Carloquindipan's Blog

History

Vigan is an island which is separated from the mainland by three rivers. These rivers include the Abra River, the Mestizo River, and the Govantes River. The city is unique in the Philippine because it is one of many extensive surviving Philippine historic cities, dating back to the 16th century.

Vigan was a coastal trading post in pre-colonial times. Long before the Spaniards arrived; Chinese traders sailing from the South China Sea came to Isla de Vigan (Island of Vigan) via the Mestizo River that surrounded the island. On board were sea-faring merchants that came to trade goods from Asian kingdoms in exchange for gold, beeswax, and other mountain products brought by the indigenous peoples from the Cordilleras region.

In the book The Philippine Island (Vol. III, p. 276, Blair and Robertson) two letters from Governor General Guido de Lavezaris to King Philip II of Spain mention: “It seemed best to send Captain Juan de Salcedo with 70 or 80 soldiers to explore the coast of Los Ilocano on the shores of the river called Bigan.” The Spaniards marched north from Manila on May 20, 1572, and arrived in Vigan on June 12, 1572.

Thus, after the successful expedition and the exploration of the North, Don Juan de Salcedo founded “Villa Fernandina de Vigan” in honor of King Philip II’s son, Prince Ferdinand of Spain who died at the tender age of four. From Vigan, Salcedo rounded the tip of Luzon and proceeded to pacify Camarines, Albay, and Catanduanes.

As a reward for his services to the King of Spain, Salcedo was awarded the old province of Ilocos which consisted of the modern provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union and a part of Mountain Province as his hacienda (estate), and was accorded the title of “Justicia Mayor de esta Provincia de Ylocos” (Province Mayor of Ilocos).

In 1576, Salcedo returned to the capital of his encomienda (trusteeship), Vigan, bringing with him his soldiers, and some Augustinian missionaries to pioneer the evangelization of the Ilocos region. He established a Spanish city for the purpose of controlling the neighboring country.

Governor General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, in his Account of encomienda dated in Manila on May 31, 1591 states: The town of Vigan called Villa Fernandina consisted of Spanish settlers; a priest; a Justice Alcalde Mayor (Governor); and a Deputy. The King collects 800 tributes (equivalent to 3,200 subjects). During this period, Vigan was composed of 19 barrios (districts).

Between 1645 to 1660, Vigan was divided into 21 Cavezas de Barrios (Town Mayors) as mentioned in the Libro de Casamiento (Book of Marriage); from the records of the parish house of Vigan found in its Archives. Separated from the indigenous population; the Chinese migrants were residents in a neighbourhood called pariancillo, Los Sangleyes del parian (The Sangleyes of Parian); and the Spanish settlers were residents in a town called Los Españoles de la Villa (The Town of the Spaniards).

Origin of the City’s Name

During the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the conquistador Juan de Salcedo explored the Ilocos region, and established a military base in present-day Vigan. When the Spaniards first arrived in the area, at the place of present-day barrio Pagpartian (butchering place), through the Mestizo River, Salcedo noticed the lush, green plants growing along the riverbanks. He asked a native about the name of the place. The native, not understanding Spanish, thought he was asking the name of the plant, told him that they were “biga’a”. So Salcedo derived the city’s name, Vigan, from the plant.

Its full name at the time of its foundation was Villa Fernandina, (Town of Ferdinand) named after Prince Ferdinand, the first born son of King Philip II of Spain. As the city grew, and the seat of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia transferred to the place, it was later named Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan, (Ferdinands City of Vigan) in honor of the Spanish Prince.

ST.PAUL METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL

St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral, the facade features Chinese lion dog ornaments and above the main doorway is an alcove depicting the conversion of St. Paul. The Fu dogs design carved above its outermost doors is testament to Vigan’s strong Chinese heritage. Inside, the Cathedral has a main altar with beaten-silver panels. The first Vigan Cathedral was ordered and built in 1574 by Juan de Salcedo. Another version of the church was again constructed in 1641. The present baroque-style building was completed in 1800. Its bell tower stands separately in Plaza Burgos.

On the east is the Catholic Cathedral of Vigan, the seat of the bishopric of Nueva Segovia. The Vigan Cathedral is unattractive from the outside, but is admired from its interior; it is one of the landmarks of Philippines Catholicism, and the pride of Northern Luzon.

Close to the right of the Cathedral is the Episcopal Palace where the bishop resides. West of this building is the Rosary Academy, the school where the daughters of the Vigan aristocrats study.

Across the street, left of the Cathedral is the Vigan Diocesan Seminary. The building of this more than a century old institution was once the headquarters of the revolutionists. The museum of Natural History of the Seminary is also located in that area. At left of the Seminary are the Periculture Center, and the Vigan Municipal Hall. Across the street, on the west is the Northern Luzon Junior College of the University of the Philippines.

The park in front of the Cathedral named Plaza Salcedo, in honor of the discoverer of Vigan and the first Spanish Encomendero and surrounded by the most important public and private buildings in the community.

Another Park is the Plaza Burgos where a monument stands to the memory of Vigan’s noblest hero, Padre Jose Apolonio Burgos, the martyr of Bagumbayan. The atmosphere of the place has a close similarity to Manila’s walled city, buildings built during Spanish era.

PALAWAN is an island paradise, southwest of the Philippine Archipelago, amidst a cluster of over 1000 islets blessed with a tropical climate all year round. Palawan is popularly known for its white sand beaches, crystal-clear azure waters teeming with colorful marine life – a swimmer’s delight, a diver’s destination, an angler’s dream. It is also home to rare collection of exotic animals, birds and butterflies.

Puerto Princesa City is the capital of Palawan. The city is located 306 nautical miles southwest of Manila. Travel time from Manila to Puerto Princesa City takes only an hour by plane with daily flights except during peak seasons like summer and December when there are two flights. Travel from Cebu and lloilo is twice a week and approximately one a half hours. There are several inter-island vessels that call on the port of Puerto Princesa City every week. Places of destination are Manila, Cuyo Island, Antique and lloilo City. Travel by inter-island vessels usually take about 24 hours.
Ecology tours or ecotours, set Puerto Princesa City apart from other cities in the Philippines. The city spells ecology tours in a hundred different ways – a unique underground river here, scenic islands there, white sand beaches and forests everywhere.

Nature trippers will find unmatched delight in the monkey trail a series of wooden steps going deep into the forest, a well-maintained patch lead to the central ranger station, where guest cottages and camp sites are available for overnight stay. The hike takes about an hour, but the sights and sounds along the trail make it worthwhile, and for some, even a religious experience. At the central station, early risers wake up to a cacophony of birds call.

St. Paul Subterranean River National Park
Its main attraction is an 8.2 kilometer underground river, reputed to be the world’s longest, that winds through a spectacular cave before emptying into the South China Sea. Cathedral chambers, wide hallways, and interesting geologic formations greet the wide eyed visitor to the grotto hidden beneath St. Paul Mountain. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing night to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards and squirrels find their niche on the beach forest near the cave.

Just outside the national park, a wide expanse of beach awaits sun and sand worshipers in Sabang. Hike off to secluded coves in nearby Marte Fe and Marufinas for quiet reflections Mountaineers and rock climbers will find their thrill in Cabayugan, where limestone cliffs and sheer walls of rock dominate the landscape. Park rangers will guide adventurers to these sights.

The park may be reached through a two hour ride from the City proper. A five-minute boat ride from Sabang, takes visitors directly to the underground river station, where outrigger boats await cave explorers.

Honda Bay

Just thirty minutes North of the City proper, hop into a boat and go island hopping at Honda Bay. Take your pick from dozens of white sands beaches. Don your mask, and snorkel and peek into the rich marine life underwater. Dive sites abound here, as the entire area is studded with patches of coral and sand. Submerged reefs may be found close to the surface down to 24 meters, small reef fish and aquarium fish are found here. The area may soon be transformed into a marine life park and dive camp.

Cleopatra’s Needle
At an elevation of 1605 meters, mountaineers who reach the peak may feast their eyes on a postcard panorama of the city proper in the distance, Cabayugan and the coastline on both sides of the city. A four-day trek to the mountain begins in Taqnaya, a sitio of Barangay Concepcion, about an hour’s ride North of the City proper. Along the way, the mountain unveils a visual treat of rivers strewn with boulders, cascading streams, awesome rock formations, a carpet of wild flowers and giant trees. Tabon Cave. It is located in Southern Palawan and is acknowledged as the “Cradle of Civilization” of the Philippines Nestled in the mountainous cape of Lipuan Island, the 29-cave complex is a treasure trove of archaeological artifacts and fossilized bones of the Tabon men. The fossilized skull cap of this Palawan native dating back 22000 years ago was found in Tabon, making it the oldest known habitation site in Southeast Asia.

Each island offers different thrills, Snake island has sand bar that slithers on the surface of the sea, much like the critter that bears its name. Bat Island, near the popular Cowrie Beach Resort, is literally teeming with bats which make their way out sundown to look for food in the mainland. Luli, a diving board attracts acrobatic types. Among the well known dive sites here are Pandan Island, which has good reefs near small drops-off, and Panglima Reef, where coral boulders and gray reef sharks are found.

The Masskara Festival through the years gives the people of Negros, as well as local and foreign visitors, a chance to drink and be merry for 20 days. Originally designed to show the hardships of the people of Negros, the Masskara Festival has become a tool of escapism and a way to generate revenues for big business. It has indeed come a long way, and it is clear that the path turn away from the progressive goal.

Bacolod City is known for the popular Masskara Festival which takes place here Oct. 1-20. Local and foreign visitors get a chance to enjoy 20 days of merry making, beer drinking, dining and street dancing. On the weekend nearest to 19 October, the biggest party in Bacalod is scheduled to take place. Bacalod is the capital city of the country’s sugar-producing province of Bocalenos.

The term Masskara is created from two words: mass, meaning crowd, and the Spanish word cara, for face; thus the double meaning for “mask” and “many faces”. It was coined by Ely Santiago, a painter, cartoonist, and cultural artist, who devoted show in his art works the many faces of Negrenses overwhelmed with various crises.

A smiling mask, which is the symbol of the fiesta was conceived by the organizers to show the happy spirit of the Negrenses despite experiencing bad times in the sugar industry.

The Masskara festival was first envisioned in 1980 to add color and jollity to the Bcolod City’s celebration of its Charter Day anniversary, on 19 October. The symbol of the festival – a smiling mask – was adopted by the organizers to dramatize the Negrenses happy spirit, in spite of periodic economic downturns in the sugar industry.

Throughout the week, people from all over the Visayas, gather to the town plaza. They join Bacoleños in the non-stop round of festivities. Even if you don’t feel like dancing and singing, the pig catching and pole climbing competitions are musts. Some are also trying their luck and testing their skills in mask-making contests, disco king and queen competitions, coconut-milk drinking to name a few.

Masks are the order of the day at the Masskara parade, as brightly-costumed men and women dance and strut in the streets. Their beaming faces are be-dimpled, smiling and laughing in molded clay or papier-mâché. Every group is represented: civic associations, commercial establishments, schools, even private and government organizations. They march out in excited crowd wearing their painted masks and elaborate costumes, all vying for prizes in judging that will be held in the afternoon. The festival also benefits Bacolod tourism not only because tourists flock the city during this time to join the merrymaking but also to buy the orchids and ornate handicrafts on sale.

HISTORY
The festival instills among the people the culture of escapism and obscurantism, where they have to accept and forget their sufferings caused by the exploitation and oppression of the landlords.

In this city, people are encouraged by the organizers, mostly big business and hacenderos (big landlords), to forget the economic hardships and depression which happen especially during tiempo muerto (dead season, or off sugar harvest-milling season). Bacolod is the capital city of Negros Occidental, known as the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines and is part of Western Visayas in central Philippines.

Originally and ironically, the masks reflected the people’s grief over the loss of their numerous loved ones when, in 1979, Negros Navigation’s luxury liner MS Don Juan crashed with a tanker. Five years before, there was a big drop in sugar production. The people of Negros suffered from the excess of sugar in the world market caused by the Caribbean sugar crisis and the introduction of sugar substitute like the High Fructose Corn Syrup in the United States. All these led to the holding of the first Masskara Festival in 1980. Santiago’s original proposal to hold annual parade using masks to capture the crisis in Negros, was changed by the local elite into street dancing and merry-making festival. This rich imagery of masks was used by the hacenderos and local politicians to hide the suffering of the Negrenses. From then on, Masskara Festival became one of the popular attractions in Negros, drawing thousands of people within and outside the country.

During this festival every October, the city’s public plaza is brought alive into a huge beer garden. There is also Masskara Street-dancing contests highlighting the whole festival. Masskara Festival was intended as an encouragement to all to fight back and to keep smiling despite the sugar problems, and highlighted that hope still existed. Since then, the smiling masks have become the city’s symbol, thus earning its tag as the “City of Smile.” This annual festival, which has become one of Philippines best known tourist attraction, has been earning raves both from local and foreign tourists. Masskara Festival has also been judged the most beautiful and colorful festival among the various contingents from other countries.