philippine Church 1592-2001.
The book is the idea of
Ambassador Virgilio Reyes who
discovered a complete manuscript of
Roman Leoncio’s Kapampangan
version, written in the late 1920s. It
contains Jose Corazon De Jesus’ (a.k.a.
Huseng Batute) handwritten letter to
Leoncio as well as proofreading notes
by the renowned Kapampangan poet
Isaac Gomez. Roman Leoncio, however,
remains obscure as no other information
about his life and works has been
uncovered so far.
The book features, aside from
the complete Kapampangan and Tagalog
texts, critical analyses by Prof. Lino Dizon,
Dr. Albina Peczon Fernandez and Dr.
Lourdes Vidal, with foreword by Foreign
Affairs Secretary Blas Ople.
Socorro Henson c. 1926
Mr. White of Tarlac
Book on Thomasite to be launched at Center
The Center for Tarlaqueño Studies and the Center for Kapampangan Studies will jointly launch Prof. Lino L.
Dizon’s latest book, Mr. White: A Thomasite History of Tarlac Province, 1901-1913 on September 3. The
launching will coincide with an exhibit entitled Escuelang Laun: The Thomasites and Early Public Education in the
Kapampangan Region and another exhibit by the Public Affairs Office of the United States Embassy, which partly
sponsored the publication of the book.
Mr. White was the name of the ghost that schoolchildren reported seeing in an old school building in Tarlac.
Prof. Dizon’s research revealed that there was a real Mr. White who served as principal and later an education
minister during the American regime 100 years ago.
Dr. Ronald J. Post, the US Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs and Rep. Jesli Lapus of the Third
District of Tarlac will be the guest speakers.
Prof. Dizon is the Director of the Center for Tarlaqueño Studies based at the Tarlac State University, and
Consultant for the Center for Kapampangan Studies.
3
TODAY
GIANT SISIG FESTIVAL
Native
Kapampangan
architecture
TO help promote the pre-colonial
architecture of Filipinos, specifically
Kapampangans, the Center will have a
permanent exhibit of a miniature bale
elements of the native,pre-Hispanic house
kubu (bahay kubo, or cube house), to design, which was simple, useful and in harmony
be constructed by Santy Dizon and with the environment. The fact that we still
annotated by Siuala ding Meangubie. see such houses today proves their resilience
“Filipino architects today prefer after all these centuries.”
As Siuala ding Meangubie explains, the
Mediterranean, Japanese, American,
Balinese and Mexican designs, anything orientation and design of the bale kubu depend
except Filipino,” Robby Tantingco, Center on the ancestors’ understanding of wind
Director, says. “We want to inspire future direction, sunrise and sunset, path of typhoons
and floods.
architects and homeowners to use
Old poets meet young poets
The Center has started weekly poetry reading sessions involving veteran
Kapampangan poets and students in an effort to ensure that the Kapampangan
language survives in future generations. The sessions are being coordinated by Erlinda
Cruz, the Center’s cultural activities coordinator, and Renie Salor, resident polosa
artist. In other developments, the Center will publish a book on culinary arts by
Lilian M. Lising Borromeo as well as a series of booklets on crissotan (Kapampangan
verbal jousts), folk festivals and other folk practices. “These are cheaper to buy
than books, so
they are more accessible,” Robby Tantingco, Center
Director, says. “Hopefully we can popularize crissotan
again among students.”
The crissotans were composed by Candaba poet
Jose Gallardo, whose works have been turned over
to the Center by his family. The Kapampangan
counterpart of balagtasan, crissotan is named after Juan
Crisostomo Soto, the prolific writer from Bacolor who is
acclaimed as the Father of Kapampangan Drama.
Aside from booklets, the Center is also publishing plates
of Kapampangan heroes and historical events for classroom use
in public and private schools, as well as illustrated comics, maps and
other instructional materials. CDs and videos of folk festivals are
also being prepared.
4
Candaba poet Jose Gallardo
sponsored by the Trade and
Investment Promotions
Office in Balibago, Angeles
City last summer featured
what was claimed to be the
world’s largest sizzling sisig,
a dish of broiled pig’s head
diced and mixed with onions
and pepper. The Hospitality
Management students of
Holy Angel University
prepared and cooked the
sisig which fed the
thousands who came. The
Center, through the research
of Siuala ding Meangubie,
provided the historical
context.
Bencab and
other donors
Ben Cabrera, a.k.a. Bencab,
the famous visual artist who hails from
Sasmuan but is now based in Baguio
City, recently donated copies of his
books as his contribution to the
Center’s efforts to build a library
where students and researchers can
have
access
to
books
in
Kapampangan, on the Kapampangan
region and by Kapampangans.
Bencab was in Angeles City
to attend the opening of his exhibit
with Claude Tayag and Patis Tesoro
at the Museo ning Angeles.
Other recent donors are:
Msgr. Alfredo Lorenzo, who turned
over three boxes of his collections to
the library; Dan Dizon, who donated
prints of his paintings; Rep. Zenaida
Ducut of Lubao and DAR Secretary
Obet Pagdanganan who gave cash
for research activities; Dr. Romeo
Taruc who donated copies of his
father Luis Taruc’s book on Pedro
Abad Santos; Dr. Ofelia Tolentino
of CHEDRO III who donated old
copies of Angelite; Ed Sibug who
donated documents; and Dr.
Marietta Gaddi who lent old
photographs of her mother, a former
Miss Angeles.
Bacolor
and the Origin of Kapampangan Studies
By John A. Larkin
100 years ago, an American educator in Bacolor started it all
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
Bacolor reigned supreme as the political and cultural heart
of Pampanga, then one of the richest provinces in the
archipelago. The town possessed a very active cultural life,
and served as the home of poets, playwrights and journalists.
There occurred an outpouring of local plays, poetry contests
and other literary works, and Bacolor provided the first
provincial governor under the new regime. In the town, as
in the province, it was an era of celebration of things
Kapampangan and the time when the concept of
Kapampangan studies had its beginnings.
One of the originators, perhaps the prime instigator, of
the field of Kapampangan studies was an American teacher
named Luther Parker. With a degree from Chico
(California) Normal College, he came to Masantol in 1901
as one of the earliest of the new government teachers. In
1904 he became an instructor at the Bacolor Trade School
and its principal from 1908 to 1910. During his stay in
Bacolor, he developed an interest in the history and culture
of the province. Afterwards, he transferred to other
assignments in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte and Nueva Ecija
before returning to the States in 1925.1
Parker possessed no formal training as a historian or as
an anthropologist, but he maintained a genuine enthusiasm
for Pampanga’s past and its contemporary culture.
Likely, his association with the luminaries of Bacolor
and its surrounds stimulated that interest. His
connection with the trade school put him in touch
with the town’s leading literary and political figures.
When the school marked its fiftieth anniversary
in 1911, the preparatory committees were
laced with important local personalities. The
Program Committee enlisted Modesto
Joaquin, the Committee of Invitations
included Felix Galura and future governor
Francisco Liongson, the Committee of
Festivities contained former Governor
Ceferino Joven, the Committee of Reception
had Zoilo Hilario and the Decorations
Committee boasted as one of its members
Juan Crisostomo Soto.
Besides becoming acquainted with
Bacolor’s political, social and literary elite,
Parker also corresponded with leading
American scholar administrators. He undertook
a field report on the Negritos of Pampanga for
David Barrows, contributed this work and
others to the collections of anthropologist H.
Otley Beyer and corresponded with the
renowned librarian and document compiler
James A. Robertson. However, it was
Pampanga that provided Parker’s main
inspiration.
His part in the creation of Kapampangan studies derived
from his research between 1904 and 1910 into the earliest
history of the towns of Pampanga. He set about to determine
the foundation dates for all of the churches in the province
and to compile lists of all the priests in the parishes from
1572 to 1905.
It was in this focus on all of Pampanga’s towns that the
idea of Kapampangan studies had its origins. At the time
conceptualizing national history was in its infancy, and it was
still possible and reasonable to think of other areas as
essential regional centers of politics and culture. Hence,
Parker concentrated on Pampanga as a separate entity. He
did not look at all the Augustinian parishes in Central Luzon,
just ones where the Pampangos resided and practiced their
faith.
Parker did not consider the towns of southern Tarlac in
his collection of histories of the Pampangos. Only one
reference to Concepcion appears in a list he made of the
graduates of the Bacolor school between 1861 and 1869.3
Out of this interest in town foundations Parker made his
most important contribution to Kapampangan studies.
Around 1909-1910, he conceived of the idea of each
municipality in the archipelago compiling its own local history,
and he took that scheme to James A. Robertson, then head
of the Philippine Library. Robertson liked the project and
convinced Governor W. Cameron Forbes to issue an
executive order enacting Parker’s plan.4 It does not seem
that those histories were ever completed by other
provinces, but Parker collected a set from most towns in
Pampanga, which he then deposited in the Philippine
Library.
Eventually they came to rest, after the Second
World War, in the main library of the University of
the Philippines, Diliman. They continue to this day
as crucial sources on the early history of the
province. Parker himself never wrote anything
enduring on the history of Pampanga, but his efforts
to organize the writing of the town histories
remains a strategic factor in establishing the notion
of the Kapampangan having a separate and
significant historical development.
Among the compilers of the town histories
brought together by Parker, at least three added
in other significant ways to Pampanga’s cultural
heritage. Dr. Felino Simpao of Guagua was a
highly regarded poet and playwright, as a well as
the erstwhile editor of local newspapers. Manuel
Gatbonton later wrote another, more complete,
history of his home community of Candaba, which
became the basis for all subsequent work on the
history of the town. And, finally, Don Mariano
Vicente Henson sent Parker a fairly complete list
Dr. Luther Parker
(to page 26)
5
TIMELINE
OF BACOLOR
COLONIAL
HISTORY
WHEN the Americans came
to the Philippines towards the
end of the 1800s, they
were surprised to
discover that the
islands they had
purchased from
Spain (for a
measly
$20
million) were far
more cultured
than they had
imagined. “Sixty
miles from Manila,
right in the edge of
the foothills,” an American
1576
Local landlord Guillermo
Manabat established pueblo of
Bacolor based on an ancient
settlement called Bakulud; first
church built on his land;
Augustinians chose San Guillermo
Ermitaño (St. William the Hermit) as
town’s patron saint to honor the
town’s founder; Augustinian
records dated December 31, 1576
mention “Bacolot (or Vacolot), a
convent… located by the river
Betis, and was called San Guillermo”
1599
Bacolor
asked to
contribute an annual rent of 200
pesos, 200 bushels of rice and 120
chickens to San Agustin Monastery
in Manila
1578
Fray Diego de Ochoa,
who wrote the first Arte,
Vocabulario y Confesionario en
Pampango, appointed Bacolor’s
first prior on April 30
1609
On October 31, the
Intermediate Definitory of the
Augustinians held in Bacolor
convent
soldier wrote, he came upon a
town that he said would put
to shame all colonizers who
thought they were
bringing light to a
dark continent.
“Many in the
States doubtless
believe
this
country
a
wilderness and
the
people
savages,” the
white
soldier
wrote. “I would like
to take them into some
1607
Bacolor asked to pay
same rent to Augustinian Monastery
in Guadalupe
1608
Bacolor one of most
prosperous Augustinian territories
in country, next only to Manila,
Cebu, Guadalupe and Tondo.
houses here and see them
stare.”
He was referring to Bacolor,
the jewel in the Spanish
colony’s crown at the time.
Even in early colonial times,
the residents of this small town
were already possessed with a
pioneering spirit and a taste for
greatness. The country’s first
priest, first woman author, the
playwright of history’s longest
literary work, the writer of the
first zarzuela in any native
language and a multitude of
doctors, lawyers, musicians,
1612
Bacolor had four priests
and 3,900 Catholic inhabitants
paying tributes, not to mention
thousand others who didn’t pay
1645
church
Quakes
1672
Fire razed
beside the church
damaged
convent
1722
In addition to the
already onerous rental fees to the
Augustinian monasteries in Manila,
Bacolor was asked to pay annual
fee of 50 pesos as assistance to
missionary priests in Ytalones
painters, soldiers and civil
servants—they were all born
and bred in this tiny community.
The American soldier
stationed in Bacolor in the late
1800s described some of the
townspeople he had met
during his stay:
“There is one gentleman
here who formerly practiced in
the Manila courts. While you
might not expect him to be
quite a savage, you would
scarcely look for a fine Greek
scholar in the jungles of Luzon,
yet here is surely one.
Bakulud/Bacolor
JEWEL IN THE CROWN
This tiny community in the heart of the Kapampangan Region
has produced more illustrious Filipinos than any other town or city
in the country, and has changed the nation’s history in ways
disproportionate to its size
Kasaysayan
By Robby Tantingco
6
Casa Real, the provincial capitol in Bacolor
1746
Dome
of
church
collapsed; Bacolor started to
function as capital of Pampanga,
which extended to Nueva Vizcaya,
Aurora, Tarlac, parts of Bataan,
Bulacan and Zambales
1749
sultan
Bacolor visited by a
1754
Great epidemic
1755
Bacolor officially made
capital of Pampanga
1757
Bacolor
Volcanic ash rained on
1758
Casa Real, the capitol
building, built on spot that the
1785
Measles epidemic; price
of rice fell to 12 centavos per cavan
1799
Start of monopoly of
betel nuts; term of capitanes
Plus Ultra was also granted by King
of Spain.
1759
1764
Present-day stone church
erected
Smallpox epidemic
1760
Bacolor
population
reached 16, 384, only 40 of whom
were Spaniards
1762-64 Gen. Simon de Anda
y Salazar arrived in Bacolor after
Manila occupied by invading British
forces; Spanish Government moved
national capital to Bacolor; town
renamed Villa de Bacolor, one of
only three towns in the colony
bestowed that honor by virtue of a
royal decree; a special coat-ofarms with motto Pluribus Unum, Non
1769
parish
Native clergy took over
1777
Cockfighting taxed for
the first time
1779
Start
monopoly
of
tobacco
Spaniards first came in 1571. pueblo; thus he is credited as
they found an ancient the founder of Bacolor, upon
settlement of traders and rice whose land the church was
growers, as the land was well eventually erected and upon
irrigated by a river that led to whose name the choice of the
the sea. (The other pre-hispanic town’s patron saint was based.
communities in Pampanga were
The town’s strategic
Lubao, Betis,
location, being at
M a c a b e b e , Macabebe and
the
crossroads
C a n d a b a , Bacolor, only a few between Guagua,
Pinpin [later
Macabebe, Lubao,
kilometers apart,
Sta.
Ana],
Porac and Mexico,
C a b a g s a c represented the
made the colonial
[later
San farthest opposite
government
Luis], Arayat, ends of
establish
the
A p a l i t , Pampanga’s
provincial capital
S a s m u a n , colonial politics
there in 1755.
M e x i c o ,
(Casa Real, the
Guagua and Porac.)
capitol building, was erected in
There are accounts that 1758, at the site of the future
when a combined force of Bacolor Elementary School.)
Spanish and Macabebe soldiers
When the British Navy
defended Manila from Chinese captured Manila in 1762, the
pirate Limahong on November Spanish forces under Simon
29, 1574 and chased him across de Anda retreated to Bacolor
Luzon all the way to Lingayen which was named the colony’s
Gulf, some of the pirates settled capital. Gen. Anda organized
along the banks of the an army of volunteers from
Cabalantian
River
and Pampanga and other provinces
intermarried with Bacolor who launched attacks on the
natives. Two years later, local British in Manila. (Eventually the
landlord Guillermo Manabat, British withdrew after a treaty
probably with Spanish backing, was signed in Europe formally
organized the town into a
ending the war between Spain
and England.)
The material prosperity of
Bacolor allowed its people to
devote time and wealth to
things spiritual and artistic. By
mid-1800s, the town was a
thriving center of arts and
trades. The longest work in
Philippine literature, Comedia
Heroica de la Conquistada de
Granada o sea Vida de Don
Gonzalo de Cordoba llamado el
Gran Capitan, all 832 pages of
it, was staged for seven
consecutive nights in February,
1831 in Bacolor—the first and
only time it was performed. It
was written by Padre Anselmo
Jorge de Fajardo, a native of
Bacolor. (This masterpiece,
written
in
elegant
Kapampangan, equals if not
surpasses the Tagalog epic
Florante at Laura, according to
many scholars.)
Bacolor also produced the
country’s first vernacular
zarzuela, Mariano Proceso
Pabalan
Byron’s
Ing
Managpe, staged at the Teatro
Sabina on September 13, 1900.
(to page 30)
Filipinas Heritage
“There is another family of
musicians here. They have a
very fine place and I have spent
some evenings there, listening
to the piano, violin, mandolin,
harp and singing, as pleasant as
I ever passed in my life.
“Señor Joven is a scientist
quite up in modern electrical
research. His house is lighted
by an electric plant of his own
manufacture.
He was
educated in Hong Kong and
Japan, and is a free-thinker.
“But the man I am most
interested in is the principal of
the schools, from whom I am
taking lessons in Spanish. I go
down at three o’clock, and
business begins. I teach him
English and he teaches me
Spanish. At five o’clock we
have a lunch of cakes and
cigarettes and then resume our
studies. I am becoming fairly
proficient in Spanish, which is
likely to be of great value to
me. It has already brought me
a standing offer of a good
position in the schools of
Manila.”
Bacolor’s prehispanic name
is Bakulud, which means high
and level ground. When the
1782
Visit of Governor Don
Jose Vicencio
1786
First
La
Naval
festivities held in Bacolor (earlier
in Manila and later in Angeles—the
only three places in country where
La Naval is celebrated) in honor of
Nuestra Señora del Santissimo
Rosario (Our Lady of the Most Holy
Rosary), whose image (as well as
Kapampangans’ participation) was
credited for Spain’s successful
defense against series of
invasions by Holland 1606-1645;
victory deemed critical because
the Dutch would have certainly led
country to Protestantism.
Bacolor Elementary School would
later occupy
Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Bacolor
Municipio de Bacolor
7
extended to two years
1803
Price of rice rose to 4
pesos per cavan; many people
died of starvation
1805
Start of wine monopoly
1807
Bacolor
Vaccination introduced in
Dalan a Bayu, connecting Bacolor
and Guagua
1820
Epidemic struck Manila;
after 9 days it hit Bacolor
1822
San Isidro
transferred, blessed
chapel
1808
Church and convent
were burned down during term of
Padre Felipe Basilio; reconstructed
in 1830
1830
Big celebration marked
completion of church and convent,
destroyed by fire more than 20
years earlier; later in the year,
nine men were hanged for various
offences
1813
Big fire reduced to ashes
Tindang Matua (public market);
opening of Panuliran, a straight
highway to San Fernando, and
1831
First
and
only
performance of epic Gonzalo de
Cordoba by Padre Anselmo
Fajardo; it lasted for seven
consecutive nights; a great
typhoon blew over town
1841
Road leading to Minalin
completed
1832
On August 13, a big flood
inundated town
1842
Cholera
epidemic
following solar eclipse at 3 P.M.
and appearance of a comet
1835
1845
Tinajero chapel built and
blessed, thanks to support of Don
Juan Joven
Casa Real rebuilt
1839
Native clergy turned over
parish back to Augustinians; Fray
Manuel Luis succeeded Padre
Celestino de Vera
1840
Three wooden arches
built for La Naval celebration on
November 8; Gugu Bridge
constructed
1847
National celebration
marking the wedding of Queen
Isabel of Spain
1850
Bacolor lost many
residents to a succession of
earthquake, typhoon and flood
periods. Here they were— since one fifth of its present
I was supposedly speaking as I population, (yet) it gave to
have met these natives in the the service of the army
streets of Pampanga — the thousands of volunteers,
loyal companions of our including officials, petty
disgraces and of our glories. officers (sargentos), and
They, and only they, were with soldiers, always disciplined and
us during the 1650s to the valiant, as attested by our
1750s, in that century of historians. Afterwards, we
frustrations, whence we have encountered some of them
been harassed at all fronts, not with Don Simon de Anda, the
being able to sustain the farms self-same soul in the noble
(terrenos ganados) and the adhesion of our flag; until
Stirrings of nationalism among Kapampangans honor of the flag, with Manila now, Pampanga has offered a
when the capital was moved to their province burning with ridicules and most dignified chapter in
sterile disaccords; they were memory… In Pampanga, there
By Prof. Lino L. Dizon
there, in equal number with is so much honorable military
the Spanish soldiers, and history.”
IN 1858, Jose Felipe del in the initial issue of his Revista constantly
with
them,
J. del Pan was musing
Pan made an unusual trip to de Filipinas (1876):
participating
about the relaciones of a
“I
have
the provinces of
fraternally in their
century
looked
upon
Central Luzon,
limitations, in their
e a r l i e r,
those
Pampangos
a trip he called
poverty, and in their
especially
with
certain
‘expedicion
glories, guarding the
about the
curiosity
and
aventurerofortresses, defending
British
sympathy. During
f i l o s ó f i c a ’.
against the frequent
Occupation
a brief stopover in
Considered until
assaults of the Dutch,
of
the
the capital en
the
recent
the
Moros,
the
Philippines,
route
the
Cabo
times as the
Igorots; acting as
w h e r e
(ship), I have first
Dean
of
the
“perfect
Kapampangan
read
about
this
Philippine
associate” (contra
soldiers and
‘grand curiosity’
Journalism, this
diez) since they
the town of
of
the
region
prolific Galician
presumed themselves
Bacolor
among
many
writer-editor
to be the friends of
figured
books,
both
old
later published
these Castilians. Brave
prominently
and
current,
h
i
s
people! At that time,
in their loyal
i
n
t
e
r
s
p
e
r
s
i
n
g
reminiscences Simon de Anda y Salazar lived
Pampanga province William Draper, nearly killed
major historical
across Bacolor Church
on Pampanga
by a Kapampangan
did not even have
(to page 27)
Relaciones de Baculud
BACOLOR
as the center of
Philippine history
1762-1764
Anda’s missing monument
Revolucionarios left no trace of memorial
to the great Spanish general
In 1853, a monument was erected
in front of the house where Simon de
Anda lived in Bacolor, across the church
patio. It was an obelisk, 6 meters high,
standing on a pedestal that was 1.7
meters high, which in turn stood on a 6meter-square graded base. One side of
the obelisk had a marble plate on which
was carved a commander’s cane and a
general’s sword united by a crown of
The monument was
Anda’s lost monument in laurel and palms.
Bacolor, similar to the made of Meycauayan stone; it was
one near Intramuros
surrounded by an elegantly designed iron
8
fence which stood upon the edge of the largest step. Carved
on the marble plates on the four sides of the pedestal were
the following inscriptions (presumably in Spanish): (1) To the
memory of Don Simon de Anda y Salazar, Defender of these
Islands, 1762; (2) At the same time he attacked the invaders
and suppressed the interior disorders; (3) Fray Remigio
Hernandez, Bultos, Areza, Fray Sales; (4) Erected in 1853.
After the Spaniards fled, Governor Tiburcio Hilario
ordered the statue destroyed. By 1909, only the pedestal
had remained, on top of which stood the wooden spine of
what used to be the obelisk.
The four marble slabs with
inscriptions had disappeared. A rumor went around that the
slabs had been buried under the front door stones of the
Escuela de Artes y Oficios (now DHVCAT) when the school
was reconstructed in 1907.
Source: Luther Parker Collections Folder 239 No. 95
1851
Five
consecutive
earthquakes shook town
1852
Construction of Simon
de Anda monument in front of
Sampaloc bridge; construction of
stone bridges between San
Fernando, Buracan and Buquid;
tax increase of 3 pesos imposed
to finance these constructions;
strong earthquake struck again
1853
Bacolor church restored
under
Fr.
Manuel
Diaz’
supervision; Casa Real renovated
1856
Big La Naval celebration;
to protect the saint’s image from
rain, the whole procession route
(paglimbunan) covered with tent
made of coco cloth; eight brass
bands accompanied image of
Nuestra Señora del Santissimo
Rosario; huge turnout of visitors
led to a shortage of food in Bacolor
in following days
1858
Market transferred from
plaza to church patio with
permission of Fray Manuel Diaz
1859
Another big La Naval
celebration; procession featured a
vapor (ship) float to represent
Spanish navy that defeated the
Dutch navy
1860
Blessing of road to Culiat
(Angeles); Bacolor visited by
Archbishop of Manila who solicited
contributions for construction of
Palacio de Arsobispo in Manila and
other churches in China
1861
Opening of Escuela de
Artes y Oficios de Bacolor (later
Pampanga School of Arts and
Trades), oldest vocational school in
the country, probably in Far East;
opening of new highway to Angeles
(through Parulog and San Antonio)
1865
On Christmas day, houses
of the Paño, Puno, Lampo,
Fernandez, Alimurung, Rodriguez,
Sugui, Alvares, Sandico and Dizon
families were burned down
1871
Dr. Jose Rizal visited
close friends Don Balbino Ventura
and Don Francisco Joven in
Bacolor; on October 8, big flood
struck Talba, Bacolor and towns
of San Fernando, Arayat,
Candaba, San Luis, San Simon,
Sto. Tomas and Minalin
1873
The short-cut road from
Gugu Bridge, Bacolor to Palaui,
San Fernando, built
1879
Strong typhoon hit
Bacolor; rice sold at P1.25 per
cavan or siam a sicapat
1880
Strong
earthquake
destroyed the Casa Tribunal and
The Pampangos
Reminiscences of Royalty
Affluent families shaped the cultural and political landscape
of Bacolor’s history
Don Valentin Ventura of Bacolor helped finance Rizal’s El Filibusterismo; shown with his family in Madrid
By Ivan Anthony Henares
Villa de Bacolor. The name
evokes a glorious era long
gone, now obscured by the
sands of time. All that is left
of it are memories in books
and old wives tales, as well as
its monuments which stand as
mute witnesses to a time
when it was known as the
Athens of Pampanga, the
social and political heart of the
province. And behind this
immense saga that was
Bacolor, were powerful
families, the strong ties that
bound them together, and
pedigrees that spoke no less
of grandeur.
No one has gone deep
enough through the history of
Bacolor to find out the state
of affairs before the 19 t h
century.
Thus,
the
enumeration of families would
begin at the turn of the 19th
century, when the affluence
of Chinese traders plying the
Pampanga route was reaching
its peak, thus sparking the rise
of a new class of society
prevalent in Pampanga, the
Chinese mestizo.
At the center of the noble
lineage of Bacolor were three
mestizo families, who through
intermarriage strengthened
the ties that connected them
together. Many of the
prominent names from Bacolor
can trace their lineage to three
individuals:
Don Jose
Leonardo de Leon, who like
his brother Don Pedro Leon de
Arcega, may have been born
in Cavite; Don Francisco
Paula de los Santos, a
gobernadorcillo de mestizos,
who at one time served as
interim alcade mayor or
provincial
governor
of
Pampanga, a post which at
that time, was reserved for
Spaniards; and Don Juan
Joven, a rich Chinese trader
from Binondo who also became
a gobernadorcillo of Bacolor.
These individuals became the
patriarchs of the de Leon, Leon
Santos and Joven families
respectively, together a very
powerful conglomerate by the
late 1800s.
The web of intermarriages
is indeed too intricate for one
to clearly grasp the strong
(to page 29)
9
damaged the church; Fr. Eugenio
Alvarez ordered repairs, which
were completed in 1886; further
renovation finished in 1897 under
Fr. Antonio Bravo
1884
1886
On February 1, treasury
was transferred from Guagua to
Bacolor
and send their brass bands, from the
San Fernando train station all the way
to Bacolor; the town of Betis erected
an intricately decorated bamboo
tower
1882
40-day monsoon rains;
cholera ravaged Bacolor and the
entire province from August to
January, 1883; the cemetery at
Salinas
consecrated
to
accommodate influx of corpses;
another flood on November 10
1887
Series of typhoons
destroyed much of Bacolor; Fray
Eugenio Alvares pleaded for alms
1894
All town officials were
required to wear suits
1883
End of the tobacco
monopoly; tribute increased to
P1.50 or atlung salapi; gold chalice
stolen from the church
Strong typhoon
1893
Inauguration of the
reconstructed Escuela de Artes y
Oficios (earlier destroyed by fire)
on March 8; the Governor General
and the Archbishop of Manila were
among the guests; all the towns of
Pampanga were required to
construct their respective arches
1897
Provincial
prisoners
attempted to escape from the Casa
Real; the doors were locked in time
and 84 prisoners were executed and
buried in Saliwas
1898
Voluntarios Locales de
Bacolor quartered in the Escuela de
Artes y Oficios, led by Felix Galura,
Low-profile heroes
The Hilarios of Bacolor
and the road to freedom
CECILIO
a
n
d
Tiburcio
Hilario,
then
law
students,
witnessed
t
h
e
martyrdom
of Gomez,
Tiburcio Hilario
Burgos and
Zamora at
Bagumbayan
in
1872.
T
h
e
shocking
sight of the
priests’
execution
galvanized
their resolve
Cecilio Hilario
to fight for
independence.
A cousin, Marcelo Hilario del
Pilar of Bulacan, also a partner
in the Hilarios’ law firm, shared
their hatred for the Spaniards
after a friar caused his
suspension at UST and after his
brother, a priest, was tortured
and deported.
Following Jose Rizal’s visit to
the Hilarios’ residence, Tiburcio
was exiled to Jolo, Cecilio to
Balabac island between
Mindanao and
Palawan.
O t h e r
Kapampangan
revolutionaries
suffered
similar fate
(Maximino
Hizon of
Mexico,
F e l i x
David
10
of Guagua and Mariano nastier and the Hilarios were
to
return
to
Alejandrino of Arayat were advised
deported; Ceferino Joven, Pampanga together with
Ruperto Lacsamana and Francisco Reyes. Around this
Antonio Consunji were time, too, Aguinaldo returned
harassed), which almost from Hong Kong to resume
decimated their ranks except the war against Spain and to
for
Jose Alejandrino, disprove allegations that he
Maximo Kabigting and had run away with the
Mariano Llanera who joined indemnity money from Spain
Aguinaldo at Biak-na-Bato. Del (as part of the pact at BiakPilar, too, would have been na-Bato months earlier).
In Bacolor, the Hilarios
exiled had Tiburcio not warned
wisely decided not to
him.
While the Tiburcio brothers immediately proceed to their
and the other revolutionaries, house in barrio San Vicente
near
the
town
including
Rizal,
proper. While resting
languished in exile in
in the house of
various parts of
Marcela Samia in
Mindanao, Andres
barrio San Isidro, they
Bonifacio started the
saw a big fire in the
armed revolution
horizon. It turned
against Spain. Later,
out to be Tiburcio’s
during the trial of Rizal
house being torched
in Manila, the Hilarios
by the Spanish
were transferred to
Cazadores.
The
Bilibid Prison to make
Jose Rizal
Hilarios then sought
them testify against
refuge in the house
Rizal. They refused.
of Braulio Mendoza
Soon thereafter, they
in barrio San Antonio
were permitted to
and, later, in the
live with their families
house of Domingo
in a rented house
Panlilio in barrio
along Azcarraga St.
Maliwalu.
(owned by Francisco
The Spaniards
Reyes, forebear of
made their last stand
the founder of FEU)
on July 1, 1898 in
but required to
Macabebe, where
report regularly to
authorities. There Emilio Aguinaldo Gen. Ricardo Monet
escaped by boat.
they were often
visited by Kapampangan Immediately, all adult male
revolutionaries like Modesto Kapampangans elected their
Joaquin, Felix Galura, Pedro town presidentes (mayors)
Liongson, Andres Serrano who in turn elected Tiburcio
Hilario as the Governor of
and Aurelio Tolentino.
When Commodore Dewey Pampanga.
sailed into Manila Bay, the
Source: The Pampangos by
beleaguered Spaniards got
Rafaelita Hilario Soriano
Paulino Lirag and Alvaro Panopio,
rose in arms against the Spaniards,
marking the start of the Revolution
in Pampanga; they burned the
Casa Real to smoke out the
Cazadores and Macabebes
guarding it; prisoners were set
free and big houses in the
poblacion were torched, including
the Bazar de Bacolor and the
mansions of the Jovens, the
Ramirezes and others
1899
In
March
the
townspeople began to evacuate
out of fear for the new colonizers;
American soldiers arrived on May
Day 1 of the
Revolution in
Pampanga
The first cry of revolution in
Pampanga occurred on June
4, 1898, at the Escuela de
Artes y Oficios de Bacolor
when Felix Galura, Alvaro
Panopio and Paulino Lirag
led the Voluntarios Locales de
Bacolor in a revolt against the
Spanish authorities. They
burned the Casa Real
(provincial capitol) and killed
the pro-Spanish Cazadores and
Macabebes. This event was
the basis for what is probably
the best play of Mariano
Proceso Pabalan Byron
(1862-1904) Apat Ya Ing
Junio, about a local woman
who puts on men’s clothes to
fight alongside her Katipunero
boyfriend.
P1M missing
in Tarlac
As the Americans advanced
to Pampanga, Governor
Tiburcio Hilario watched
from the belfry of the Bacolor
church how the new
colonizers defeated the
Filipino army in Calumpit. He
packed up and moved his and
other families (like the
Aquinos and the Barreras)
to Concepcion, Tarlac,
bringing with him one million
silver pesos which was the
voluntary contributions from
Kapampangans, war bonds
and Chinese donations. This
entire amount was formally
turned over to Gen. Antonio
Luna in the house of Julian
Santos in Tarlac, Tarlac in the
presence of witnesses.
However, three days later,
Gen. Luna was assassinated in
Nueva Ecija and no one
knows, to this day, where
that money from Bacolor
ended up.
Source: The Pampangos by
Rafaelita Hilario Soriano
18; in September, evacuees
started returning to their homes
in Bacolor; Ceferino Joven elected
capitan municipal ; Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo royally received in
Bacolor
1901
First civil government in
the Philippines under the
Americans established in Bacolor;
Don Ceferino Joven appointed
first provincial governor, and Don
Estanislao Santos first municipal
president; ceremonies took place
in the Escuela de Artes y Oficios
1903
Seat of provincial
government transferred from
Bacolor to San Fernando when
Macario Arnedo of Apalit was
governor of Pampanga, despite the
objections of his predecessor,
Ceferino Joven
1906
Waist-deep flood in
Bacolor due to the breaching of the
Gugu and Patrero dam
1907
Gugu bridge rebuilt with
stronger materials
1908
Tax increased to P2.00,
one peso going to construction of
roads and bridges
Sources :
Luther Parker
Collections; The Story of Bacolor in
a Nutshell by Dr. Rogelio M. Samia;
Angels in Stone (1987 edition)
by Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA; special
thanks to Arwin Lingat for the
transcriptions
Women of Bacolor avert
war of the generals
In his unpublished Memoirs, Justice Jose Gutierrez David
(1891-1977) recalled that a schism had developed between
two of Gen. Aguinaldo’s generals which threatened his
revolutionary government. Gen. Tomas Mascardo’s soldiers
were stationed in Guagua while Gen. Antonio Luna’s were
in Calumpit, Bulacan. On the day that Gen. Luna marched
his troops towards Guagua for a showdown with Gen.
Mascardo, the ladies of Bacolor, among them Jose’s sister
Trining, met Gen. Luna in Bacolor and persuaded him to
drop his plan to attack Mascardo in Guagua. Later the young
Jose saw Luna’s troops marching back in the opposite
direction, averting a potentially bloody and tragic battle
between revolutionaries.
Gen. Tomas Mascardo
Gen . Antonio Luna
Revolucionarios from Bacolor
Propagandists, poet-soldiers and
secret financiers helped win the day
By Ivan Anthony Henares
As sparks of the Revolution
began to find their way into the
province, signs of a revolt
became evident. By this time,
intellectuals, professionals,
poets and artists, the emerging
ilustrado class, had gained
prominence in Bacolor, already
being acclaimed as the Athens
of Pampanga. Several of these
individuals would later become
assets of the Philippine
Revolution.
Among the Filipinos in the
Propaganda Movement in Spain
was Valentin Ventura, whose
contribution to the cause was
financing the printing of Rizal’s
second novel, El Filibusterismo,
with the help of his brother
Balbino who was among the
landed gentry in Bacolor.
Another was Francisco
Liongson who later became a
senator of the Republic.
Kapampangan literary
geniuses like Juan Crisostomo
Soto, Felix Galura y Napao,
and
Mariano
Proceso
Pabalan Byron produced
works that fanned the flames
of the Revolution; some of
them left writing for a while and
actually took up arms.
Among those who led the
revolutionary cause in Bacolor
were its presidente municipal,
Ceferino Joven y Casas and
his
brother
Francisco,
grandchildren of Don Juan
Joven; revolutionary governor
Tiburcio Hilario y Tuason of
San Fernando, whose maternal
grandfather owned vast tracks
of land in Bacolor; Praxedes
Fajardo of the Philippine Red
Cross, among the women of
the Philippine Revolution who
together with her brother Dr.
Jacobo Fajardo, and labor
leader Joaquin Balmori, are
among those listed in the NHI
publication Filipinos in History;
and Mateo Gutierrez Ubaldo,
a delegate to the Malolos
Congress, whose son Eduardo
Gutierrez David was also
active in the revolutionary
cause.
B. Mendoza
P. Fajardo
D. Panlilio
Tragedy
in the
family
( T h e
t r a g e d y )
involved
a
prominent,
respectable
and wealthy
citizen of the
town,
Don
B a l b i n o
Ventura. He
was the father
of
Don
H o n o r i o
Ventura, who
b e c a m e
Governor of
Pampanga and
Secretary of
the Interior,
and of Africa Masonic
logos
Ventura, wife
of
Lolong
Santos. Don Balbino had a
brother, Don Valentin
Ventura, a contemporary
of Rizal in Europe. Don
Valentin was one of those
who supplied funds which
made the printing and
publication of the El
Filibusterismo possible.
Through
indiscretion,
perhaps, of Don Balbino’s
two older daughters—
Nunilon and Belen—who
were boarding students
( colegialas ) in a Catholic
school in Manila, the friars
came to learn that Don
Balbino was a Mason.
Masons were then being
prosecuted as enemies of
the Church. Don Balbino
was brought by the Guardia
Civil to San Fernando, about
six kilometers from Bacolor,
on foot with his hands tied
at the back, in broad
daylight and in view of
everyone. After sometime,
he was released and
returned to Bacolor.”
(Don Balbino never
recovered from the pain and
indignity of the experience.
He died soon thereafter.)
Source: Jose Gutierrez
1
David, in his unpublished Memoirs.
1
The homegrown art of
SIMON FLORES
This famous Manila artist left behind
a lucrative career to settle in the bucolic town
and paint the ceilings of local churches
By Alex R. Castro
One of the country’s most celebrated
masters of the brush in the last quarter of
the 19th century was a Manila artist who
made Bacolor his home in the most
productive years of his life: Simon Flores
y de la Rosa. Born on 28 October 1839
in San Fernando de Dilao (now Paco),
Flores grew up amidst a cultured and
artistic milieu: uncle Fabian Gonzales was
a painter who decorated the ceilings of
Malacañang Palace and who collaborated
with the Italian scenographists, Divella and
Alberoni in house painting commissions
for the native elite. Another uncle, Pio
de la Rosa taught young Simon the
rudiments of painting.
Simon’s natural talents prompted the
family to enroll him at the Academia de
Dibujo y Pintura where he was tutored
by the Spanish director himself, Agustin
Saez y Granadell and also Lorenzo
Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha. After 4
years of intense study, he set up his own
studio where he accepted commissions for
portraits, religious works and trompe l’oeil
painting, thereby continuing the tradition
of early masters Justiniano Asuncion and
Antonio Malantic. In the same studio,
he held art classes, teaching painting to
students such as his nephew, Fabian de
la Rosa, who would go on to achieve even
greater fame.
His work would soon attract the
attention of Monsignor Ignacio Pineda
Tambungui, a canon of the Manila
Cathedral and a chaplain at the San Juan
de Dios Hospital. Msgr. Tambungui was
instrumental in opening doors for Simon,
giving him design and painting jobs for
churches, cemeteries and mortuary niches.
This led to a church-decorating project in
Guagua, Pampanga, the Tambunguis’
native town—plus more commissions in
Sta. Rita, Mexico, Betis and ultimately,
Bacolor. Here, in San Vicente, Simon
chose to settle down, after having met
and married the monsignor’s sister,
Simplicia Tambungui. The couple,
however, were to be childless.
The environs of Bacolor were very
conducive to Simon’s artistic pursuits. He
not only painted vigoriously but also gave
12
art classes. Among those he tutored was chose to stay and work in seclusion in
Celestina, a niece who suffered a nervous Pampanga’s heartland, holding art classes
breakdown after an unrequited love affair and giving drawing lessons to Celestina, in
with a Guardia Civil. Simon was thus the his desire to soothe her troubled mind and
first known Filipino to use art therapy for make her well. In one of her manic fits,
mental health care patients.
she bit the hand of her kind uncle. The
Though largely homegrown, Simon’s wound festered and became gangrenous,
reputation quickly spread via his leading to Simon Flores’s death on 12
international triumphs that
March 1904.
pre-dated Juan Luna’s more
Of his style, Art Critic and
famous wins. His oil painting,
Professor
Emmanuel
“La Orquesta del Pueblo “
Torres keenly observed:
(Music Band of the Town),
“The art developed by Flores
won a Silver Medal in the
and his kind assumed a
Philadelphia Exposition of
gently lyrical and celebrative,
1876, an event held to mark
rather than a dramatic and
America’s centennial. Two
self-questioning mode; a
canvasses, “Despues de la
modesty and serenity of
Ultima Cena” (After the Last
tone rather than an
“El
Supper)
and
aggressively
heroic
Prendimiento”
(The
eloquence; in short, an art
Arraignment of Christ), bested
more suitable to the intimate
Msgr. Tambungi as
52 entries to garner the
privacy of the parlor than the
painted by Flores
highest honors in an art
museum or salon.”
contest held to commemorate the
He is at his best in capturing the cozy,
tercentenary of the birth of St. John of intimate atmosphere of pastoral living in
the Cross in 1891. His win merited national his genre paintings. But his enduring images
media attention with him being featured of the country’s rising new bourgeoisie are
on the popular periodical La Ilustracion better known. He rarely painted a subject
Filipina. At the 1895 Regional with a smile, in keeping with the ascending
Exposition of the Philippines, The role of the new aristocracy in Central
Expulsion won an Honorable Mention.
Luzon. Visual cues of their authority are
No amount of encouragement and seen in their glum expressions, rigid
material promises could lure him back to
(to page 29)
sophisticated Manila though. Instead, he
Vicente Alvarez Dizon
The Bacolor painter
who bested Salvador Dali
The first Kapampangan artist to receive an
international award is Vicente Alvarez Dizon of
Bacolor (1905-1947), whose painting After a Day’s
Toil , won first prize in a competition marking the
After a Day’s Toil
Golden Gate World Fair and Exposition in San
Francisco, California in 1939. He bested entries from 79 countries including his
compatriot Fernando Amorsolo and Spanish surreal painter Salvador Dali, who placed
second. As sponsor of the Exposition, IBM now owns the painting; the original is on
permanent display at the IBM Gallery of Fine Arts in New York. A prolific painter,
musician and lyricist, teacher and book author, Dizon is also known to have introduced
finger painting in the country. He married Ines Henson of Angeles City, with whom
he had four children, Victor Jose, Daniel Antonio (also a painter), Edilberto Luminoso
and Josefina, a.k.a. Josie Henson, painter and president of Akademyang Kapampangan.
CRISSOT
The volume, variety and quality
of his literary output should put him
in Shakespeare’s league
One
poet
could
have
singlehandedly put Bacolor on the map.
The name Juan Crisostomo Soto y
Caballa (1867-1918), popularly known
as Crissot, shines the brightest among
the galaxy of Kapampangan writers. He
wrote a mind-boggling 50 plays
(including 3 tragedies, 8 comedies, 20
zarzuelas), more than 100 poems as
well as essays, novels and short stories.
“This is an output,” wrote Rosalina
Icban-Castro, “one expects from a
major writer in the order if not of
Shakespeare at least the minor
Crisostomo Soto
Elizabethans.” His best known works
are the zarzuela Alang Dios! written after the death of his
daughter Maria Luz Generosa; the novel Lidia; the play Delia;
the short story Y’Miss Phathupats; and the poem Malaya. Soto
edited three newspapers, El Pueblo, El Imparcial and Ing
Alipatpat. Literary verbal jousts in Kapampangan, rhymed and
improvised on the spot, have been called crissotan, the
Kapampangan counterpart of the Tagalog balagtasan. Many
of his works mirrored his intense revolutionary fervor; Soto
wrote for La Independencia and served with Gen. Tomas
Mascardo as a major of infantry. His descendants have formed
the organization Sapni nang Crissot to preserve and
popularize his legacy.
Excerpts from
Alang Dios!
by Juan Crisostomo Soto
Music by Pablo Palma
ESCENA 64 MARIA LUZ Y ENRIQUE
ENRIQUE: Maria, oh salamat queca…. Micalma ca! Mipala ca!
MUSICA
MARIA: Enrique!
ENRIQUE: Maria!
MARIA: Enrique!
ENRIQUE: Maria!
MARIA: Ay, bandi cu!
ENRIQUE: Maria!
MARIA: Casaquit na ning bili co!
ENRIQUE: Nanung lungcut mu, Virgen Malasia! Virgen Malasia!
sabian mu canacu at piramayan ta.
MARIA: Cacuanan da cu qng candungan mu; qng candungan mu;
ing e cu sinta patanggap deng pilit qng pusu cu.
ENRIQUE: Bulaclac ning ilang,calulu na ca… calulu na ca…
e ca pailanat caniting lasa.
MARIA: Ua’t aguiang mapait iti alducan ta… iti alducan ta…
bista’man masaquit pibatan tana.
ENRIQUE: Nanung panayan tang bayu?
MARIA: Ing camatayan, bandi cu…
ENRIQUE: Baquet nanu ita sabian mu?
MARIA: Uling talasaua na cu.
LOS DOS: E bala aguiang mate cu, nung uarit qng candungan mu;
dapot qng picutcutan cu panga bengi yapa mu cu, At itang tumulu
mung lua, Mamagus uli ning lugma, yang ambun a pasaguiua
caring bucung malanta.
Nung mate ca, ay, mate cu; tuqui cu queca, tiqui cu…
Nung nanu ing acalman mu
ya ing buring acalman cu,
acalman cu.
HABLADO
MARIA: Baquet dinatang ca ngeni? Nanu ing buri mu queti?
ENRIQUE: Maria—
Birthplace of the
vernacular zarzuela
Sometime in 1900, the three dramatists of Bacolor, Juan Crisostomo
Soto (Crissot), Felix Galura (Flauxgialer) and Mariano Proceso
Pabalan Byron met and decided to incorporate songs into their plays.
Previously, all the plays staged in Pampanga were moro-moros, comedias,
and straight dramas, without musical numbers. The trio asked Amado
Gutierrez David to be their composer and after several weeks, Pabalan
Byron came up with Ing Managpe, the first vernacular zarzuela in the
Philippines, and Magparigaldigal, and Soto produced Paninap nang Don
Roque. Rehearsals were held in the Gutierrez mansion in barrio Sta.
Ines, Bacolor, where Don Mateo Gutierrez y Ubaldo had built a stage
for family presentations. Thus, this house could be considered as the
birthplace of the Kapampangan zarzuela. When the zarzuela had been
rehearsed thoroughly, it was brought to the Teatro Sabina for the gala
performance. Hundreds of zarzuelas were presented in Bacolor within a
three-decade period, considered the golden age of Kapampangan drama.
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs of Justice Jose Gutierrez David.
Athens of Pampanga
Kapampangan literature reached its golden
age during the lifetime of Soto, Galura and Pabalan
Byron, the drama triumvirate of Bacolor.
Pampanga was among the first provinces to have
theatre companies with resident playwrights,
directors and actors, and nowhere in the province
was the theatre scene more active than it was in
Bacolor.
There were more poets per square meter here
than in any part of the Philippines, wrote Jose
Luna Castro, former editor of The Manila Times.
Felix Galura
It probably came with the gene pool, but the role of money could not be
underestimated. Many rich families sent their children to Europe to study,
and when they returned they brought with them European tastes and
lifestyles, including love for theatre. Zarzuela companies from Spain
came from Bacolor, thanks to rich families, which also financed local
productions whose performers included children of the same rich families,
thus ensuring continued support.
In Bacolor, the first theatre company was Compania Sabina, organized
shortly before 1901 by local patron Ceferino Joven, who was then
governor of Pampanga. Actors’ wages ranged between P4 and P15 per
showing. The play’s author received P100 per production. Costumes
were provided by the performers themselves and the troupe performed
for free during fiestas and other big community celebrations.
The theatrical season in Pampanga coincided with the dry season,
recessing during the Holy Week when the folk cenaculo plays took over.
The rainy season was when the playwrights wrote their scripts.
Reference: Kapampangan Literature: A Historical Survey and
Anthology by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
Teatro Sabina
Constructed in 1901, Teatro Sabina, was one of two important
theatres in that part of Pampanga (the other being Teatro Trining in
Guagua, home base of Aurelio Tolentino). Named after its owner, the
spinster sister of Ceferino Joven, Teatro
Sabina was unique for its deep well located
under the middle of the stage, dug there to
improve acoustics.
Entrance fees varied, from P2.00 (palco
proscenio seats), to between 60 centavos
and P1.00 (orchestra seats), to 20
centavos (entrada general). Rates were
often reduced after opening day. Teatro
Sabina averaged two productions a month.
It was renovated in 1909; the proscenium
arch contained the names of dramatists
Pabalan, Soto, Galura, Gozun and Jose
Gutierrez David (only 18 at the time) and
the names of composers Pablo Palma, Jose
Prado and Amado Gutierrez. The theatre
eventually closed when patronage dwindled. Jose Gutierrez David and
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs of
Justice Jose Gutierrez David
Zoilo J. Hilario as actors
13
Escuela de
Artes y Oficios
de Bacolor
Destinies of town and
school linked forever
The Escuela de Artes y Oficios de
Bacolor (formerly El Colegio de Santa Tereza
de Jesus, later Pampanga School of Arts
and Trades, now Don Honorio Ventura
College of Arts and Trades), founded by Fr.
Juan P. Zita and Don Felino Gil on a site donated
by the Suarez sisters of Bacolor, opened on
November 4, 1861 upon the approval of its
statutes by Governor Lemery.
In 1896 when the country was percolating
Bacolor
Elementary
School
Operated on funds
raised during fairs
Opened in June, 1901, the Bacolor
Elementary School initially occupied just one
room of the ruined Escuela de Artes y Oficios de
Bacolor. Among the first teachers were Tirso
Manabat (Grade I) and Mariano Proceso
Pabalan Byron (Grade II). Promotion to the
next grade was through examinations
administered by Amando Gutierrez (for
Spanish) and Luther Parker (for English).
In 1902, classes were transferred to an old
Formerly called the Bacolor Catholic
School, St. Mary’s Academy was the first of
three Benedictine schools opened in Pampanga
(the other two being Holy Family Academy in
Angeles and St. Scholastica’s Academy in San
Fernando). Founded in 1919 by Fr. Pedro
Santos of Porac, education was initially free to
all pupils without discrimination. The Sisters took
over in 1922, with five nuns supervising more
than 200 students and Fr. Santos remaining as
the school director.
Fr. Santos started a high
school which, however, failed
after only two years.
Undaunted, the energetic
parish priest purchased a
school bus which transported
the girls from Bacolor to the
Assumption Academy
(old name of St.
Scholastica’s
Academy) in San
Fernando
morning,
noon and
afternoon
every day, until
his term ended.
Used to
free education,
many students
dropped out
14
Fr. Pedro Santos
with political unrest, the school was made
headquarters of the Voluntarios Locales de
Bacolor who were the first to revolt against
Spain. The provincial capitol was also
transferred from the Casa Real to this school
during the early American Occupation. When
the provincial capital was moved to San
Fernando, the school was relegated to municipal
hall.
It was converted back into a school and
alternately named Bacolor Intermediate
School, Bacolor Trade School (in 1922), and
by virtue of Republic Act 1388, Regional School
of Arts and Trades (on July 1, 1956).
The school was destroyed by fire at least
five times, in 1869, 1896, 1898, 1944 and 1958.
The school is credited for the active local
industries requiring skilled labor which not only
sustained the economy of the communities in
the region but also inspired and guided the unique
craftsmanship and artistry of Kapampangans.
house in the church patio; faculty roster included
Emerenciana Palma, Lorenzo Malig and
Tirso Manabat who was also the principal.
Later, American teachers who are now
remembered only by their surnames, joined
them, e.g. Mr. Higgley, Miss Huff, Miss
Carlston, Mr. Pinstaff, Mr. Crawford and
Mrs. Butts.
In 1913 a ten-room building was built on
the old site of the Casa Real, using a P25,000.00
funding through the so-called Gabaldon Law.
The school’s principal at this time was Marciano
Malig and the faculty included Alejandro
Lopez, Benito Pangilinan, etc. The school
was run mainly on government grants plus funds
raised through fairs, industrial and agricultural
exhibits, athletic, literary and beauty contests,
as well as pork barrel funds of political luminaries
such as Senator Gil Puyat, Rep. Pedro Valdes
Liongson and Rep. Diosdado Macapagal.
St. Mary’s
Academy
Education was free
in this Benedictine-run
school
after Fr. Santos left; the school was saved only
through the generosity of some people. More
than a third of the students of St. Mary’s
Academy came from poor families; those who
could pay were charged the minimum monthly
fee, probably the lowest among all private schools
in the country.
Among its alumni are Amparo Villamor,
member of President Carlos P. Garcia’s Cabinet
(as Social Welfare Administrator); Joaquinito
“Jake” Gonzales, valedictorian at De La sale
University and national president of the Jaycees
when he died in a plane crash in Baguio;
Mariano Alimurung, internationally known
cardiologist; Fr. Pallasigui and Fr. Odon
Santos; top violinist Biliong Palma; Gerry
Rodriguez; civic leaders Raquel Gonzales
de Leon, Elisa Buyson Sison, Emiliana
Gonzales and Pilar Villarama.
Source: The Story of Bacolor in a Nutshell by
Dr. Rogelio Samia
Instructors & Students
of the Escuela de Artes
y Oficios 1861-1869
Professors
Padre Dizon del Moral
Señor Don Agaton Estrella
Sr. Don Pedro Pineda
Sr. Don Mariano Natividad
Sr. Don Valentin Ramirez
Sr. Don Vicente Quirino
Sr. Don Nicolas del Carmen
Sr. Don Joaquin Dizon
Students from Bacolor
Don Mariano Alimurung
Don Jose Tuazon
Don Mariano Fajardo
Don Juan Garcia y Lampa
Don Domingo Panlilio
Don Julian Palma
Don Augustin Mercado
Don Cecilio Laxamana
Guagua
Padre Maximo Viron
Padre Ignacio Tambungi
Sta. Rita
Don Ariston Maglalang
Padre Braulio Pineda
Don Bonifacio Carlos Mariano
Don Juan Sason
Don Franco Sason
Don Prudencio Santos
Porac
Don Lupo Carpio
Don Felipe Juico
Angeles
Don Fabio Quiason
Don Juan Nepomuceno
Don Mariano Limson
Don Julian Mananquil
Don Catalino Mercado
Lubao
Don Exequiel Zita
Don Emiliano Dimson
San Luis
Don Emilio Alfaro
San Fernando
Don Antonio Consunji
Don Mariano Custodio
Don Teodoro Santos
Don Mariano Santos
Don Mariano Dayrit
Don Diego Pamintuan
Mexico
Don Mariano Cunanan
Don Vicente Cunanan
Don Leon Lising
San Simon
Don Pablo dela Cruz
Don Mariano Pamintuan
Mabalacat
Don Leoncio de Castro
Tarlac
Don Marciano Barera
Concepcion, Tarlac
Don Pedro Sanchez
Sugar is
sweet
Other sugar planters included siblings
Justo Arrastia, president of the
Pampanga Sugar Mills Planters Association,
and Jose Arrastia; first cousins Alfonso
de Leon y David of San Fernando and
Rafael de Leon y Lazatin of Mexico, a
half-sibling of Jose Leoncio de Leon.
The new industry brought huge profits but
widened the gap between rich and poor
By Ivan Anthony Henares
PASUDECO
In the latter part of the 19th century,
sugar became a very powerful commodity,
dictating the movements in the upper
echelons of Pampanga’s social classes. The
early 20th century saw the rise of a new
class of society, which was beginning to
gain prominence—the sugar planter.
Although the center of activity shifted to
neighboring San Fernando, the new
provincial capital, several citizens of Bacolor
still found themselves at the center of the
lucrative trade.
A look at the Pampanga Social Register
of 1936 would reveal an emphasis on sugar
True to its title as the “Athens of the
Pampanga”, Bacolor was not just a cradle
of culture, it was also the seat of beauty,
echoing the fabled reputation of Greece
as the land of beautiful goddesses—Hera,
Aphrodite and Athena—who figured in
perhaps, the first documented beauty
pageant of ancient times, as judged by
Paris.
Bacolor belles like Luz Sarmiento,
Paz Sanchez, Consuelo Santos and
Elisa Gutierrez were regarded as the
town muses in the mid 1920s-1930s. The
more notable crowned beauties however
were Rosario Manuel and Guia
Balmori.
ROSARIO MANUEL
Miss Pampanga 1927
In 1927, a Bacolor beauty was
crowned Miss Pampanga, and thereby
gained the right to represent the
province in the 2 nd National Beauty
Contest sponsored by The Philippine Free
Press. Doe-eyed Rosario Manuel went to
Manila for the competition to make her
bid for the Miss Philippines crown. It was
a tall order for Rosario, as among the
previous year’s winners was a kabalen—
Socorro Henson of Angeles, who
reigned as Manila’s Carnival Queen of
1926.
In the 1927 edition, 28 beauties from
around the country participated. Two of
the contenders that year were Amelia
Romualdez, Miss Leyte, who bore a
striking resemblance to a niece, Imelda
Romualdez and fellow Kapampangan, Luz
Besa of Tarlac. In the end, Luisa
in the social patterns of Pampanga. And
quoting its preface, the social register
aimed to put “the right people in the right
places, and in the places where they
belong.” It was “a tribute to Pampanga’s
leaders in business, in the professions, and
in society.”
Among these sugar planters was Jose
Leoncio de Leon y Joven, founder and
president of the Pampanga Sugar
Development Company (Pasudeco) which
constructed the first Filipino-financed sugar
central in Pampanga in the town of San
Fernando.
Belles of
Bacolor
In a province known
for lovely women,
the loveliest should
naturally come from
By Alex R. Castro
Bacolor
Guia Balmori
Writer’s Note:
My fascination with Bacolor began with a
Simon Flores portrait of Don Jose Leon Santos
published in the Manila Bulletin a few years back,
as part of an announcement of the opening of
the Museo De La Salle in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
The museum is actually a showcase of the rich
Bacolor heritage, as the entire Santos-JovenPanlilio residence and its contents were
transferred there before the coup de grace
struck Bacolor in 1995. Thus, everything was
saved. And how ironic but true it is to say that
for one to feel the former opulence of Bacolor, a
visit to the Cavite museum is necessary.
With further research, I found out that Jose
Leon Santos was my direct great-great-great
grandfather, a son of Don Francisco Paula de
los Santos and Doña Luisa Gonzaga de Leon. His
son from his first wife, Doña Arcadia Joven, was
Don Mariano Leon Santos y Joven, my greatgreat grandfather, who would later transfer to
San Fernando and become its municipal
president from 1902 to 1903. Arcadia Joven was
a daughter of Don Juan Joven and Doña
Geronima Suares.
Marasigan, Miss Manila, won as Miss
Philippines. Her court included Miss Luzon,
Iluminada Laurel (Batangas), Miss
Visayas, Lourdes Rodriguez (Cebu) and
Miss Mindanao, Nora Maulano (Sulu).
Even then, Rosario Manuel’s beauty was
immortalized in a special commemorative
booklet issued by Free Press.
GUIA BALMORI
Miss Philippines 1938
Guia Balmori was the second known
winner of the National Beauty Contest
(formerly, the Manila Carnival) with
Kapampangan roots. Her father was
Joaquin Balmori of Bacolor, a wellknown labor leader who married Rosario
Gonzales. The Balmoris were of Spanish
stock, and this showed clearly in Guia’s
fair and finely chiseled mestiza features.
The Balmori family settled in Ermita
and Guia was named after the district’s
titular patron, Nuestra Sra. De Guia. Guia
was a secretarial student at the U.S.T.
when the contest beckoned. Her
candidacy stirred quite a ruckus, from her
father who saw the pageant as a frivolous
exercise, and from the religious nuns in
school who frowned on such beauty
shows. Nevertheless, she surprised
everyone with her victory. At her
coronation, she wore a Ramon Valera gold
gown and was escorted by a dashing
Kapampangan collegian, Ernesto
“Gatas” Santos, son of Teodoro Santos
of San Fernando and Mabalacat. Her prize
money of P1,000 was discreetly tucked
(to page 28)
15
Church Pioneers
Bachiller Don Miguel Jeronimo de
Morales, the first Filipino priest (1654)
Padre Mariano Hipolito, the first Filipino
Padre Anselmo Jorge Fajardo, the first
Source: Laying the Foundations: Kapampangan
Pioneers in the Philippine Church 1592-2001 by
Dr. Luciano PR Santiago (Holy Angel University Press)
Honorio Ve
Kapampangan
(chief of the
then Secreta
succeeding Fe
remembered
student from
Macapagal
Justice Tiburcio Hilario
Justice Jose Gutierrez David
Justice Roberto Regala
Justice Jesus Barrera
Justice Ricardo Puno, Sr.
priest-calligraphic artist (1793)
Filipino priest-playwright; the second Filipino
priest delegate to the Spanish Cortes of 1822
Doña Luisa Gonzaga de Leon, the first
Filipino woman author; translated the religious
work Ejercicio Cotidiano into Kapampangan
(published posthumously in 1844, reprinted in
1854 by the UST Press
Sor Bibiana Zapanta, the first Filipino
missionary beata to Mindanao; she served as
school principal in 1875 in the Jesuit mission in
Tamontaca, Cotabato, giving refuge to
libertos (children ransomed from their Muslim
captors)
Sor Asuncion Ventura, the first Filipino
foundress of an orphanage; she founded the
Asilo de San Vicente de Paul, a house with
school for poor girls, in Paco, Manila in 1885,
using her own inheritance; the orphanage still
exists
Cabinet
Justices of the
Supreme Court
Arsenio Lu
Services
Jose Gutierrez David
Eduardo Gutierrez David
Judges
Amparo Vil
Social Welfare
Rodrigo Pe
Ceferino Hilario, Court of First Instance
Eduardo Gutierrez David, Court of First Instance in
Luzon and Visayas
Federico de Jesus
Gregorio de Jesus
Eduardo Gutierrez David, represented the
secretary of P
Ricardo Pu
Justice
Estelito Me
then Secreta
province at the proclamation
of the Philippine
Independence in June, 1898
Mariano Buyson
y Lampa
Legislators
Zoilo Hilario
Mariano Buyson
y Lampa,
Court of First Instance
in Visayas
Zoilo Hilario
Kapampangan senator
Jose Gutierrez David, delegate to
the Constitutional Assembly that
drafted the 1935 Constitution
1953;
California State Legislature
Don Francisco Liongson, the first
Venancio Concepcion, represented Iloilo Pedro Valdes Liongson
in the Malolos Congress
Zoilo Hilario authored the first land
Pablo Angeles David, member, House of reform law in the Philippines
Representatives, senator from 1947 to
Sally Gozun Acosta, member of the
Francisco Liongson
Artists
Pablo Palma wrote music of countless
Fred Panopio, “the singing cowboy”
Lorenzo de Jesus, star actor at the
Teatro Sabina
Jose Rodriguez, popular movie star
Chito Feliciano, star of TV show
Dancetime with Chito
award-winning
international painter
and sculptor
Flor de Jesus, “the
Joni James of the
Philippines”
leading stars of Circulo Escenico
Temang Mangio who, along with
husband Pepe Baltazar of Sasmuan,
founded the famous Banda 31
Don Jose “Pepito” Leoncio
de Leon, Pampanga’s first
millionaire, founded the
Pampanga Sugar Development
Company (PASUDECO)
Arturo and Ceferino “Ninoy” Joven,
Ambassadors
Businessmen and
Accountants
Carmen Buyson
Carlos Valdes
Bienvenido Tan, Jr.
Rafaelita Hilario Soriano
Amb. Carlos Valdes
Justo Arrastia
Carlos Valdes
Amaury Roque Gutierrez,
Governors of
Pampanga
Tiburcio Hilario
Ceferino Joven
Francisco Padua
de los Santos
Fuljencio Nuñes
Honorio Ventura
Pablo Angeles David
Estelito Mendoza
first Filipino President of Caltex
Joaquin “Jake” Gonzales
Francisco Gamboa
Romeo Gonzales
Marciano Dizon
Francisco Granada
16
the Philippines”
zarzuelas, including Crisostomo Soto’s
Alang Dios!
Virgilio Palma, musician
Antonio Fajardo, doctor, orator, linguist,
actor, musician
Vicente Alvarez Dizon bested Salvador Dali
Henry Dizon,
Vicente Dizon
Dario Fajardo, “the Harry Belafonte of
Amb. Rafaelita Soriano
Ceferino Joven
of
CHILD
BACO
Out of the ga
small village in
came a whol
Kapamp
great men a
Doctors/Scientists
t Members
entura, the first
n member of the Cabinet
Executive Bureau in 1921,
ry of the Interior,
elipe Agoncillo); he is also
as the benefactor of a
Lubao, Diosdado
Regino Navarro, bacteriologist; chief of the
Laboratory Department, Philippine General
Hospital
Jacobo Fajardo, the first Filipino Director of
the Bureau of Health
Antonio Fajardo, an official of the World
health Organization
Conrado Buenviaje, chairman of the
Committee on Scientific Assemblies of the
Philippine Medical Association
Mariano “Ano” Alimurung, internationally
known heart specialist, first Asian to become
Vice President of the International Federation
of Catholic Physicians
Benjamin Canlas, head of Pathology
Department, UP College of Medicine; Vice
President of the Philippine Society of
Pathologists
Benjamin Barrera, Dean of the UP College
of Medicine
Lucrecia Regala Castillo, chief of
Pediatrics, Veterans Memorial Hospital
Jose “Ping” de Jesus, Secretary of
Public Works and Highways
Ronaldo Puno, Secretary of Interior
and Local Governments
Ricardo Puno, Jr., Press Secretary
gay, Secretary of General
llamor, Secretary of
e
erez, Jr., executive
President Magsaysay
uno, Sr., Secretary of
endoza , Solicitor General,
ry of Justice
Honorio Ventura
Ricardo Puno, Sr.
Amelia Almeida Garcia,
chief of Clinical Pathology,
Veterans Memorial Hospital
Rogelio Samia, cardiologist,
secretary-treasurer of the
Philippine Heart Association
Educators
Pantaleon Regala, first Superintendent of
the Philippine School of Arts and Trades
Vidal Tan, President of the University of the
Philippines and Far Eastern University
Ceferino Joven, (not to be confused with
the revolutionary), Supervisor of Private
Schools
Elisa Gutierrez Abello, Head
of the Spanish Department of
UP Diliman
Fr. Bernardo Perez, Rector of
the San Beda College
f
DREN
OLOR
ates of this
n Pampanga
e galaxy of
pangan
and women
Francis and Luz Serrano,
prominent doctors
Juan Galang, owner and director,
Galang Maternity Hospital in Manila
Public Servants
Jacobo Fajardo
Church Leaders
Msgr. Alejandro Olalia, DD,
Bishop of Lipa
Raquel Gonzales De Leon
headed the national Catholic
Women’s League; she rose to
national prominence when she
crusaded against motels and
lodging houses
Praxedes Fajardo, headed the Red Cross during the Revolution
Conrado Cajator, PAGCOM chief
Jose Regala, Trafcon chief
Evangelina Hilario Lacson, Emerito de Jesus, Undersecretary of National Defence
Akademyang Kapampangan
Regis Puno, Undersecretary of Justice
Bienvenido “Bidong” Escoto, headed the Presidential Anti-
Smuggling Commission and sat in the National Advisory Board on
Health
Ernesto V. Santos, Member of the Monetary Board
Rodrigo Perez, Jr., Chairman of the Commission on Elections
Manuel Abello, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission
Rolando Olalia, labor leader
Fortunato Aguas, Commissioner, Bureau of Internal Revenues
Media Leaders
Enriqueta David Perez, editor of the
Philippine Herald
Fortunato Aguas
Wilfredo Buyson Villarama, President of
The Manila Times
Military Officers
Philanthropists
Maj. Porfirio E. Zablan, the first Don Jose “Pepe” Panlilio, behind
Filipino fighter pilot; an airfield at
camp Murphy (now Camp
Aguinaldo) was named Zablan Air
Base in his honor
the unequalled Santacruzan of Bacolor
in 1934
Don Mariano Alimurung, pioneer
of the Knights of Columbus
Gen. Gregorio M. Camiling, Jr., Don Gregorio Alimurung
Commanding General of the
Don Francisco “Paquito” Panlilio
Pedring de Jesus
Philippine Army
Col. Modesto Gozun, Adjutant
Doña Natividad de Leon and her
General of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines
Brig. Gen, Virgilio David
Col. Augusto Gutierrez, PC
Commander of Pampanga
Federico Calma, chief of AFP
engineers
Ciceron de la Cruz, PC personnel
chief
children ran a charity clinic in Malate
Jorge de Leon, received papal
decoration for his works in charity and
service to the poor
Don Pascual Gozun, writer,
dramatist, public servant, town leader
Guia Balmori
Beauty
Queens
Luz Sarmiento
Rosario Manuel
Paz Sanchez
Consuelo Santos
Elisa Gutierrez
17
Border calligraphic drawing by Padre Juan Severino Mallari (1785-1840)
As I look back the years gone by, I
cannot but recall with very fond memories
the 15 long years that the Lord permitted
me to spend in the town of Bacolor. They
were not only years to remember but they
were also the earlier years of my
priesthood; consequently, they were the
years when the idealism and vigor of youth
drove me to many inspiring ideas.
My recollections of Bacolor date back
to my boyhood days when I first came to
the town as a student in the Instituto
Zita del Moral. This was a famous
educational center in those early days. First
of all, it was established to honor the late
Rev. Fathers Zita and del Moral, two
very distinguished Filipino priest educators
during the days of the first Philippine
Republic. The school was organized by
Don Roman Valdes and was situated in
what is now the house of the late Don
Pepito de Leon. Among its leading
professors were such luminaries as Don
Marcelino Aguas, Don Tomas Gamboa,
Don Modesto Joaquin, Don Benigno
Ricafort, and later Don Vicente Neri and
Don Tirso Manabat. Don Roman Valdes
was the director and the sub-director was
Don Pedro Abad Santos. Among the
many prominent alumni of that small school,
I can recall Don Pedro Valdes Liongson,
Don Jose Valdes, and many others. It
was opened only to boys.
Another important remembrance I
treasure with much value today is the close
association of the foundation of the
Catholic primary, later elementary, school
of the town (St. Mary’s Academy) and
the Circulo Escenico. When I invited the
Benedictine Sisters to conduct the school
in1922, the Sister Superior-to-be remarked
that the physical condition of the school
building (the old Convento) was in a sad
state, needing immediate repairs and re-
I remember
Bacolor...
By Archbishop Pedro S. Santos, D.D.
(1889-1965)
The former parish priest
of Bacolor, who went on
to co-found Holy Angel
University and become
the Archbishop of Nueva
Caceres (Naga), looks
back fondly
roofing. I can recall with special satisfaction
now that, through the Lord’s kindness, I
was able to have such repairs accomplished
MLQ and the red-hot chili peppers
Aside from Rizal and Aguinaldo, Bacolor was visited by
other historical figures, according to the unpublished
memoirs of Justice Jose Gutierrez David (1891-1977).
When Jose was a young boy, his brothers Amado and
Eduardo regularly brought home their classmates in Manila
for the Christmas vacation. Among them were Epifanio
de los Santos, Vivencio del Rosario, and Manuel L.
Quezon. In one of those visits, the young Quezon arrived
after everyone had left the house for the midnight mass.
He went straight to bed but since it was cold, to took a
woolen suit hanging near the bed and wore it to sleep. It
Manuel Quezon
turned out to be Vivencio’s holiday suit. When he found
out, he roused Quezon from sleep and a shouting match ensued. The next
morning, Vivencio secretly put red pepper in Quezon’s cup of hot chocolate,
causing Quezon’s lips to swell. But out of respect for their hosts, the two boys
controlled themselves. Jose’s mother, noticing the tension, reconciled the two
and ironed Vivencio’s suit for him. Years later, when Quezon became President
of the Philippine Commonwealth, he appointed Vivencio to various important
positions in government and the judiciary.
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs
of Justice Jose Gutierrez David
18
in one-and-a-half months’ time, so that
classes were opened formally under the
Sisters in June, 1922. How was this
accomplished? It was through the
presentation of a Spanish zarzuela (Morirse
a Tiempo), through the generous services
of a group of first-class actors of the town
and a few guests from Manila, including
Pepe and Paquito Panlilio, Antonio
Fajardo, Leonardo Abola, and
others. I had to prepare for the whole
presentation, rehearsing and directing the
play. However, since it was a zarzuela, I
discovered that, on the gala night,
someone would have to be with the
orchestra to conduct the same. I had to
do this also. In so doing, the need for
someone to remain in the back of the
stage to coach and serve as apuntador de
telon became obvious.
It was for this specific task that I invited
Don Paquito Liongson to serve as such.
I believe this was an important experience
of his that must have contributed to Don
Paquito’s subsequent interest in dramatics.
And it was also from that original stage
presentation that the same group became
inspired enough, so that they continued
together and eventually formed
themselves into the Circulo Escenico.
Everybody knows now how popular this
dramatic club became, not only in the town
and in the province but later even in Manila.
Tickets for that original presentation were
sold at P2.00 per seat in the rows of
preferentes, and the rest at P1.00. By
combining the classrooms of the first floor
of the building we were able to have a
capacity of 240.
I do remember that among those who
came to the affair was a young lad who
paid P200.00 for his seat to be in a
preferred spot to listen to a lady guest
pianist from Angeles City.
Juan Luna and
the lucky horse-rider
Other prominent house guests of
Jose Gutierrez David’s family included
Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Cecilio
Apostol, Jose Palma, writer of the
original Spanish lyrics of the National
Anthem, and Juan Luna, already a
famous painter at the time. His visit
coincided with a horse race, the prizes
of which were clothing material
decorated with embroidery or painting,
Juan Luna
donated by prominent ladies in the
community, including Jose’s sister Trining. Trining’s
donation turned out to be plain-looking compared to the
other donated prizes, so she asked her brother Eduardo
to ask his friend Juan Luna to paint something on it. Juan
Luna complied and finished the painting after a few minutes.
Trining’s prize, it goes without saying, outshone them all.
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs
of Justice Jose Gutierrez David
Circulo Escenico
As Compania Sabina faded, a new
breed of artists in Bacolor organized
Circulo Escenico in 1923, with Madridbased Francisco Liongson Alonzo, son
of Don Francisco Liongson by his first
wife, as president and Jose Gutierrez
David as vice president. The objective
was to stage dramas, zarzuelas and
operettas in Spanish and Kapampangan.
Performers included children of Bacolor’s
rich and famous: Elisa Gutierrez, Ofelia
Pamintuan, Nieves Joven, Jose
Panlilio, Francisco Panlilio, Arturo
Joven, Horacio Gutierrez, Antonio
Fajardo, Ignacio Santos and guest
performers from Manila. The group’s
first Kapampangan production was a
translation of Severino Reyes’ Huling Pati
(Ing Tauling Bilin), starring Luz Palma,
Arturo Joven and Pablo Angeles
Loroño, with Jose Gutierrez David
directing.
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs of
Justice Jose Gutierrez David
The paper lanterns of Bacolor
The Giant Lantern Festival,
for which San Fernando is
known today, has its roots in
Bacolor’s La Naval fiesta
Baculud
Queta qng busal na
Niting Capampangan
Carin ya mayaquit
Tibuan cung balayan
A nung nu babagul
Ing marimlang amiam
At nung nu masayang
Titiman ing bulan.
Carin e mapansing
Angin dayat-malat
Dapot caring ilang
Misna qng calapad
Sangapan mu naman
Ing tiup nang banayad
Ning macayayamang
Angin qng abagat.
Malambis a basle
Carin mu damdaman
Ing siuc da ding batis
Ang angin qng parang
Ang dalit ding ayup
Ing biung ding tanaman…
Paua ngan ping babie
Tula’t capaldanan.
As part of the La Naval celebrations held
at the tail end of the rainy season in
November, residents used paper lanterns
to protect the candle flame from wind and
rain as well as to liven up the procession
with multi-colored lights. These lanterns
hung until the Christmas season. Lanterns
mounted on poles during the La Naval
eventually made their way to the
lubenas , the nine-day advent
procession, and the maitinis, when
processions from various barrios
converge in the church patio on Christmas
Eve.
(According to parol makers, the trend
this year in parol design is a return to
the traditional Bacolor-style lanterns.)
Lauisuis ding cuayan
Matas magparayo
Ing azul a banuang
Lililung qng yatu
Alun ding palayan
Ing sinag ning aldo
Panagaula nala
Masayang balen cu.
End of an era
Losing the capital to
San Fernando
Newly elected Pampanga Governor
Macario Arnedo of Apalit presided over
the transfer of the provincial capital from
Bacolor to San Fernando, despite the
objections of his predecessor, Ceferino
Joven, and prominent families of Bacolor.
The transfer began in early 1903 and
accomplished July, 1904. The Philippine
Commission had earlier approved the
Tuqui Ca,
decision, citing the strategic location of
San Fernando. The Manila-Dagupan
railroad, which crossed San Fernando but
not Bacolor, linked the former with Manila,
Cavite, and Tarlac. The capital was first
housed in an old building in barrio Del Pilar,
across the San Fernando River fronting
the parish church (now cathedral).
Source: The Unpublished Memoirs of
Justice Jose Gutierrez David
At ita… balu mu?
Ausan dang Baculud.
Qng bale meyaring
Cuayan at pinaud
A quecang acaquit
Qng metung nang suluc
Carin cu mibait
Mebiasang linugud.
Tana… tuquian mucu
Carin ca magsaya
Queta qng balen cu
Gauan dacang mutya;
At carin, baluan mu
Alang lua’t paliasa
Bucud mung mimiral
Ing lugud at tula.
(dedicated to Concepcion Roque)
Jose Gutierrez David
Bacolor, 1908
19
And then…
HORROR
The
The end
end came
came in
in the
the form
form of
of boiling
boiling mud
mud and
and water
water
that
sounded
like
a
thousand
carabaos
running
that sounded like a thousand carabaos running
berserk.
berserk. It
It came
came from
from the
the same
same mountains
mountains from
from
which
gentle
rivers
had,
for
centuries,
which gentle rivers had, for centuries, flowed
flowed into
into
the
the town
town to
to create
create its
its idyllic
idyllic landscapes
landscapes and
and inspire
inspire
its
its resident
resident poets
poets and
and painters.
painters. It
It came
came like
like a
a thief
thief
in
the
night—monster
would
be
more
like
it—
in the night—monster would be more like it—
snatching
snatching children
children from
from their
their parents’
parents’ grip
grip and
and
burying
them
where
their
bodies
could
burying them where their bodies could never
never be
be
found
found again.
again.
No
No community
community deserved
deserved this
this kind
kind of
of ending.
ending.
History’s
great
civilizations
were
treated
History’s great civilizations were treated with
with more
more
kindness:
Greece
was
defeated
in
war,
Rome
kindness: Greece was defeated in war, Rome
deteriorated
deteriorated over
over centuries.
centuries. But
But Bacolor’s
Bacolor’s fate
fate is
is
worse
than
war
or
epidemic
or
flood
or
fire
or
worse than war or epidemic or flood or fire or
earthquake,
earthquake, or
or all
all of
of those
those combined.
combined. Lahar
Lahar comes
comes
unannounced;
unannounced; it
it scalds
scalds and
and then
then entombs
entombs you
you with
with
dirt
dirt that
that hardens
hardens like
like rock;
rock; then
then it
it does
does the
the same
same
thing
thing to
to the
the rest
rest of
of your
your family,
family, your
your house,
house, your
your
car,
car, and
and your
your entire
entire neighborhood.
neighborhood. It
It does
does so
so with
with
such
such swiftness
swiftness and
and finality
finality that
that you
you will
will not
not be
be able
able
to
to retrieve
retrieve anything,
anything, not
not even
even memories,
memories, not
not even
even
the
the chance
chance to
to return
return and
and start
start again.
again. Even
Even the
the
gravesites
gravesites of
of Bacolor’s
Bacolor’s heroes
heroes and
and artists
artists
disappeared
disappeared forever.
forever.
Bacolor
Bacolor has
has finally
finally come
come full
full circle;
circle; lahar
lahar fulfilled
fulfilled
the
the prophetic
prophetic etymology
etymology of
of the
the town—it
town—it elevated
elevated the
the
place
place above
above the
the rest.
rest. Bacolor
Bacolor is
is now,
now, truly
truly and
and
ironically,
ironically, makabakulud.
makabakulud.
20
Yann Arthus Bertrand “ La Terre Vue du Ciel”
ALL GONE
On October 2, 1995, the town of Bacolor ceased to exist. That w
the day the worst in a series of lahar avalanches erased the heavily popula
barrio Cabalantian from the map. More than 100 lives were lost and
least 15,000 houses destroyed. “Villagers escaped death by a hairline
climbing on roofs (of their rich neighbors’ houses) but remained maroon
for days without food, water and change of clothes,” said Ananias Canl
town mayor at the time.
Since 1991, lahar from Mount Pinatubo had repeatedly struck portio
of the town at a time, and the barrios fell one by one like domino ch
Of the 21 barrios—Balas, Cabalantian, Cabambangan, Cabetican, Calibutb
Concepcion, Dolores, Duat, Macabacle, Magliman, Maliwalu, Mesali
Parulog, Potrero, San Antonio, San Iisidro, San Vicente, Santa Barba
Santa Ines, Talba and Tinajero, only Calibutbut at the boundary with Ange
City has remained relatively unscathed.
was
ated
d at
by
ned
as,
ons
ips.
but,
pit,
ara,
eles
21
EVEN THE DEAD
NOT SPARED
It can be said that Bacolor’s dead were given two burials—well,
actually, several burials, if you count the number of times lahar layered
the cemetery at the back of the church every year from 1991 to
1995. When All Saints’ Day comes, the living returns to Bacolor to
light candles where they think their departed relatives’ graves lie, 20
feet below. “First we buried them six feet below,” one resident
says. “Then lahar buried them 20 feet below. It’s a total of 26 feet
between us and our loved ones! Worse, we might be several more
feet off the mark!” The parish priest has instructed the people to
light candles in their homes instead.
As they crawled in mud
like trapped animals,
it was difficult to imagine
that these were the same proud
descendants of the Jovens,
Galuras, Maligs and Palmas
of Bacolor
“This was worse than
the eruption itself”
By Robby Tantingco
THE PARISH church of Cabalantian,
one of the more populous barrios of
Bacolor, was still being fortified with
sandbags on the night of October 1, 1995,
which was a Saturday, when Typhoon
Mameng crossed Central Luzon.
Parish priest Fr. Eduardo Musni, 47,
was supervising the work, despite a fever.
He retired to his room at 3:30 a.m. At
4:30 a.m., his assistant, Louie Lansang,
18, rose to prepare for the Sunday Mass
scheduled at 6 a.m.
Groping his way in the dark convento,
Louie’s thoughts were on the trip he was
to make with his parents the next day,
Monday, for a surgery to remove a large
birthmark on his shoulder. As the rains
continued, he worried about lahar, which
had inundated parts of Bacolor in the last
few years. He calmed himself by thinking
that Cabalantian was a relatively elevated
area, and that the Gugu dike recently built
by government engineers would hold.
Suddenly, the parish secretary came
in shouting about rising floodwaters and
people climbing to the choir loft of the
church next door. In an instant, Louie
felt warm water around his thighs. Fr.
Musni, the secretary and Louie had barely
climbed the ladder to the choir loft when
the flood overtook them.
Louie, who could not swim, sank. The
priest pulled him out of the water and
the three of them joined some 200
frightened people on the choir loft. They
saw the muddy water, now steaming
with volcanic debris and reeking with
sulphur, rise inside the
church below them.
The wooden pews
floated noisily and
then, in a heap against
the altar, sank under
their own weight. To
the priest”s horror, the
flood continued rising
until it overflowed into
the choir loft.
The men peeled
off the ceiling and they
helped the women and
children climb to the
roof of the church.
The steep pyramidal
roof forced them to
spread around it while
doing a balancing act
on the gutters. Louie
and the secretary sat
close to the parish
priest; drenched to the
bone, they looked at
the tempest around
them: the dark grey
(to page 30)
22
FROM BAHAY-NA-BATO
TO HOUSE-ON-STILTS
Some families used single
car jacks to raise their houses
Malig Mansion after a lahar flow
Some houses have been raised as many
as four times.
Family members dug with shovels and
bare hands to retrieve and recycle materials
from their old house to reconstruct a new
one. Against all odds, Bacolor returnees
raised their recycled houses using single
car jacks until rich Kapampangans in the
United States donated six large hydraulic
jacks to the town. The local government
then instituted a house-raising program,
donating jacks, materials and copper molds
for making the concrete stilts and
supporting beams, and designated a local
contractor and construction crew.
Homeowners paid only the labor costs.
Source: Can This Town Survive? A Case
Study of a Buried Philippine Town by Kathleen S.
Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Daily Inquirer
The elegant colonial houses of Bacolor,
locally known as bahay na bato (stone
house), were not spared in the deluge.
Many were totally entombed, together
with their antique furniture, paintings,
documents and other heritage materials.
One exception was the Panlilio mansion
which was transported, in the nick of time,
to Cavite to become the Museo de La
Salle, thanks to the efforts of Bro.
Andrew Gonzales and Joey Panlilio.
Other houses were raised on stilts to
outwit the annual flow of lahar. In 1991,
houses were buried in two-meter deep
mud. In 1994, a fresh flow elevated the
ground with another one meter of mud.
In 1995, another 3.5 meters, for an
average total deposition of 6.5 meters.
Anachronistic houses-on-stilts in the middle of dry land
MISERY
WITHOUT
END
Depression, disease
and corruption
plagued evacuees
Lahar victims’ travails did not end after
they had fled to safety. First, they were
herded like cows on military trucks to
evacuation sites, which ranged from school
buildings to tent cities and gymnasiums. These
were halfway houses en route to the
permanent resettlement areas—nothing more
than rows of identical units located in the
middle of sugarcane plantations that sizzled
under the sun. Conditions in evacuation and
resettlement areas can be hellish—loss of
privacy, lack of sanitation, flies, disease, petty
thieves and other indignities. Farmers
suddenly had no farms and shop owners had
nothing to do, except to line up for relief
goods. These on top of the trauma of being
uprooted from home and losing all possessions
and livelihoods and facing a bleak, even blank,
future. Hundreds had succumbed to
depression, neurosis, even psychosis.
Suicides had been recorded.
And, as if to add insult to injury, corruption
reared its ugly head amidst the sea of
suffering. Billions of pesos in government
funds were reported missing as dikes,
megadikes, sabo dams, catch basins and other
engineering interventions were pushed by
politicians, contractors and agents who
salivated after the commissions, when the
money could have been better spent on
welfare and livelihood among the evacuees.
In some cases, the dikes had given residents
a false sense of security, leading to tragic
consequences.
Bacoloreños with their proud heritage are
probably wondering what they did in the past
to earn this suffering.
23
FREE PRESS
Library of Congress
Construction of train bridge over Pampanga River in the 1890s
Lahar devastation in the 1990s
TWO KNOCKOUTS
History delivered the first blow, Nature the second
By Jean-Christopher Gaillard, Ph.D.
WHEN speaking about disasters and Bacolor, one would think by intense daily shuttles; the eastern portion of the Bacolor town
first about Pinatubo lahar onslaughts. But another event also proper (e.g., barangay Cabalantian) even became part of the
had a tremendous and surely longer-lasting effect. This is the outer, upper-income residential ring surrounding San Fernando’s
construction of the Manila-Dagupan railway. The succession historical center. A clear sign of this urban stagnation is the
of these two disasters struck Bacolor down, from the glorious relatively slow population growth of Bacolor during the 20 th
seat of power and culture it once was, to a small village it has century. Between 1903 and 1990, censuses show Bacolor
population multiplying by 4.98, compared to San Fernando’s 8.85.
become today.
Founded in 1576, Bacolor was described by Mariano Henson (Prior to the transfer of capital, between 1837 and 1887, Bacolor
as the capital of Pampanga as early as 1746—at the time when population multiplied by 1.78, compared to 1.58 of San Fernando
Pampanga covered a wide territory that extended to Nueva and Sto. Tomas, then combined.) Evidently, the transfer reverted
the trend.
Vizcaya in the north, Aurora in the east, and
By 1990, Bacolor had thus been downparts of Bulacan and Bataan in the south. From
ranked to the level of a small town, its only
1762 to 1764, it even enjoyed the privilege of
Despite
a
stunning
claim to fame being its cultural functions.
being the capital of the Spanish government in
reversal of fortune,
Then came the Pinatubo eruption of 1991,
the Philippines during the British occupation of
and the huge recurrent lahars (volcanic
Manila. In 1762 it was also granted the very
Bacolor
now
has
debris flows) between 1991 and 1997
rare title of Villa by the Spanish authorities.
a real chance of
During the colonial period, this town therefore
buried Bacolor by portions and in stages.
enjoyed complete urban functions. ProvincialAt least 75% of Bacolor’s population has
recovering
level administrations were located in Bacolor
fled the town or been resettled in the
the
power
which also enjoyed commercial functions due to
adjacent municipalities of San Fernando,
its strategic location at the contact between
Mexico, Mabalacat, Floridablanca and Lubao.
and the glory
the two geographical units of Pampanga—the
Bacolor thus lost one of the main elements
wetlands of the Pampanga River delta and
that help define the hierarchical level of a
Candaba Swamp, and the so-called dry lands. Bacolor was also town: its population. In a previous article (see Singsing Vol. 1
famous for its trade school, the first in East Asia, and for its No. 4), we have already shown how the people of Bacolor
cultural activities. These complete urban functions made Bacolor struggled to maintain the town’s cultural functions and how the
rank very high in the Philippine urban hierarchy, at least at the value of territorial markers increased throughout the crisis. Another
level of a regional urban center.
asset that never left Bacolor was the Don Honorio Ventura
However, in 1892, the government decided to build a railway College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT), which did not stop its
to link the Lingayen Gulf to Manila. The choice of the route operations even at the peak of the lahar crises, compared to the
seems to have passed through a debate. The principalia of commercial and economic establishments (banks, hospitals, stores,
Bacolor presumably faced tough objection from the nobility of etc.) and administrative units (municipal offices, justice court,
Mexico (Masicu), who also wanted the railroad to pass through water service, etc.) that fled, closed down or were destroyed.
their town.
Allegedly, to settle the feud the government It is really the cultural and educational functions of Bacolor that
selected San Fernando instead, which lay in midpoint between helped the town survive the disasters.
the two towns. As it turned out, the railway became a major
The decrease in population resulted in revenue shortage as
axis of development in the Central Plain of Luzon and Bacolor well, as the internal revenue allotment (IRA) is mainly based on
was cut off from it. Ten years later, the provincial capital of population figures. Taxes from economic investors were also cut
Pampanga was transferred from Bacolor to San Fernando. Thus, down to almost nil. In 1996, Bacolor was ranked at the bottom
Bacolor lost its administrative functions and much of its economic of the Pampanga urban hierarchy. In the span of one century,
power, in favor of San Fernando. What remained were its cultural the combination of anthropogenic and natural disasters has
functions.
produced a complete reversal of fortune for Bacolor.
Bacolor eventually deteriorated into a mere satellite of the
(to page 28)
new provincial capital. The two towns were indeed connected
24
DEFYING
PINATUBO
By risking everything, the trade school inspired the town
True to the spirit of their ancestors, the first structures
that Bacoloreños rebuilt were their churches and schools. This
they did through donations from teachers, private citizens,
elected officials and foreign benefactors, as well as through an
informal tax on each truckload of sand quarried from the town
(as many as 100 trucks per day). The Don Honorio Ventura
College of Arts and Trades (formerly the Escuela de Artes y
Oficios de Bacolor), alternately closed and reopened throughout
the lahar season; students, faculty and administrators cleared
debris each time. Since all shops and labs had been buried to
their rooftops, as well as all first-floor classrooms, make-up classes
were held in resettlement areas and alternate campuses were
readied. At some point, enrollment dropped to 2,800 (down
from 5,300), but the school remained open, although dismissing
students early to allow them to go home before dark. By
1998, enrollment had recovered at 4,079 students. By 2001,
the school was the major employer in Bacolor, with 186 regular
faculty and 50 non-teaching personnel, not to mention the
economic activity it created in the town proper and the
inspiration it gave to residents of Bacolor.
Source: Can This Town Survive? A Case Study of a Buried Philippine
Town by Kathleen S. Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)
HIGH AND DRY
UNIFYING SYMBOL
The muchphotographed
San Guillermo
Church
of
Bacolor is the
visual symbol,
measure and
diary of lahar
devastation in
Pampanga.
Lahar began
entering the
church in 1994;
by 1995, the
cumulative
deposition was
6.6
meters.
What used to
be the choirloft
window
above
the
buried main
entrance is now
the door. Huge
chandeliers are nearly touching the elevated ground. The
famous retablo (main altar) had been unearthed and raised,
and religious services have resumed as early as 1996 to
contribute a sense of normalcy to the community. The La
Naval was celebrated in November, 1995, barely weeks after
the worst lahar episode. A large tent was erected in front of
the church, and scattered Bacoloreños returned to participate
in the ceremonies. At once heartbreaking, defiant and hopeful,
it was one of the shining moments in the history of the town.
Ironically, Bacolor, once condemned
as the catch basin for lahar,
has become the safest town
in the province
Because of the tons of lahar dumped on the town, the
raising of the national highway, and the dikes intended to sacrifice
it, Bacolor is now at least 6 meters higher in elevation than
either San Fernando on the east or Guagua on the west. By
sustaining the lahar flows, Bacolor has ironically solved its historical
problem with flooding, which in turn has become severe in other
Pampanga towns not directly affected by lahar. Since all
government buildings, residential houses, churches and schools
have been either raised or fortified in anticipation of future flows,
and residents and town leaders have shown independence from
the national government in responding to disaster situations,
the town is probably the safest place in the province today.
In the face of a diaspora, Bacoloreños have shown an aweinspiring devotion to the land of their birth. Aside from houses
on stilts, residents built new houses on top of dikes rather than
go back to resettlement areas. “I would rather live and die in
Bacolor” is their determined reply when asked why they would
risk their lives again. They also express disappointment with
TODAY
No place
like home
former neighbors’ lack of loyalty to their town. Many families
have invested heavily in rebuilding their houses in the town;
others who don’t have the resources to rebuild content
themselves with returning every day to visit old friends and try
to capture a lifestyle that is probably lost forever. Those in
resettlement areas try to recreate their former environment by
naming streets after their old streets, insisting on electing their
old town officials instead of the officials of the town where the
resettlement area is located, and celebrating the fiesta of the
town that is miles away. Unfortunately, the residents’ attachment
to their land is not shared by the town’s economic sector, which
fled and relocated at the first sign of danger and stubbornly
stays away.
Reference: Can This Town Survive? A Case Study of a Buried Philippine Town
by Kathleen S. Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)
25
(Bacolor and the Origin... from page5 )
of Spanish era officials which supplemented the “official” history
of Angeles. However, Don Mariano’s unique contribution to
Kapampangan studies may have been the inspiration he
supplied to his nephew, Mariano A. Henson, who decades
later composed histories of both Angeles and Pampanga
Province. The younger Henson also utilized Parker’s works that
he found in the collections of H. Otley Beyer. Thus, there exists
a direct linkage between the work of Mariano Vicente Henson
and Luther Parker and the histories of Mariano A. Henson that
represent a starting point for the modern era of Kapampangan
studies.5
Bacolor’s preeminence did not long outlast the first decade
of the twentieth century. The status of capital of Pampanga
already migrated from Bacolor to San Fernando in 1904.
Through the latter community passed the railroad that carried
passengers and commodities to Manila. In addition, in 1921
San Fernando became a milling center of the revived sugar
industry that flourished for two decades following the 1909
passage of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. Eventually, cinema
and other diversions cut into Bacolor’s local cultural production
and the town faded into regional obscurity. Around 1911, Luther
Parker transferred out of the province, and his project of the
writing of Kapampangan town histories ended. The idea was
reborn after World War II with the compiling of the Historical
Data Papers (HDP) by local teachers from every province. The
format of the HDP resembles remarkably that of Parker’s original
histories with their listing of officials and breakdown into barrios;
however, I have never been able to learn enough about the
origins of the HDP to establish a connection between the two
projects. Nevertheless, the similarity between the two indicates
the worth of Parker’s original scheme.
In his thinking about Pampanga’s history and culture Parker
was, no doubt, stirred by the vibrant cultural life of Bacolor.
Besides knowing its outstanding authors, perhaps he also
attended zarzuela performances at the Teatro Sabina, and
other cultural happenings. Perhaps he was impressed that
Bacolor had once served (from 1762 to 1764) as the Spanish
capital of the entire Philippines.1 At any rate, he proved himself
one of those rare American colonials who possessed an
appreciation of the culture that he discovered around him.
And in Pampanga in that decade, Bacolor was the place to be.
While it is not fashionable in the post-colonial era to accentuate
the positive about America’s representatives, Luther Parker
deserves at least a simple acknowledgement for his role in
forging Kapampangan studies. Bacolor made that role
possible.
i
Luther Parker, “Some Notes on Pampanga,” Luther Parker Collection, p. 6; John A.
Larkin, “Luther Parker’s Report on the Negritos of Pampanga in 1908, Asian Studies,
II, 1 (1964), pp, 106-107.
ii
Letter to the Editor of the Free Press from Luther Parker, Bacolor, October 23, 1911,
Luther Parker Collection.
iii
“List of the graduates and pupils of the Bacolor School of Arts and Trades, formerly
‘El Colegio de Santa Tereza de Jesus,’ for the period 1861-69,” p. 2, Luther Parker
Collection
iv
Letter of Introduction for Luther Parker written by James A. Robertson, Washington,
D.C., December 11, 1917; Letter from J.J. Harty, Archbishop of Manila, to Luther
Parker, October 25, 1909, Luther Parker Collection.
v
Faustino Pineda Gutierrez, Parnasong Capampañgan, San Fernando: Ing Catimawan,
1932, pp. 118-124; Manuel Gatbonton, Ing Candawe, n.p., 1933; Letter from Mariano
Vicente Henson, Angeles, to Luther Parker, Bacolor, April 8, 1910, Luther Parker
Collection; Mariano A. Henson, A Brief History of the Town of Angeles in the
Province of Pampanga, San Fernando: Ing Katiwala Press, 1948; Mariano A. Henson,
The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns, 1st ed., Angeles, by the author, 1953,
forward.
vi
Luther Parker, “Some Notes on Pampanga,” p. 8, Luther Parker Collection
26
In search of
prehistoric Bacolor
Facing extinction, a town goes back
to its beginnings
By Joel P. Mallari
AT the early period of colonization, it was noted that
there were already at least eleven important settlements,
namely Lubao, Macabebe, Sasmuan, Betis, Guagua, Bacolor,
Apalit, Arayat, Candaba, Porac, and Masicu (later Mexico)
located along the major waterways of the Kapampangan
Region. By choosing Bakulud from among these settlements
as the regional capital, the Spaniards already acknowledged
the town’s superiority at the time.
The early Kapampangans were probably Buddhist as a
result of cultural influences from India through the Sri-Vijaya
and Majapahit Kingdoms dominating the Southeast Asian
region with which Kapampangans were trading.
The
Kapampangans that the Spaniards found were Muslim
because by that time, Islam had already dominated the entire
Southeast Asian region from its point of origin in northern
Sumatra.
Bakulud was ideally situated because of its access to river
networks, specifically the Betis River (linked to the GuaguaPasak River, which is the major tributary to Indung
Kapampangan, or the Pampanga River). Pre-colonial
Kapampangans (so named because of their communities along
the riverbanks) probably used tough barangay-style boats,
which carried 60 to 90 persons, in interacting with various
merchant capitals overseas. The heavy trading activity in
the area is evidenced by artifacts unearthed in Lubao and
Porac which are in the vicinity of Bacolor. From all indications,
they were active seafaring people. Archaeological as well as
satellite evidence shows the ancient delta reached the Betis
area, which makes pre-Hispanic Bakulud a coastal town, further
reinforcing its role as an entrepot of trade and economic
development in the region.
When the Spaniards came in 1571, they found a thriving
Muslim community in Betis with a population of at least 3000—
big compared to Sugbu (Cebu), Mactan, Maynilad (Manila)
and Bigan (Vigan) each of which had a maximum population
of 2000 at the time of the conquest (Candaba, by the way,
had 3500). Thus, the Spaniards added little to the already
progressive Bakulud to make it the capital of the new
province.
Pieces of artifacts like black-white decorated jars,
discovered in Lubao, which is very near Bakulud, date back
to the Sung (A.D. 960-1279) and Ming (A.D. 1368-1644)
Periods. Exensive burial sites dating as early as Tang (A.D.
618-907) to Middle Sung Period and
another burial site dated Sung, Yuan
(A.D. 1279-1368) and Ming Period,
containing a huge number of sherds
and pieces of earthenware,
have also been discovered in
Porac, Bakulud’s neighbor to
the west.
In short, the unearthed
tradeware and the Muslim faith
discovered by the earliest
Spanish conquerors show that
Bakulud and its neighbors in the
delta were firmly linked to the
Southeast Asian trade network
centuries before 1571.
Rugged man in ragged clothes
In the early 70s, motorists passing through Bacolor never
failed to notice a hobo standing motionless on the roadside
near the Don Bosco Academy. Rich students in the exclusive
boys’ school threw sandwiches at him; children taunted him.
Old folks said he lost his mind after
wife died in an accident on her way back home; since then he
had stood on that spot day and night, rain or shine, as if
waiting for his wife who would never return.
After the lahar episodes in the 1990s, nothing more was
heard of him.
(Bacolor as the center.. from page 8)
and exceptional defense of the Spanish crown.
Juan de Medina, an Augustinan historian, wrote in 1630
about the noble Kapampangan military heritage which del Pan
was still praising two centuries later:
“And yet it can be said of these Indians (and a strange thing
it is), that although they are treated so harshly, it is not known
that a single one has deserted to the Dutch in Maluco, where
they suffer more than in their own country. Many of the other
Indians go and come. When these soldiers leave Pampanga, they
present a fine appearance, for the villages come to their aid,
each with a certain sum, for their uniforms. All this is due to the
teaching of the religious of our father St. Augustine, whose
flock these Indians are, and the children of their teaching.”
“Bacolor is the best village not
only of Pampanga, but of all the
islands.”
- Juan de Medina,
17th century Spanish chronicler
When the Englishmen attacked the Philippines as a carryover of the Seven Years’ War that had repercussions on the
diplomatic relations between their country England and Spain,
there was a showcasing of this Kapampangan military tradition.
The British arrived in Manila on September 23, 1762, immediately
taking over the strategic portions of the Spanish capital. Skirmishes
around the arrabales of Manila persisted for a week, but since
Day One the superiority of the British arms was evident. There
were, however, motions of support for the Castilian escudo,
especially from the Kapampangans.
On October 4 (or 3 in other accounts), at about two in the
morning, some 3,000 Kapampangans and 200 Spaniards attacked
British detachments in Manila; an assault characterized by bloody
surges and stiff hand-to-hand combat. It was in this encounter
that José Manalastás, a Kapampangan soldier, distinguished
himself for his boldness. He personally entered the tent of the
British commander, General William Draper, then dragged him
out with a dagger poised to pierce his heart. The timely arrival of
reinforcements nullified the brave Filipino’s aim; wounded by British
rifles, he had to flee. The lull after the battle would reveal that
there were 200 killed and about 300 wounded, a great number
of whom were Manalastás’ kinsmen, the Kapampangans.
A.P. Thorton, a British who was probably present during
the assault, made this account:
On October 4th, when the winds had dropped, (Draper) was
attacked by a thousand Malays (Pampangos), whose ferocity
and courage amazed the English, used in India to seeing native
levies better armed and led flee at the sight of them. But these
strange Indians repeated their assaults and died like wild beasts,
gnawing the bayonets. The pressure of attack on the gunpositions continued, and at the same time the walls of the city
were beginning to wilt before the bombardment. Draper decided
to take by storm.
This was the last stand of Manila. Archbishop Manuel Rojo,
the acting Spanish Governor-General, was forced to agree to
British terms of surrender. There was resistance however, from
some Spaniards and Filipinos who continued the fight in the
provinces, particularly in Pampanga.
On Oct. 6, the oidor Simon de Anda, after paddling his way
out of Manila on Oct. 4 and a brief respite in Bulacan, settled in
the Augustinian convent of Bacolor, then the capital of Pampanga.
It was to be the ‘belligerent’ cabecera of the Philippine colony
for more than a year.
Baculud (or how the inhabitants of Bacolor pronounced its
name) was already a bustling settlement when the Spaniards
first arrived in 1571. Local history has it that a certain Don Guillermo
Manabat reorganized it as the Pueblo de Bacolor in 1576.
The same friar-cronista, Juan de Medina, had also something
to say about Bacolor in the 1600s, “which is the best village not
only of Pampanga, but of all the islands; for it has more than one
thousand Indians under the bell.”
“It is about one and one-half days’ journey from Manila by
sea and creeks, as in the case of the others. It has the best
meadow-land in the islands, and it all produces rice abundantly.
It is irrigated, as was remarked above of the others. It has a
celebrated church with a crucifix, which is entirely built of stone
and brick. The house is made of stone also. The inhabitants are
the richest and best-clothed of all Pampanga, and have the most
prominent of the chiefs. When the supply of religious is good,
there are always three in this village, and there have even been
at times four or five; for besides the stipend paid by his Majesty
(who owns this encomienda), it has its own chaplaincies, founded
by the said inhabitants of Pampanga. It has also its own altar
fund, which, although not very important as yet, will yield
something for the support of those in charge there.”
When Simon de Anda proclaimed himself the Captain-General
of the Philippines on the 5th of October in a town of Bulacan, the
Kapampangans at first did not agree. They refused to admit any
Spaniard for that matter, believing that these people were not
faithful to their defense of the colony and that the death of
many Kapampangan soldiers was a result of Spanish neglect rather
than the prowess of the Englishmen. Nevertheless, the
Augustinian friars of the province managed to convince their
parishioners to support Anda and Spain.
Tagalogs, Ilocanos and
Pangasinenses fleeing revolts
were given a safe haven in
Pampanga during Gen. Anda’s
stay in Bacolor
Thus, on the 11th of October, five days after Anda settled in
Bacolor to continue his resistance, the Alcalde Mayor of Pampanga
called a meeting of the gobernadorcillos of the province and
neighboring towns to pledge their unanimous support and
recognition of the former as the Captain-General of the Philippines.
Later, as an Augustinian, Eduardo Navarro, wrote, the towns of
Bacolor, San Fernando, Mexico, Candaba, Santa Ana, Arayat, Betis,
Guagua, San Luis, Apalit, Macabebe, Sexmoan, Minalin, San Miguel
de Mayumo, Santa Rita, Gapan, Porac, Santol, Bongabon, San
Jose, Tayug, Tarlac, and Magalang swore their allegiance to Charles
III, the King of Spain, in a public display of support and loyalty.
Secured by his loyal Filipino soldiers led by his aide-de-camp,
the Kapampangan Santos de los Angeles, Anda thus continued
the government in Bacolor, initially reorganizing the army of Spanish
and Filipino soldiers and dispatched circulars around the colony to
continue the resistance, ‘in the Name of God and the King’.
In his many reports to the King of Spain, Anda enumerated
in detail the workings of his Bacolor capital. For example, to spur
economic trading, he permitted free trade among the provinces
(next page)
27
and that all lands of Pampanga be planted with rice and sugar
cane; however, as a rebuttal against the British and their Spanish
collaborators, he forbade the sending of any provision to Manila.
He also encouraged the circulation of the barrilla (coins) in the
whole province, which he later suspended with the proliferation
of counterfeits from the Sangleys (Chinese).
In answer to the enticement of the British among the ‘indios’,
he also allowed them “freedom of worship, and exemption from
the tribute and from polo y servicios.”
Curfews were observed in Bacolor; Anda ordered that in the
capital and the surrounding villages that “the bell be rung at nine
o’clock at night for all people to retire, and not to be seen on
the streets, in order to avoid disorders.” Games of dice,
cockfighting and cards were prohibited; nipa wine in the capital
was to be sold only on retail, to avoid drunkenness. He forbade
“illuminations at night, on the eve and day of the anniversary of
birth and the saint’s day of the king and the prince of Asturias.”
Passports were strictly enforced, especially among Spaniards
who might bring provisions to their compatriots in Manila and the
Chinese who were supporting the British. Similar to the
arrangement in Intramuros, Anda established “gates” to the
Bacolor capital in the pueblos of Lubao, Guagua, Sexmoan, and
Macabebe. There was a mention of a carved plate “of some hard
Philippine wood, on which are three separate inscriptions, also
carved in the wood”. Anda set up this plate on the gate of
Sasmuan. When the walls were destroyed afterwards, it was
said, the plate was preserved in a Manila government office in
1858 and later sent to a museum in Madrid as a memorial of the
excellent signal services of Anda in his Bacolor capital.
J. del Pan’s comment of “mientras ardia Manila en ridiculas y
esteriles discordias (Manila burning with ridicules and sterile
disaccords)” could have been the altercations between Archbishop
Rojo, who acceded to the British in the capital of Manila, and
Anda, who continued the struggle in Bacolor.
Charged with defiance and insubordination, Anda wrote many
retaliatory letters and counter-charges to Rojo from his Bacolor
capital. Cutting provisions to Manila and other safeguards to
maintain his capital, he also instructed both friars and secular
priests in Pampanga to defy their archbishop who had instructed
them to go back to Manila.
It was during the stay of Anda in Bacolor that some Filipinos
took advantage of the situation and started also their revolts.
Included were the rebellions of Diego Silang in the Ilocos Region,
the Chinese in the adjacent town of Guagua, and that of Juan
de la Cruz Palaris in Pangasinan.
(Belles... from page 15)
in her bouquet. Her court included Rosario
Ferro (Miss Luzon), Belen de Guzman (Miss
Visayas) and Marina Lopez (Miss Mindanao).
Later in life, she married Jose Avelino Jr.,
who would soon be a Senate President, with
whom she bore 7 children. She settled in
Paranaque and operated a beauty parlor in
Makati with her daughter.
Right:
Guia Balmori, daughter of labor leader
Joaquin Balmori, escorted by Ernesto “Gatas”
Santos, son of Teodoro Santos of San
Fernando and Mabalacat; she is the second
Kapampangan to win a national beauty
contest, after Socorro Henson.
Far right:
Rosario Manuel represented the province in
1927 (Photo courtesy of Museo ning Angeles,
thru kindness of Marc Nepomuceno)
28
To maintain the integrity of the Spanish crown, Anda utilized
mostly his loyal Kapampangan troops and other Filipinos in
suppressing these revolts.
It should be noted that the melting-pot arrangement of
what was once the Kapampangan region took place during
Bacolor’s term as the capital. For example, there was an edict
from Anda that “land in the village of San Ysidro be given to the
Tagalogs who had fled from Manila.” Upper Pampanga, specifically
the towns of Tarlac and Capas, was opened for the Ilocanos and
Pangasinenses who had fled their provinces due to the Palaris
revolt.
Kapampangans proved their
loyalty to the concept of nation
and showed their kinship with
other ethno-linguistic tribes
In the midst of the fight between Anda and the British, the
Seven Years’ War came to a close on February 10, 1764, with
England restoring the Philippines to Spain. On the 14th of March,
1764, the new Spanish Governor-General, Francisco de la Torre
arrived in Bataan. Anda invited him for a visit; de la Torre arrived
in Pampanga on the 15th. The next day, the 16th, he took over
the post from Anda in the capital of Bacolor. Two weeks later, on
the 31st of March, the Spanish troops with their loyal Kapampangan
and other Filipino soldiers marched back to Manila.
In recognition of the unquestionable loyalty of Bacolor and
the whole province of Pampanga, a royal decree of November 9,
1765 transformed the erstwhile capital into the Villa de Bacolor.
Most historians have downplayed events in Bacolor, Pampanga
in 1762-64, viewing the episode only as a fight between the
Spaniards and the British. However, it should be seen as one of
the first signals of Filipinism: by initially resisting even the Spaniards
who collaborated with the invading British, Kapampangans proved
their loyalty to the concept of nation and not to their colonial
masters; and by opening their region to other ethno-linguistic
groups affected by revolts and disorders, Kapampangans showed
kinship with other tribes. Kapampangans probably already
thought of themselves as ‘Filipinos’ even in that early period of
our history.
Simon Flores’ ceiling paintings in churches in Betis (above),
Guagua, Sta. Rita, Mexico and Bacolor have been either destroyed
or painted over beyond recognition
(Homegrown... from page 12)
postures and stern stares, not to mention the trappings of
wealth: bastons, folded handkerchiefs, exquisite gold jewelry
and handkerchiefs.
The significance of Simon Flores’s art lies in the fact that it
represented the best from a Filipino artist at a critical time
when the concept of a Philippine nationhood was still evolving
(Reminiscences... from page 9)
offspring
(Celestino and
Jose) would
begin the Leon
y Santos clan,
w
i
t
h
prominent
descendants
as far as San
Fernando,
Porac
and
Angeles.
Jose Leon y
S a n t o s
m a r r i e d
A r c a d i a
Joven
y
Leon y Santos
Suares,
a
daughter of Joven patriarch,
Don Juan Joven and Doña
Geronima Suares, the land
donor of the Escuela de Artes
y Oficios, the oldest trade
Museo de La Salle
i n t e r connections
between
these
three
families.
Among the children
of Jose Leonardo
de Leon and his
wife
Casimira
Custodia,
were
Doña
Luisa
Gonzaga de Leon,
who
is
well
remembered for her
Kapampangan
translation of the
Ejercicio Cotidiano,
and Don Jose
Don Jose
Aniceto de Leon.
Jose Aniceto would pass on the
surname de Leon to his
descendants. While Luisa
married Don Francisco Paula
de los Santos, and their
A Master’s Legacy.
Here is a comprehensive list of the known works of Simon
Flores.
1. Portrait of Andrea Dayrit, c. 1870, a belle from Bacolor.
( Central Bank Collection.)
2. King Amadeus, c. 1871. Portrait of the Italian regent
who ascended the throne of Spain. It graced the municipal hall
of San Fernando. Painting was lost in a fire when Antonio Luna
razed the entire Poblacion.
3. La Orquesta del Pueblo, (The Music band of the Town)
1876, Oil on canvas
4. Quiazon Family, 1880. 3 generations of a prominent family
from Culiat. C. 1880. (Leandro Locsin Collection)
5. Cirilo and Severina Quiazon and Children, c.1880. A muchreproduced work of Flores featuring once again this prominent
Culiat couple. (Central bank Collection)
6. Primeras Letras (Learning to Read), c.1890, (Jorge Vargas
Collection)
7. Feeding the Chicken, c. 1890. The subjects of Primeras
Letras and this painting appear to be the same. (Jorge Vargas
Collection)
8. Portrait of Msgr. Ignacio Tambungui, c. 1890. Oil on ivory.
9. Despues de la Ultima Cena, (After the Last Supper) ,1891
10. El Prendimiento, (The Arraignment of Christ), 1891
11. The Expulsion, 1895
12. Simon Flores, c. 1890s. An auto-retrato, or self-portrait
in charcoal. The drawing shows Flores in his 50s, wearing a muffler.
Used in an article about him in “La Ilustracion Filipina”.
13. A Gentleman in Sunday Clothes
14. A Lady in Sunday Clothes
15. Juanita, charcoal ovalo study, (Locsin Collection)
16. Group portrait of A Man in Barong Tagalog and Wife in
Maria Clara, (UST Collection)
17. Dead Child, 1902. A memento mori (recuerdo de patay)
of a deceased child. (National Museum Colelction)
18. Various paintings for the baroque church of Betis:
Inmaculada Concepcion, (Cupola area) , Sagrada Familia (Rectory).
school in Asia, now known as
the
Don
H o n o r i o
Ventura College
of Arts and
Trades. Upon
Arcadia’s death,
Jose would later
marry
her
younger sibling
R a m o n a
Joven
y
Suares. Two of
their daughters,
Juana
and
Josefa Leon
S a n t o s ,
m a r r i e d
D o m i n g o
P a n l i l i o , Doña Ramona
creating
the
Santos-Joven-Panlilio Clan.
Don Jose Aniceto de Leon
married Doña Aleja Buyson,
with whom he had five
children. Among them was
Leonor de Leon de Keyser,
whose daughter
Dolores Keyser,
would marry Jose
Joven
y
Gutierrez,
a
grandson of Don
Juan
Joven.
Another child,
Damaso
de
Leon, had a son
Jose Leoncio de
Leon y Hizon,
who would also
marry into the
Joven clan with his
two marriages to
siblings Regina and
Suares Joven Natividad Joven y
Gutierrez. These
ties that bind are endless. But
two patterns definitely emerge:
the numerous intermarriages,
Museo de La Salle
Ivan Henares
in the minds of ideological journalists, literary writers and peasant
revolutionaries. Like them, Simon helped foster the growing
consciousness for a national identity though his images that
represented the true Filipino sensibility. Unlike artists of means
like Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo and Juan Luna who could afford
to exhibit in the great galleries of Rome, Paris and Madrid, Simon’s
homegrown purist style was just as expressive, virtuous and
dazzling, successfully surmounting the challenges and the
limitations of historical circumstance of the world he lived in.
(next page)
29
and the Joven tradition of marrying the
younger sibling upon the death of the
older, which in the examples above,
appeared thrice. This is indeed a most
royal pattern not at all new. The Royal
Houses of Europe had for the longest
time, used this same pattern of
(Jewel ... from page 7)
The wealthy Joven family financed
the Compania Sabina, whose members
included prominent residents of Bacolor
drawn together by a common love for
theatre. Juan Crisostomo Soto was
the company’s resident playwright and
director. The Jovens alsosupported the
Orchestra Palma, whose member Pablo
Palma composed the music of Soto’s
famous zarzuela, Alang Dios! Many of the
songs from this musical have become
popular folk songs.
When the revolution against Spain
broke out—Bacolor, despite its being a
colonial bastion, and despite the
widespread notion that Kapampangans
sided with the Spaniards—produced the
bravest freedom-fighters. Even poets
and artists took up arms against their
colonial masters. Crisostomo Soto, Felix
intermarriage, as a form of consolidation
as well as strengthening of wealth and
power.
Towards the end of the 19th century,
it was said that almost every bahay na bato
in Bacolor was either a Joven or a de Leon
house, as every prominent resident, one
way or another, was connected to this
principalia pedigree. Together with other
ilustrado families such as the Liongsons,
Valdeses, Venturas and Palmas, these
clans dominated the social patterns of this
elegant Pampanga town, representing as
what John Larkin terms as “the pinnacle
of native society.”
Galura, Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron and
many others joined fellow Kapampangan
writers (like Aurelio Tolentino from the
neighboring Guagua town) in the fight
against Spain and later against the United
States. Only a few kilometers separate
Macabebe and Bacolor on the map, but
these two Pampanga towns represented
the farthest opposite ends of the political
spectrum of the time.
While the
Macabebes cast their fortune with the
colonizers, Bacoloreños severed all ties with
their former masters. Jose Rizal planted
the seeds when he visited his wealthy
friends Don Balbino Ventura and Don
Francisco Joven in Bacolor in 1871. The
first cry of the Revolution in Pampanga
occurred on June 4, 1898 in Bacolor. The
following year, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
entered Bacolor in triumph.
But the tide of history quickly swamped
the small town. In 1900, the last Capitan
Municipal, Don Ceferino Joven, stepped
down as the Americans occupied the
archipelago. The next year, the new
colonizers inaugurated in Bacolor the
country’s first civil government, with
Ceferino Joven as the provincial governor.
In 1903, the Philippine Commission
transferred the provincial capital to the
next town, San Fernando, where the allimportant Dagupan-Manila railroad passed.
But the jewel did not lose its luster
even when history moved the spotlight
away from it.
Throughout the 20 th
century, Bacolor continued to produce
hundreds of great men and women, way
beyond what might be expected from a
small town.
References: Kapampangan Literature: A
Historical Survey and Anthology by Edna
Zapanta-Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila University
Press); Our Islands and their People by Jose de
Olivares; “ The Story of Bacolor in a Nutshell” by Dr.
Rogelio M. Samia.
(This was worse... from page 22)
sky melted into the dark grey sea of lahar
that raged below them. Only rooftops
and the tips of trees and electric posts
were all that remained of Cabalantian.
Louie wondered if the rest of the world
knew what was happening to them and
if they were already doing something
about it.
Lahar flowed intermittently, at noon,
in the evening and again at dawn the
following day, Monday. The 200 survivors
sat helplessly around the edge of the
church roof for more than 24 hours. “We
were wet all throughout,” Louie narrates.
“We urinated and defecated in full view
of everybody. Nothing was important
anymore since we expected the lahar to
overtake the roof and kill us all.”
Helicopters came, hovered around,
and left. Louie could not understand why
no help arrived for 24 hours when dry land
was just a couple of kilometers away.
“When night came I felt desperate,” he
says. “The children were crying and the
adults were in shock. All that Fr. Musni
could do was tell us to pray.
By daybreak Monday, the rain had not
stopped and fresh lahar flowed
dangerously close to the roof. At 9 A.M.,
during a lull, Fr. Musni decided to evacuate
the rooftop. “He felt that if we didn’t,
the next lahar flow would drown us,” Louie
says.
So one by one they climbed down and
gingerly stepped on hardening ground,
avoiding soft spots that could turn into
quicksand. Someone had the bright idea
of using the electricity lines as hanging
bridge, and everybody followed him. Men
carried old folks and children on their backs;
(Two Knockouts... from page 24)
Bacolor will probably never get back the same administrative
and commercial glory it once enjoyed, but like the proverbial
phoenix it is rising from the ashes of Mt. Pinatubo. The lahar
threat has progressively decreased. The accumulation of volcanic
sediments has elevated the town and rendered it safe from
flooding. The returnees from evacuation sites are beginning to
boost the town’s population and tax revenues. New
infrastructure, rehabilitated roads and bridges are also boosting
the morale of the residents. The construction of the municipal
hall, frequently relocated in the past, symbolizes the return of
the municipal seat of power to the town’s historical center. All
these represent the governmental green light to the full
rehabilitation of Bacolor.
Today, the asset of Bacolor in terms of urban development
resides in its location along the Manila-San Fernando-Subic
Bay Freeport pathway. This corridor is a major avenue for
30
sometimes they fell into the mud,
screaming and flailing their arms like terrified
trapped animals, and had to be rescued.
It was hard to imagine that these were
the same proud descendants of the
Jovens, Galuras, Maligs and Palmas of
Bacolor.
Fr. Musni was the last to reach safe
ground. Days later, they dug out his vehicle
along with other cars where escaping
families had been trapped and suffocated
inside. To this day, the images that still
haunt Louie are those of people being
carried away by lahar. “We saw them on
their roofs embracing each other as lahar
engulfed them,” he recalls. “They floated
for a while and then they were gone.
They were not shouting or crying. They
just looked so shocked.”
Interview conducted by Gina Diaz and Sheila
Laxamana on July 17, 2003.
population, goods and information flux of national importance.
Commercial activities as well as passage-tourism for Subic-bound
tourists are areas to look into. Bacolor can also take advantage
of the economic dynamism that animates the City of San
Fernando, especially because it can offer flood-safe and vacant
grounds for investors. (Ironically, it is the historical center of San
Fernando that now takes a beating from floods.) Finally, Bacolor’s
cultural heritage will always be its main element of identification
and differentiation; it should certainly be taken into account in
future development plans.
Please visit our redesigned website:
www.hau.edu.ph/kcenter
WHEN the Kapampangans started referring
to Baculud (Bacolor) as the “Atenas ning
Pampanga” or the cultural center of the
province, they were unanimous in celebrating
the literary company that was fostered and
nurtured by this town.
From Baculud’s Fajardo in the 18th century
and on to the mid-19th to 20th century literati
dotted the map of literary history in the region
and gave the Kapampangans
the arts and letters that
have
remained
distinguished since the
earliest times of creative
writing, publication,
printing and performance
in the region. The “Athens
of Pampanga” found its
flowering
in
the
contributions
of
Bacolor’s sons and
daughters, works
and writings
that
are
rooted in
Kapampangan
Rosario Baluyut
and other immortal
Bacoloreños
sense and sensibility yet borderless in their
exploration of human experience significant and
true. When we speak of the glory of Baculud,
we speak synonymously of the artistic creations
of her people. In a world where gilded
monuments and illuminated memorials are
fleeting and transitory, the emotions, hopes,
ideals, dreams and values of a people find
ethereal repository in the poetry, prose and
dramatic/ musical articulations as well as the long
tradition of patronage and support for the arts
as exquisitely defined for the Kapampangans by
Baculud and her literati.
For these poets and writers, musicians,
printer-publishers and patrons and the audience
of Kapampangan literary arts, their town,
‘Baculud,’ is a home and an ideal, their residence
as well as their pastoral and idyllic realm. ‘Baculud’
for the artists was not only their town, the source
of their rootedness; it was more importantly,
and still is for many Bacolorenos, the acadia of
their poetry and song. It is the inspiration, the
bucolic and the pristine bit of heaven that they
go home to again and again, literally or
imaginatively, despite what calamities and
natural disasters can and may fashion.
It may have been that Baculud was in
the past ‘Atenas’ or Athens, the cultural
center for a people. In the interim she has
suffered much from the clutches of man-made
and natural calamities like world wars, economic
dislocation and volcanic eruptions and lahar
inundation. The last years of the 20th century
plunged the town and the people into the gloom
and death path reminiscent of a ‘Pompeii’.
Yet above it all, Baculud and her artists have
moved on to the fabled locale as the native-
born’s ‘Acadia,’ the serene and quiet dreamland
of one’s hopes and aspirations. In the country
of her literary and artistic triumphs, Baculud
remains one of the enduring, the main sources
and well-spring of beauty and truth for the
Kapampangan. Her poetry, prose and drama
continue to delight and inspire those who
rediscover them in the age of cyberspace. Her
writers, artists, printers and publishers have
become models and mentors to other
Kapampangans and to long generations of
literary artisans and craftsmen. Here Baculud
prevails, is untouched by the pains and
sufferings of the world, of disasters and famine.
Here she is timeless as myth, poetry and song,
the stories and worlds imagined or factual that
permeated her once elegant turn-of-the-century
homes and country streets, her glittering theater
and private artistic salons, her silvery orchestral
and choral compositions from zarzuelas, during
religious processions and misa cantadas, her
busy printing presses merrily putting out the local
reading and pietistic fare of the Kapampangans
for well over a century.
Baculud, as locals continue to refer to the
town, evoke the image of the cradle of regional
civilization, a cultivation that is one’s own, a
journey from ‘Atenas to Pompeii,’ yes, and on to
‘Acadia’ that makes the tribulation and the
triumph equally poignant for a people who know
that Baculud is, and always will be, the town
enshrined in our hearts.
(Sources: L.P.R. Santiago, Laying the
Foundations (2002); E.H. Lacson,
Kapampangan Writing (1984); R.I. Castro,
Literature of the Pampangos (1981); Villa
de Bacolor (1975); F.P. Gutierrez,
Parnasung Capampangan (1932))
From Athens
to Pompeii
… and on to Acadia
In her great and immortal children
Bacolor transcends disasters and human
suffering, and is now timeless as myth,
by Erlita P. Mendoza
poetry and song
31
32
1995
Archbishop Francesco Marchisano, D.D., Vicar-General of the Vatican City-State and President of the
Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, Holy See, will be the Guest of Honor at
the Third Biennial National Convention of Church Cultural Heritage Workers on 29-30 September1 October, 2003 at the Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University, Angeles City.
1895