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www.hau.edu.ph/kcenterThe Juan D. Nepomuceno Center

HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINESfor Kapampangan Studies

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RECENTVISITORSMARCH & APRILF. Sionil JoseOphelia DimalantaMayor Ding Anunciacion, Bamban,Mayor Genaro Mendoza, Tarlac CitySylvia OrdoñezMayor Carmelo Lazatin, AngelesVice Mayor Bajun Lacap, MasantolEly Narciso, Kuliat FoundationChing EscalerMaribel OngpinCrisostomo GarboMuseum Foundation of thePhilippinesM A YSenator Tessie Aquino OretaMayor Mary Jane Ortega, San Fernando City, La UnionCecilia LeungAriel Arcillas, Pres, SK Natl FederationMark Alvin Diaz, SK Nueva EcijaDennis Felarca, SK ZambalesBrayant Gonzales, Angeles City CouncilVice Mayor Pete Yabut, MacabebeVice Mayor Emilio Capati, GuaguaCarmen Linda Atayde, SM FoundationEfren de la Cruz, ABC PresidentCol. Agripino RazonJUNEBen Cabrera, visual artistPatis TesoroAtty. Estelito P. MendozaVice Governor Mikey Macapagal ArroyoMayor Buddy Dungca, BacolorMayor Dennis Pineda, LubaoVice Mayor Tiger Lagman, City of San FernandoRosve HensonIngrid Sala SantamariaMaestro Reynaldo ReyesEfren “Bata” ReyesJavier NepomucenoBunny FabellaDir. Jerry PelayoJULYJoey Lina, DILG SecretarySen. Gregorio HonasanRep. Zenaida DucutRep. Willie B. VillaramaRoberto Pagdanganan, DAR SecretaryEric Domingo, DOH Usec.Arturo Naguit, Minalin Vice MayorNestor Mangio, LakeshoreGen. Vidal Querol, Camp OlivasRobin NepomucenoHannah Bauzon, CL TimesJohn Pangilinan MBP AlabangAraceli and Tessa AldeguerTitos Bernardo, AlabangCorito Ocampo TayagBacolod City Local Government

Joey Lina

Gringo Honasan

Mikey Arroyo

THE Center sponsored a multi-sectorresearch cruise down Pampanga Riverlast summer, discovered that the river isnot as silted and polluted as many believe,and as a result, organized cultural andecological tours in coordination with theDepartment of Tourism Region 3, local gov-ernment units in the river communities,and a private boatyard owner.

The project waslaunched last June 28 tocoincide with the fluvialprocession marking the feastof Apung Iru (St. Peter),patron saint of Apalit. Rep.Rimpy Bondoc ofPampanga’s Fourth District,Masantol Vice Mayor BajunLacap, DOT Region IIIofficials and members oflocal and national mediaattended the launching andpress conference. IvanAnthony Henares, SanFernando City tourism officer, and Engr.Robert Canlas, owner of the boatyard,coordinated the affair. The Holy AngelUniversity brass band, rondalla and polosaperformer Renie Salor providedentertainment.

EstelitoMendoza

Patis Tesoro

Ben Cabrera

Nestor Mangio

Zenaida Ducut

Carmelo Lazatin

River tours launched

Singsing is published quarterly by The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studiesof Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines. The opinions expressed in the articles aresolely their author’s and do not reflect official position of the Center. For inquiries, suggestionsand comments, please call (045) 888-8691 loc. 1311, or fax at (045)888-2514, or email atrptmt@yahoo.com.

Editor: Robby TantingcoContributors: Dr. John Alan Larkin, Prof. Lino Dizon, Alex Castro, Ivan Henares, Dr. Jean-Christophe Gaillard, Erlita Mendoza, Kaye Mayrina Lingad, Joel Mallari, Arwin LingatEditorial Assistants: Sheila Laxamana, Ana Marie Vergara, Iza Salazar, Erlinda Cruz, Gina Diaz

Congressman Bondoc promised toconvert a portion of his fishponds into amangroves nursery and to construct a portin San Luis town where tourist boats candock. The town’s centuries-old church ispart of the planned itinerary for churchheritage river cruises. Other cruise optionsinclude a tour of the mangroves in Masantoland Macabebe, and tours coinciding with

folk festivals like the batalla ofMacabebe, kuraldal ofSasmuan, Apung Iru fiesta ofApalit, and the aguman sandukof Minalin.

The University’sCommunity Outreach Programwill also participate in DOTRegion 3’s skills enhancementtraining program on basic tourguiding and other livelihoodprojects to help boost tourismand other economic activity inthe river communities.

The HAU Department ofHospitality and Tourism Management willtake charge of booking and promoting thetours in coordination with DOT Region 3,while the Center, which prepared the tour’sitinerary, will also train tour guides from thelocal communities.

TessieOreta

RECENT

Kayakking among the mangroves in Masantol Dennis Dizon

San Luis Church

Photos by Jimmy Hipolito

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THE SANTIAGO de Galicia parish church ofBetis, one of the few churches in the countrydeclared National Treasures by the government,was the setting of the free concert of world-classpianists Ingrid Sala Santamaria and MaestroReynaldo Reyes held early last month.

The concert was part of the Pampanga leg ofthe concert series entitled A Romantic Journeywhich Ms. Santamaria and Maestro Reyes havetaken across the archipelago to educate theirfellow Filipinos on classical piano. The Center forKapampangan Studies, which sponsored the Betisconcert in cooperation with the Betis PastoralCouncil, invited students from various schools inPampanga and Tarlac as well as three busloads ofHAU students.

“Originally the concert was planned for the HAUcampus, but we had this vision of merging beautifulmusic and beautiful venue, so we transferred it tothe loveliest church you can find, the Betis Church,”says Robby Tantingco, Director of the Center.

Classical piano concertheld at Betis church

Ongoing at the Center’s gallery is an exhibit ofphotographs of Kapampangan women who won local andnational beauty contests in the early 20th Century, specificallyin the Manila Carnival, the forerunner of Miss Philippinespageant. It is curated by Alex R. Castro, the Center’snew museum curator.

Rare photographs of early Kapampangan beautyqueens l ike Socorro Henson of Angeles (the firstKapampangan to win a national beauty title in 1926),Corazon Hizon (1933), Carmeling del Rosario of SanFernando (1935), Cleofe Balingit of Macabebe (1936), ElisaManalo (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 fromLeonor “Denden” Sanchez of Betis and Jojo Valencia of SanFernando are also on exhibit.

THE CENTER forK a p a m p a n g a nStudies will launchthe book Gloria:Roman Leoncio’sLost and FoundK a p a m p a n g a nTranslation ofHuseng Batute’sVerse Novel nextmonth. It is the thirdbook published by theHoly Angel UniversityPress, after LinoDizon’s An Epistle ofa Friar Prisoner 1898-1901 and Dr.Luciano Santiago’s Laying theFoundations: Kapampangan Pioneers inthe Philippine Church 1592-2001.

The book is the idea ofAmbassador Virgilio Reyes whodiscovered a complete manuscript ofRoman Leoncio’s Kapampanganversion, written in the late 1920s. Itcontains Jose Corazon De Jesus’ (a.k.a.Huseng Batute) handwritten letter toLeoncio as well as proofreading notesby the renowned Kapampangan poetIsaac Gomez. Roman Leoncio, however,remains obscure as no other informationabout his l ife and works has beenuncovered so far.

The book features, aside fromthe complete Kapampangan and Tagalogtexts, critical analyses by Prof. Lino Dizon,Dr. Albina Peczon Fernandez and Dr.Lourdes Vidal, with foreword by ForeignAffairs Secretary Blas Ople.

Center to

On exhibit at the Center

Kapampangan beauties of yore

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. Thelaunching will coincide with an exhibit entitled Escuelang Laun: The Thomasites and Early Public Education in theKapampangan Region and another exhibit by the Public Affairs Office of the United States Embassy, which partlysponsored 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 educationminister 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 ThirdDistrict of Tarlac will be the guest speakers.

Prof. Dizon is the Director of the Center for Tarlaqueño Studies based at the Tarlac State University, andConsultant for the Center for Kapampangan Studies.

Mr. White of TarlacBook on Thomasite to be launched at Center

publishbook ontranslation

Socorro Henson c. 1926

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GIANT SISIG FESTIVALsponsored by the Trade andInvestment PromotionsOffice in Balibago, AngelesCity last summer featuredwhat was claimed to be theworld’s largest sizzling sisig,a dish of broiled pig’s headdiced and mixed with onionsand pepper. The HospitalityManagement students ofHoly Angel Universityprepared and cooked thesisig which fed thethousands who came. TheCenter, through the researchof Siuala ding Meangubie,provided the historicalcontext.

Ben Cabrera, a.k.a. Bencab,the famous visual artist who hails fromSasmuan but is now based in BaguioCity, recently donated copies of hisbooks as his contribution to theCenter’s efforts to build a librarywhere students and researchers canhave access to books inKapampangan, on the Kapampanganregion and by Kapampangans.

Bencab was in Angeles Cityto attend the opening of his exhibitwith Claude Tayag and Patis Tesoroat the Museo ning Angeles.

Other recent donors are:Msgr. Alfredo Lorenzo, who turnedover three boxes of his collections tothe library; Dan Dizon, who donatedprints of his paintings; Rep. ZenaidaDucut of Lubao and DAR SecretaryObet Pagdanganan who gave cashfor research activities; Dr. RomeoTaruc who donated copies of hisfather Luis Taruc’s book on PedroAbad Santos; Dr. Ofelia Tolentinoof CHEDRO III who donated oldcopies of Angelite; Ed Sibug whodonated documents; and Dr.Marietta Gaddi who lent oldphotographs of her mother, a formerMiss Angeles.

Bencab andother donors

“Filipino architects today preferMediterranean, Japanese, American,Balinese and Mexican designs, anythingexcept Filipino,” Robby Tantingco, CenterDirector, says. “We want to inspire futurearchitects and homeowners to use

NativeKapampanganarchitectureTO help promote the pre-colonialarchitecture of Filipinos, specificallyKapampangans, the Center will have apermanent exhibit of a miniature balekubu (bahay kubo, or cube house), tobe constructed by Santy Dizon andannotated by Siuala ding Meangubie.

elements of the native,pre-Hispanic housedesign, which was simple, useful and in harmonywith the environment. The fact that we stillsee such houses today proves their resilienceafter all these centuries.”

As Siuala ding Meangubie explains, theorientation and design of the bale kubu dependon the ancestors’ understanding of winddirection, sunrise and sunset, path of typhoonsand floods.

Old poets meet young poetsThe Center has started weekly poetry reading sessions involving veteran

Kapampangan poets and students in an effort to ensure that the Kapampanganlanguage survives in future generations. The sessions are being coordinated by ErlindaCruz, the Center’s cultural activities coordinator, and Renie Salor, resident polosaartist. In other developments, the Center will publish a book on culinary arts byLilian 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 buythan books, so they are more accessible,” Robby Tantingco, Center

Director, says. “Hopefully we can popularize crissotanagain among students.”

The crissotans were composed by Candaba poetJose Gallardo, whose works have been turned over

to the Center by his family. The Kapampangancounterpart of balagtasan, crissotan is named after Juan

Crisostomo Soto, the prolific writer from Bacolor who isacclaimed as the Father of Kapampangan Drama. Aside from booklets, the Center is also publishing plates

of Kapampangan heroes and historical events for classroom usein public and private schools, as well as illustrated comics, maps and

other instructional materials. CDs and videos of folk festivals arealso being prepared.

TO

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Candaba poet Jose Gallardo

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Bacolorand the Origin of Kapampangan Studies

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,Bacolor reigned supreme as the political and cultural heartof Pampanga, then one of the richest provinces in thearchipelago. 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 contestsand other literary works, and Bacolor provided the firstprovincial governor under the new regime. In the town, asin the province, it was an era of celebration of thingsKapampangan and the time when the concept ofKapampangan studies had its beginnings.

One of the originators, perhaps the prime instigator, ofthe field of Kapampangan studies was an American teachernamed Luther Parker. With a degree from Chico(California) Normal College, he came to Masantol in 1901as one of the earliest of the new government teachers. In1904 he became an instructor at the Bacolor Trade Schooland its principal from 1908 to 1910. During his stay inBacolor, he developed an interest in the history and cultureof the province. Afterwards, he transferred to otherassignments in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte and Nueva Ecijabefore returning to the States in 1925.1

Parker possessed no formal training as a historian or asan anthropologist, but he maintained a genuine enthusiasmfor Pampanga’s past and its contemporary culture.Likely, his association with the luminaries of Bacolorand its surrounds stimulated that interest. Hisconnection with the trade school put him in touchwith the town’s leading literary and political figures.When the school marked its fiftieth anniversaryin 1911, the preparatory committees werelaced with important local personalities. TheProgram Committee enlisted ModestoJoaquin, the Committee of Invitationsincluded Felix Galura and future governorFrancisco Liongson, the Committee ofFestivities contained former GovernorCeferino Joven, the Committee of Receptionhad Zoilo Hilario and the DecorationsCommittee boasted as one of its membersJuan Crisostomo Soto.

Besides becoming acquainted withBacolor’s political, social and literary elite,Parker also corresponded with leadingAmerican scholar administrators. He undertooka field report on the Negritos of Pampanga forDavid Barrows, contributed this work andothers to the collections of anthropologist H.Otley Beyer and corresponded with therenowned librarian and document compilerJames A. Robertson. However, it wasPampanga that provided Parker’s maininspiration. (to page 26)

By John A. Larkin100 years ago, an American educator in Bacolor started it all

His part in the creation of Kapampangan studies derivedfrom his research between 1904 and 1910 into the earliesthistory of the towns of Pampanga. He set about to determinethe foundation dates for all of the churches in the provinceand to compile lists of all the priests in the parishes from1572 to 1905.

It was in this focus on all of Pampanga’s towns that theidea of Kapampangan studies had its origins. At the timeconceptualizing national history was in its infancy, and it wasstill possible and reasonable to think of other areas asessential regional centers of politics and culture. Hence,Parker concentrated on Pampanga as a separate entity. Hedid not look at all the Augustinian parishes in Central Luzon,just ones where the Pampangos resided and practiced theirfaith.

Parker did not consider the towns of southern Tarlac inhis collection of histories of the Pampangos. Only onereference to Concepcion appears in a list he made of thegraduates of the Bacolor school between 1861 and 1869.3

Out of this interest in town foundations Parker made hismost important contribution to Kapampangan studies.Around 1909-1910, he conceived of the idea of eachmunicipality in the archipelago compiling its own local history,and he took that scheme to James A. Robertson, then headof the Philippine Library. Robertson liked the project and

convinced Governor W. Cameron Forbes to issue anexecutive order enacting Parker’s plan.4 It does not seemthat those histories were ever completed by otherprovinces, but Parker collected a set from most towns in

Pampanga, which he then deposited in the PhilippineLibrary.

Eventually they came to rest, after the SecondWorld War, in the main library of the University ofthe Philippines, Diliman. They continue to this dayas crucial sources on the early history of theprovince. Parker himself never wrote anythingenduring on the history of Pampanga, but his effortsto organize the writing of the town historiesremains a strategic factor in establishing the notionof the Kapampangan having a separate andsignificant historical development.

Among the compilers of the town historiesbrought together by Parker, at least three addedin other significant ways to Pampanga’s culturalheritage. Dr. Felino Simpao of Guagua was a

highly regarded poet and playwright, as a well asthe erstwhile editor of local newspapers. ManuelGatbonton later wrote another, more complete,

history of his home community of Candaba, whichbecame the basis for all subsequent work on the

history of the town. And, finally, Don MarianoVicente Henson sent Parker a fairly complete list

Dr. Luther Parker

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TIMELINEOF BACOLORCOLONIALHISTORY

soldier wrote, he came upon atown that he said would put

to shame all colonizers whothought they were

bringing light to adark continent.

“Many in theStates doubtlessbelieve thiscountry awilderness andthe people

savages,” thewhite soldier

wrote. “I would liketo take them into some

Bakulud/BacolorJEWEL IN JEWEL IN JEWEL IN JEWEL IN JEWEL IN THE CRTHE CRTHE CRTHE CRTHE CROOOOOWNWNWNWNWNThis tiny community in the heart of the Kapampangan Regionhas produced more illustrious Filipinos than any other town or cityin the country, and has changed the nation’s history in waysdisproportionate to its sizeBy Robby Tantingco

This tiny community in the heart of the Kapampangan Regionhas produced more illustrious Filipinos than any other town or cityin the country, and has changed the nation’s history in waysdisproportionate to its sizeBy Robby Tantingco

WHEN the Americans cameto the Philippines towards theend of the 1800s, theywere surprised todiscover that theislands they hadpurchased fromSpain (for ameasly $20million) were farmore culturedthan they hadimagined. “Sixtymiles from Manila,

houses here and see themstare.”

He was referring to Bacolor,the jewel in the Spanishcolony’s crown at the time.

Even in early colonial times,the residents of this small townwere already possessed with apioneering spirit and a taste forgreatness. The country’s firstpriest, first woman author, theplaywright of history’s longestliterary work, the writer of thefirst zarzuela in any nativelanguage and a multitude ofdoctors, lawyers, musicians,

painters, soldiers and civilservants—they were all bornand bred in this tiny community.

The American soldierstationed in Bacolor in the late1800s described some of thetownspeople he had metduring his stay:

“There is one gentlemanhere who formerly practiced inthe Manila courts. While youmight not expect him to bequite a savage, you wouldscarcely look for a fine Greekscholar in the jungles of Luzon,yet here is surely one.

1576 Local landlord GuillermoManabat established pueblo ofBacolor based on an ancientsettlement called Bakulud; firstchurch built on his land;Augustinians chose San GuillermoErmitaño (St. William the Hermit) astown’s patron saint to honor thetown’s founder; Augustinianrecords dated December 31, 1576mention “Bacolot (or Vacolot), aconvent… located by the riverBetis, and was called San Guillermo”

1578 Fray Diego de Ochoa,who wrote the f irst Arte,Vocabulario y Confesionario enPampango, appointed Bacolor’sfirst prior on April 30

1599 Bacolor asked tocontribute an annual rent of 200pesos, 200 bushels of rice and 120chickens to San Agustin Monasteryin Manila

1607 Bacolor asked to paysame rent to Augustinian Monasteryin Guadalupe

1608 Bacolor one of mostprosperous Augustinian territoriesin country, next only to Manila,Cebu, Guadalupe and Tondo.

1609 On October 31, theIntermediate Definitory of the

1612 Bacolor had four priestsand 3,900 Catholic inhabitantspaying tributes, not to mentionthousand others who didn’t pay

1645 Quakes damagedchurch

1672 Fire razed conventbeside the church

1722 In addit ion to thealready onerous rental fees to theAugustinian monasteries in Manila,Bacolor was asked to pay annualfee of 50 pesos as assistance tomissionary priests in YtalonesAugustinians held in Bacolor

convent

right in the edge ofthe foothills,” an American

Casa Real, the provincial capitol in Bacolor

Kas

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yan

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“There is another family ofmusicians here. They have avery fine place and I have spentsome evenings there, listeningto the piano, violin, mandolin,harp and singing, as pleasant asI ever passed in my life.

“Señor Joven is a scientistquite up in modern electricalresearch. His house is lightedby an electric plant of his ownmanufacture. He waseducated in Hong Kong andJapan, and is a free-thinker.

“But the man I am mostinterested in is the principal ofthe schools, from whom I amtaking lessons in Spanish. I godown at three o’clock, andbusiness begins. I teach himEnglish and he teaches meSpanish. At five o’clock wehave a lunch of cakes andcigarettes and then resume ourstudies. I am becoming fairlyproficient in Spanish, which islikely to be of great value tome. It has already brought mea standing offer of a goodposition in the schools ofManila.”

Bacolor’s prehispanic nameis Bakulud, which means highand level ground. When the

Spaniards first came in 1571.they found an ancientsettlement of traders and ricegrowers, as the land was wellirrigated by a river that led tothe sea. (The other pre-hispaniccommunities in Pampanga wereLubao, Betis,M a c a b e b e ,C a n d a b a ,Pinpin [laterSta. Ana],C a b a g s a c[later SanLuis], Arayat,A p a l i t ,S a s m u a n ,M e x i c o ,Guagua and Porac.)

There are accounts thatwhen a combined force ofSpanish and Macabebe soldiersdefended Manila from Chinesepirate Limahong on November29, 1574 and chased him acrossLuzon all the way to LingayenGulf, some of the pirates settledalong the banks of theCabalantian River andintermarried with Bacolornatives. Two years later, locallandlord Guillermo Manabat,probably with Spanish backing,

pueblo; thus he is credited asthe founder of Bacolor, uponwhose land the church waseventually erected and uponwhose name the choice of thetown’s patron saint was based.

The town’s strategiclocation, being atthe crossroadsbetween Guagua,Macabebe, Lubao,Porac and Mexico,made the colonialg o v e r n m e n testablish theprovincial capitalthere in 1755.(Casa Real, the

capitol building, was erected in1758, at the site of the futureBacolor Elementary School.)

When the British Navycaptured Manila in 1762, theSpanish forces under Simonde Anda retreated to Bacolorwhich was named the colony’scapital. Gen. Anda organizedan army of volunteers fromPampanga and other provinceswho launched attacks on theBritish in Manila. (Eventually theBritish withdrew after a treatywas signed in Europe formally

ending the war between Spainand England.)

The material prosperity ofBacolor allowed its people todevote time and wealth tothings spiritual and artistic. Bymid-1800s, the town was athriving center of arts andtrades. The longest work inPhilippine literature, ComediaHeroica de la Conquistada deGranada o sea Vida de DonGonzalo de Cordoba llamado elGran Capitan, all 832 pages ofit, was staged for sevenconsecutive nights in February,1831 in Bacolor—the first andonly time it was performed. Itwas written by Padre AnselmoJorge de Fajardo, a native ofBacolor. (This masterpiece,written in elegantKapampangan, equals if notsurpasses the Tagalog epicFlorante at Laura, according tomany scholars.)

Bacolor also produced thecountry’s f irst vernacularzarzuela, Mariano ProcesoPabalan Byron’s IngManagpe, staged at the TeatroSabina on September 13, 1900.

Macabebe andBacolor, only a fewkilometers apart,represented thefarthest oppositeends ofPampanga’scolonial politics

1746 Dome of churchcollapsed; Bacolor started tofunction as capital of Pampanga,which extended to Nueva Vizcaya,Aurora, Tarlac, parts of Bataan,Bulacan and Zambales

1749 Bacolor visited by asultan

1754 Great epidemic

1755 Bacolor officially madecapital of Pampanga

1757 Volcanic ash rained onBacolor

1758 Casa Real, the capitolbuilding, built on spot that the

Bacolor Elementary School wouldlater occupy

1759 Smallpox epidemic

1760 Bacolor populationreached 16, 384, only 40 of whomwere Spaniards

1762-64 Gen. Simon de Anday Salazar arrived in Bacolor afterManila occupied by invading Britishforces; Spanish Government movednational capital to Bacolor; townrenamed Villa de Bacolor, one ofonly three towns in the colonybestowed that honor by virtue of aroyal decree; a special coat-of-arms with motto Pluribus Unum, Non

Plus Ultra was also granted by Kingof Spain.

1764 Present-day stone churcherected

1769 Native clergy took overparish

1777 Cockfighting taxed forthe first time

1779 Start of tobaccomonopoly

1782 Visit of Governor DonJose Vicencio

1785 Measles epidemic; priceof rice fell to 12 centavos per cavan

1786 First La Navalfestivities held in Bacolor (earlierin Manila and later in Angeles—theonly three places in country whereLa Naval is celebrated) in honor ofNuestra Señora del SantissimoRosario (Our Lady of the Most HolyRosary), whose image (as well asKapampangans’ participation) wascredited for Spain’s successfuldefense against series ofinvasions by Holland 1606-1645;victory deemed critical becausethe Dutch would have certainly ledcountry to Protestantism.

Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Bacolor Municipio de Bacolor

1799 Start of monopoly ofbetel nuts; term of capitanes

organized the town into a (to page 30)

Filip

inas

Her

itage

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extended to two years

1803 Price of rice rose to 4pesos per cavan; many peopledied of starvation

1805 Start of wine monopoly

1807 Vaccination introduced inBacolor

1808 Church and conventwere burned down during term ofPadre Felipe Basilio; reconstructedin 1830

Dalan a Bayu, connecting Bacolorand Guagua

1820 Epidemic struck Manila;after 9 days it hit Bacolor

1822 San Isidro chapeltransferred, blessed

1830 Big celebration markedcompletion of church and convent,destroyed by fire more than 20years earlier; later in the year,nine men were hanged for variousoffences

1831 First and onlyperformance of epic Gonzalo deCordoba by Padre Anselmo

Fajardo; it lasted for sevenconsecutive nights; a greattyphoon blew over town

1832 On August 13, a big floodinundated town

1835 Casa Real rebuilt

1839 Native clergy turned overparish back to Augustinians; FrayManuel Luis succeeded PadreCelestino de Vera

1840 Three wooden archesbuilt for La Naval celebration onNovember 8; Gugu Bridgeconstructed

1813 Big fire reduced to ashesTindang Matua (public market);opening of Panuliran, a straighthighway to San Fernando, and

Relaciones de Baculud

BACOLOR as the center of Philippine history1762-1764

Anda’s missing monumentRevolucionarios left no trace of memorialto the great Spanish general

In 1853, a monument was erectedin front of the house where Simon deAnda lived in Bacolor, across the churchpatio. It was an obelisk, 6 meters high,standing on a pedestal that was 1.7meters high, which in turn stood on a 6-meter-square graded base. One side ofthe obelisk had a marble plate on whichwas carved a commander’s cane and ageneral’s sword united by a crown oflaurel and palms. The monument wasmade of Meycauayan stone; it wassurrounded by an elegantly designed iron

fence which stood upon the edge of the largest step. Carvedon the marble plates on the four sides of the pedestal werethe following inscriptions (presumably in Spanish): (1) To thememory of Don Simon de Anda y Salazar, Defender of theseIslands, 1762; (2) At the same time he attacked the invadersand suppressed the interior disorders; (3) Fray RemigioHernandez, Bultos, Areza, Fray Sales; (4) Erected in 1853.

After the Spaniards fled, Governor Tiburcio Hilarioordered the statue destroyed. By 1909, only the pedestalhad remained, on top of which stood the wooden spine ofwhat used to be the obelisk. The four marble slabs withinscriptions had disappeared. A rumor went around that theslabs had been buried under the front door stones of theEscuela de Artes y Oficios (now DHVCAT) when the schoolwas reconstructed in 1907.

Source: Luther Parker Collections Folder 239 No. 95

IN 1858, Jose Felipe delPan made an unusual trip tothe provinces ofCentral Luzon,a trip he called‘ e x p e d i c i o na v e n t u r e r o -f i l o s ó f i c a ’ .Considered untilthe recenttimes as theDean ofP h i l i p p i n eJournalism, thisprolific Galicianwr i te r -ed i to rlater publishedh i sreminiscenceson Pampanga

in the initial issue of his Revistade Filipinas (1876):

“I havelooked uponthose Pampangoswith certaincuriosity andsympathy. Duringa brief stopover inthe capital enroute the Cabo(ship), I have firstread about this‘grand curiosity’of the regionamong manybooks, both oldand current,i n t e r s p e r s i n gmajor historical

periods. Here they were— sinceI was supposedly speaking as Ihave met these natives in thestreets of Pampanga — theloyal companions of ourdisgraces and of our glories.They, and only they, were withus during the 1650s to the1750s, in that century offrustrations, whence we havebeen harassed at all fronts, notbeing able to sustain the farms(terrenos ganados) and thehonor of the flag, with Manilaburning with ridicules andsterile disaccords; they werethere, in equal number withthe Spanish soldiers, andconstantly with them,p a r t i c i p a t i n gfraternally in theirlimitations, in theirpoverty, and in theirglories, guarding thefortresses, defendingagainst the frequentassaults of the Dutch,the Moros, theIgorots; acting asthe “perfectassociate” (contradiez) since theypresumed themselvesto be the friends ofthese Castilians. Bravepeople! At that time,Pampanga provincedid not even have

one fifth of its presentpopulation, (yet) it gave tothe service of the armythousands of volunteers,including officials, pettyofficers (sargentos), andsoldiers, always disciplined andvaliant, as attested by ourhistorians. Afterwards, weencountered some of themwith Don Simon de Anda, theself-same soul in the nobleadhesion of our flag; untilnow, Pampanga has offered amost dignified chapter inmemory… In Pampanga, thereis so much honorable militaryhistory.”

J. del Pan was musingabout the relaciones of a

c e n t u r ye a r l i e r ,especial lyabout theB r i t i s hOccupationof thePhilippines,w h e r eKapampangansoldiers andthe town ofB a c o l o rf i g u r e dprominentlyin their loyal

(to page 27)

Stirrings of nationalism among Kapampanganswhen the capital was moved to their province

William Draper, nearly killedby a Kapampangan

Simon de Anda y Salazar lived across Bacolor Church

By Prof. Lino L. Dizon

1841 Road leading to Minalincompleted

1842 Cholera epidemicfollowing solar eclipse at 3 P.M.and appearance of a comet

1845 Tinajero chapel built andblessed, thanks to support of DonJuan Joven

1847 National celebrationmarking the wedding of QueenIsabel of Spain

1850 Bacolor lost manyresidents to a succession ofearthquake, typhoon and flood

Anda’s lost monument inBacolor, similar to theone near Intramuros

99999

(paglimbunan) covered with tentmade of coco cloth; eight brassbands accompanied image ofNuestra Señora del SantissimoRosario; huge turnout of visitorsled to a shortage of food in Bacolorin following days

1858 Market transferred fromplaza to church patio withpermission of Fray Manuel Diaz

1859 Another big La Navalcelebration; procession featured avapor (ship) float to representSpanish navy that defeated theDutch navy

(Angeles); Bacolor visited byArchbishop of Manila who solicitedcontributions for construction ofPalacio de Arsobispo in Manila andother churches in China

1861 Opening of Escuela deArtes y Oficios de Bacolor (laterPampanga School of Arts andTrades), oldest vocational school inthe country, probably in Far East;opening of new highway to Angeles(through Parulog and San Antonio)

1865 On Christmas day, housesof the Paño, Puno, Lampo,Fernandez, Alimurung, Rodriguez,Sugui, Alvares, Sandico and Dizonfamilies were burned down

1871 Dr. Jose Rizal visitedclose friends Don Balbino Venturaand Don Francisco Joven inBacolor; on October 8, big floodstruck Talba, Bacolor and townsof San Fernando, Arayat,Candaba, San Luis, San Simon,Sto. Tomas and Minalin

1873 The short-cut road fromGugu Bridge, Bacolor to Palaui,San Fernando, built

1879 Strong typhoon hitBacolor; rice sold at P1.25 percavan or siam a sicapat

1880 Strong earthquakedestroyed the Casa Tribunal and

Affluent families shaped the cultural and political landscapeof Bacolor’s history

Reminiscences of Royalty

(to page 29)

By Ivan Anthony Henares

Don Valentin Ventura of Bacolor helped finance Rizal’s El Filibusterismo; shown with his family in Madrid

Villa de Bacolor. The nameevokes a glorious era longgone, now obscured by thesands of time. All that is leftof it are memories in booksand old wives tales, as well asits monuments which stand asmute witnesses to a timewhen it was known as theAthens of Pampanga, thesocial and political heart of theprovince. And behind thisimmense saga that wasBacolor, were powerfulfamilies, the strong ties that

bound them together, andpedigrees that spoke no lessof grandeur.

No one has gone deepenough through the history ofBacolor to find out the stateof affairs before the 19th

century. Thus, theenumeration of families wouldbegin at the turn of the 19th

century, when the affluenceof Chinese traders plying thePampanga route was reachingits peak, thus sparking the riseof a new class of societyprevalent in Pampanga, theChinese mestizo.

At the center of the noblelineage of Bacolor were threemestizo families, who throughintermarriage strengthenedthe ties that connected themtogether. Many of theprominent names from Bacolorcan trace their lineage to threeindividuals: Don JoseLeonardo de Leon, who likehis brother Don Pedro Leon deArcega, may have been bornin Cavite; Don FranciscoPaula de los Santos, agobernadorcillo de mestizos,who at one time served asinterim alcade mayor or

provincial governor ofPampanga, a post which atthat time, was reserved forSpaniards; and Don JuanJoven, a rich Chinese traderfrom Binondo who also becamea gobernadorcillo of Bacolor.These individuals became thepatriarchs of the de Leon, LeonSantos and Joven famil iesrespectively, together a verypowerful conglomerate by thelate 1800s.

The web of intermarriagesis indeed too intricate for oneto clearly grasp the strong

1851 Five consecutiveearthquakes shook town

1852 Construction of Simonde Anda monument in front ofSampaloc bridge; construction ofstone bridges between SanFernando, Buracan and Buquid;tax increase of 3 pesos imposedto finance these constructions;strong earthquake struck again

1853 Bacolor church restoredunder Fr. Manuel Diaz’supervision; Casa Real renovated

1856 Big La Naval celebration;to protect the saint’s image fromrain, the whole procession route 1860 Blessing of road to Culiat

The

Pam

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nastier and the Hilarios wereadvised to return toPampanga together withFrancisco Reyes. Around thistime, too, Aguinaldo returnedfrom Hong Kong to resumethe war against Spain and todisprove allegations that hehad run away with theindemnity money from Spain(as part of the pact at Biak-na-Bato months earlier).

In Bacolor, the Hilarioswisely decided not toimmediately proceed to theirhouse in barrio San Vicente

near the townproper. While restingin the house ofMarcela Samia inbarrio San Isidro, theysaw a big fire in thehorizon. It turnedout to be Tiburcio’shouse being torchedby the SpanishCazadores. TheHilarios then soughtrefuge in the houseof Braulio Mendozain barrio San Antonioand, later, in thehouse of DomingoPanlilio in barrioMaliwalu.

The Spaniardsmade their last standon July 1, 1898 inMacabebe, whereGen. Ricardo Monetescaped by boat.

Immediately, all adult maleKapampangans elected theirtown presidentes (mayors)who in turn elected TiburcioHilario as the Governor ofPampanga.

Low-profile heroes

The Hilarios of Bacolorand the road to freedom

A cousin, Marcelo Hilario delPilar of Bulacan, also a partnerin the Hilarios’ law firm, sharedtheir hatred for the Spaniardsafter a friar caused hissuspension at UST and after hisbrother, a priest, was torturedand deported.

Following Jose Rizal’s visit tothe Hilarios’ residence, Tiburciowas exiled to Jolo, Cecilio toBalabac island between

Mindanao andP a l a w a n .O t h e rK a p a m -p a n g a nrevolutionariess u f f e r e dsimilar fate(MaximinoHizon ofM e x i c o ,F e l i x

David

of Guagua and MarianoAlejandrino of Arayat weredeported; Ceferino Joven,Ruperto Lacsamana andAntonio Consunji wereharassed), which almostdecimated their ranks exceptfor Jose Alejandrino,Maximo Kabigting andMariano Llanera who joinedAguinaldo at Biak-na-Bato. DelPilar, too, would have beenexiled had Tiburcio not warnedhim.

While the Tiburcio brothersand the other revolutionaries,including Rizal,languished in exile invarious parts ofMindanao, AndresBonifacio started thearmed revolutionagainst Spain. Later,during the trial of Rizalin Manila, the Hilarioswere transferred toBilibid Prison to makethem testify againstRizal. They refused.Soon thereafter, theywere permitted tolive with their familiesin a rented housealong Azcarraga St.(owned by FranciscoReyes, forebear ofthe founder of FEU)but required toreport regularly toauthorities. Therethey were oftenvisited by Kapampanganrevolutionaries like ModestoJoaquin, Felix Galura, PedroLiongson, Andres Serranoand Aurelio Tolentino.

When Commodore Deweysailed into Manila Bay, thebeleaguered Spaniards got Source: The Pampangos by

Rafaelita Hilario Soriano

Tiburcio Hilario

Cecilio Hilario

CECILIOa n dT i b u r c i oH i l a r i o ,then laws t u d e n t s ,w i t ne s sedt h emartyrdomof Gomez,Burgos andZamora atBagumbayanin 1872.T h es h o c k i n gsight of thep r i e s t s ’e x e c u t i o ngalvanizedtheir resolveto fight forindependence.

Jose Rizal

Emilio Aguinaldo

Day 1 of theRevolution inPampanga

P1M missingin TarlacAs the Americans advancedto Pampanga, GovernorTiburcio Hilario watchedfrom the belfry of the Bacolorchurch how the newcolonizers defeated theFilipino army in Calumpit. Hepacked up and moved his andother famil ies (l ike theAquinos and the Barreras)to Concepcion, Tarlac,bringing with him one millionsilver pesos which was thevoluntary contributions fromKapampangans, war bondsand Chinese donations. Thisentire amount was formallyturned over to Gen. AntonioLuna in the house of JulianSantos in Tarlac, Tarlac in thepresence of witnesses.However, three days later,Gen. Luna was assassinated inNueva Ecija and no oneknows, to this day, wherethat money from Bacolorended up.

Source: The Pampangos byRafaelita Hilario Soriano

The first cry of revolution inPampanga occurred on June4, 1898, at the Escuela deArtes y Oficios de Bacolorwhen Felix Galura, AlvaroPanopio and Paulino Liragled the Voluntarios Locales deBacolor in a revolt against theSpanish authorities. Theyburned the Casa Real(provincial capitol) and killedthe pro-Spanish Cazadores andMacabebes. This event wasthe basis for what is probablythe best play of MarianoProceso Pabalan Byron(1862-1904) Apat Ya IngJunio, about a local womanwho puts on men’s clothes tofight alongside her Katipuneroboyfriend.

damaged the church; Fr. EugenioAlvarez ordered repairs, whichwere completed in 1886; furtherrenovation finished in 1897 underFr. Antonio Bravo

1882 40-day monsoon rains;cholera ravaged Bacolor and theentire province from August toJanuary, 1883; the cemetery atSalinas consecrated toaccommodate influx of corpses;another flood on November 10

1883 End of the tobaccomonopoly; tribute increased toP1.50 or atlung salapi; gold chalicestolen from the church

1884 Strong typhoon

1886 On February 1, treasurywas transferred from Guagua toBacolor

1887 Series of typhoonsdestroyed much of Bacolor; FrayEugenio Alvares pleaded for alms

1893 Inauguration of thereconstructed Escuela de Artes yOficios (earlier destroyed by fire)on March 8; the Governor Generaland the Archbishop of Manila wereamong the guests; all the towns ofPampanga were required toconstruct their respective arches

and send their brass bands, from theSan Fernando train station all the wayto Bacolor; the town of Betis erectedan intricately decorated bambootower

1894 All town officials wererequired to wear suits

1897 Provincial prisonersattempted to escape from the CasaReal; the doors were locked in timeand 84 prisoners were executed andburied in Saliwas

1898 Voluntarios Locales deBacolor quartered in the Escuela deArtes y Oficios, led by Felix Galura,

Paulino Lirag and Alvaro Panopio,rose in arms against the Spaniards,marking the start of the Revolutionin Pampanga; they burned theCasa Real to smoke out theCazadores and Macabebesguarding it; prisoners were setfree and big houses in thepoblacion were torched, includingthe Bazar de Bacolor and themansions of the Jovens, theRamirezes and others

1899 In March thetownspeople began to evacuateout of fear for the new colonizers;American soldiers arrived on May

1 11 11 11 11 1

As sparks of the Revolutionbegan to find their way into theprovince, signs of a revoltbecame evident. By this time,intellectuals, professionals,poets and artists, the emergingilustrado class, had gainedprominence in Bacolor, alreadybeing acclaimed as the Athensof Pampanga. Several of theseindividuals would later becomeassets of the Phil ippineRevolution.

Among the Filipinos in thePropaganda Movement in Spainwas Valentin Ventura, whosecontribution to the cause wasfinancing the printing of Rizal’ssecond novel, El Filibusterismo,with the help of his brother

In his unpublished Memoirs, Justice Jose Gutierrez David(1891-1977) recalled that a schism had developed betweentwo of Gen. Aguinaldo’s generals which threatened hisrevolutionary government. Gen. Tomas Mascardo’s soldierswere stationed in Guagua while Gen. Antonio Luna’s werein Calumpit, Bulacan. On the day that Gen. Luna marchedhis troops towards Guagua for a showdown with Gen.Mascardo, the ladies of Bacolor, among them Jose’s sisterTrining, met Gen. Luna in Bacolor and persuaded him todrop his plan to attack Mascardo in Guagua. Later the youngJose saw Luna’s troops marching back in the oppositedirection, averting a potentially bloody and tragic battlebetween revolutionaries.

Women of Bacolor avertwar of the generals

Gen. Tomas Mascardo Gen . Antonio Luna

( T h et r a g e d y )involved ap r o m i n e n t ,r e s p e c t a b l eand wealthycitizen of thetown, DonB a l b i n oVentura. Hewas the fatherof DonH o n o r i oVentura, whob e c a m eGovernor ofPampanga andSecretary ofthe Interior,and of AfricaVentura, wifeof LolongSantos. Don Balbino had abrother, Don ValentinVentura, a contemporaryof Rizal in Europe. DonValentin was one of thosewho supplied funds whichmade the printing andpublication of the ElFi l ibusterismo possible.Through indiscretion,perhaps, of Don Balbino’stwo older daughters—Nunilon and Belen—whowere boarding students(colegialas) in a Catholicschool in Manila, the friarscame to learn that DonBalbino was a Mason.Masons were then beingprosecuted as enemies ofthe Church. Don Balbinowas brought by the GuardiaCivil to San Fernando, aboutsix kilometers from Bacolor,on foot with his hands tiedat the back, in broaddaylight and in view ofeveryone. After sometime,he was released andreturned to Bacolor.”

(Don Balbino neverrecovered from the pain andindignity of the experience.He died soon thereafter.)

Tragedyin thefamily

Source: Jose GutierrezDavid, in his unpublished Memoirs.

Propagandists, poet-soldiers andsecret financiers helped win the dayBy Ivan Anthony Henares

Revolucionarios from Bacolor

Balbino who was among thelanded gentry in Bacolor.Another was FranciscoLiongson who later became asenator of the Republic.

Kapampangan l iterarygeniuses like Juan CrisostomoSoto, Felix Galura y Napao,and Mariano ProcesoPabalan Byron producedworks that fanned the flamesof the Revolution; some ofthem left writing for a while andactually took up arms.

Among those who led therevolutionary cause in Bacolorwere its presidente municipal,Ceferino Joven y Casas andhis brother Francisco,grandchildren of Don Juan

Joven; revolutionary governorTiburcio Hilario y Tuason ofSan Fernando, whose maternalgrandfather owned vast tracksof land in Bacolor; PraxedesFajardo of the Philippine RedCross, among the women ofthe Philippine Revolution whotogether with her brother Dr.Jacobo Fajardo, and laborleader Joaquin Balmori, areamong those listed in the NHIpublication Filipinos in History;and Mateo Gutierrez Ubaldo,a delegate to the MalolosCongress, whose son EduardoGutierrez David was alsoactive in the revolutionarycause.

B. Mendoza P. Fajardo D. Panlilio

Masonic logos

18; in September, evacueesstarted returning to their homesin Bacolor; Ceferino Joven electedcapitan municipal; Gen. EmilioAguinaldo royally received inBacolor

1901 First civil government inthe Phil ippines under theAmericans established in Bacolor;Don Ceferino Joven appointedfirst provincial governor, and DonEstanislao Santos first municipalpresident; ceremonies took placein the Escuela de Artes y Oficios

1903 Seat of provincialgovernment transferred from

Bacolor to San Fernando whenMacario Arnedo of Apalit wasgovernor of Pampanga, despite theobjections of his predecessor,Ceferino Joven

1906 Waist-deep flood inBacolor due to the breaching of theGugu and Patrero dam

1907 Gugu bridge rebuilt withstronger materials

1908 Tax increased to P2.00,one peso going to construction ofroads and bridges

Sources: Luther ParkerCollections; The Story of Bacolor ina Nutshell by Dr. Rogelio M. Samia;Angels in Stone (1987 edition)by Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA; specialthanks to Arwin Lingat for thetranscriptions

1 21 21 21 21 2

One of the country’s most celebratedmasters of the brush in the last quarter ofthe 19th century was a Manila artist whomade Bacolor his home in the mostproductive years of his life: Simon Floresy de la Rosa. Born on 28 October 1839in San Fernando de Dilao (now Paco),Flores grew up amidst a cultured andartistic milieu: uncle Fabian Gonzales wasa painter who decorated the ceilings ofMalacañang Palace and who collaboratedwith the Italian scenographists, Divella andAlberoni in house painting commissionsfor the native elite. Another uncle, Piode la Rosa taught young Simon therudiments of painting.

Simon’s natural talents prompted thefamily to enroll him at the Academia deDibujo y Pintura where he was tutoredby the Spanish director himself, AgustinSaez y Granadell and also LorenzoGuerrero and Lorenzo Rocha. After 4years of intense study, he set up his ownstudio where he accepted commissions forportraits, religious works and trompe l’oeilpainting, thereby continuing the traditionof early masters Justiniano Asuncion andAntonio Malantic. In the same studio,he held art classes, teaching painting tostudents such as his nephew, Fabian dela Rosa, who would go on to achieve evengreater fame.

His work would soon attract theattention of Monsignor Ignacio PinedaTambungui, a canon of the ManilaCathedral and a chaplain at the San Juande Dios Hospital. Msgr. Tambungui wasinstrumental in opening doors for Simon,giving him design and painting jobs forchurches, cemeteries and mortuary niches.This led to a church-decorating project inGuagua, Pampanga, the Tambunguis’native town—plus more commissions inSta. Rita, Mexico, Betis and ultimately,Bacolor. Here, in San Vicente, Simonchose to settle down, after having metand married the monsignor’s sister,Simplicia Tambungui. The couple,however, were to be childless.

The environs of Bacolor were veryconducive to Simon’s artistic pursuits. Henot only painted vigoriously but also gave

The homegrown art ofSIMON FLORESThis famous Manila artist left behinda lucrative career to settle in the bucolic townand paint the ceilings of local churchesBy Alex R. Castro

art classes. Among those he tutored wasCelestina, a niece who suffered a nervousbreakdown after an unrequited love affairwith a Guardia Civil. Simon was thus thefirst known Filipino to use art therapy formental health care patients.

Though largely homegrown, Simon’sreputation quickly spread via hisinternational triumphs thatpre-dated Juan Luna’s morefamous wins. His oil painting,“La Orquesta del Pueblo “(Music Band of the Town),won a Silver Medal in thePhiladelphia Exposition of1876, an event held to markAmerica’s centennial. Twocanvasses, “Despues de laUltima Cena” (After the LastSupper) and “ElPrendimiento” (TheArraignment of Christ), bested52 entries to garner thehighest honors in an artcontest held to commemorate thetercentenary of the birth of St. John ofthe Cross in 1891. His win merited nationalmedia attention with him being featuredon the popular periodical La IlustracionFilipina. At the 1895 RegionalExposition of the Philippines, TheExpulsion won an Honorable Mention.

No amount of encouragement andmaterial promises could lure him back tosophisticated Manila though. Instead, he

chose to stay and work in seclusion inPampanga’s heartland, holding art classesand giving drawing lessons to Celestina, inhis desire to soothe her troubled mind andmake her well. In one of her manic fits,she bit the hand of her kind uncle. Thewound festered and became gangrenous,leading to Simon Flores’s death on 12

March 1904. Of his style, Art Critic and

Professor EmmanuelTorres keenly observed:“The art developed by Floresand his kind assumed agently lyrical and celebrative,rather than a dramatic andself-questioning mode; amodesty and serenity oftone rather than anaggressively heroiceloquence; in short, an artmore suitable to the intimateprivacy of the parlor than themuseum or salon.”

He is at his best in capturing the cozy,intimate atmosphere of pastoral living inhis genre paintings. But his enduring imagesof the country’s rising new bourgeoisie arebetter known. He rarely painted a subjectwith a smile, in keeping with the ascendingrole of the new aristocracy in CentralLuzon. Visual cues of their authority areseen in their glum expressions, rigid

The first Kapampangan artist to receive aninternational award is Vicente Alvarez Dizon ofBacolor (1905-1947), whose painting After a Day’sToil, won first prize in a competition marking theGolden Gate World Fair and Exposition in SanFrancisco, California in 1939. He bested entries from 79 countries including hiscompatriot Fernando Amorsolo and Spanish surreal painter Salvador Dali, who placedsecond. As sponsor of the Exposition, IBM now owns the painting; the original is onpermanent 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 introducedfinger painting in the country. He married Ines Henson of Angeles City, with whomhe had four children, Victor Jose, Daniel Antonio (also a painter), Edilberto Luminosoand Josefina, a.k.a. Josie Henson, painter and president of Akademyang Kapampangan.

The Bacolor painterwho bested Salvador Dali

Vicente Alvarez Dizon

Msgr. Tambungi aspainted by Flores

(to page 29)

After a Day’s Toil

1 31 31 31 31 3

One poet could havesinglehandedly put Bacolor on the map.The name Juan Crisostomo Soto yCaballa (1867-1918), popularly knownas Crissot, shines the brightest amongthe galaxy of Kapampangan writers. Hewrote a mind-boggling 50 plays(including 3 tragedies, 8 comedies, 20zarzuelas), more than 100 poems aswell as essays, novels and short stories.“This is an output,” wrote RosalinaIcban-Castro, “one expects from amajor writer in the order if not ofShakespeare at least the minorElizabethans.” His best known works

are the zarzuela Alang Dios! written after the death of hisdaughter Maria Luz Generosa; the novel Lidia; the play Delia;the short story Y’Miss Phathupats; and the poem Malaya. Sotoedited three newspapers, El Pueblo, El Imparcial and IngAlipatpat. Literary verbal jousts in Kapampangan, rhymed andimprovised on the spot, have been called crissotan, theKapampangan counterpart of the Tagalog balagtasan. Manyof his works mirrored his intense revolutionary fervor; Sotowrote for La Independencia and served with Gen. TomasMascardo as a major of infantry. His descendants have formedthe organization Sapni nang Crissot to preserve andpopularize his legacy.

Sometime in 1900, the three dramatists of Bacolor, Juan CrisostomoSoto (Crissot), Felix Galura (Flauxgialer) and Mariano ProcesoPabalan 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 AmadoGutierrez David to be their composer and after several weeks, PabalanByron came up with Ing Managpe, the first vernacular zarzuela in thePhilippines, and Magparigaldigal, and Soto produced Paninap nang DonRoque. Rehearsals were held in the Gutierrez mansion in barrio Sta.Ines, Bacolor, where Don Mateo Gutierrez y Ubaldo had built a stagefor family presentations. Thus, this house could be considered as thebirthplace of the Kapampangan zarzuela. When the zarzuela had beenrehearsed thoroughly, it was brought to the Teatro Sabina for the galaperformance. Hundreds of zarzuelas were presented in Bacolor within athree-decade period, considered the golden age of Kapampangan drama.

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 tumulumung lua, Mamagus uli ning lugma, yang ambun a pasaguiuacaring bucung malanta.Nung mate ca, ay, mate cu; tuqui cu queca, tiqui cu…Nung nanu ing acalman muya ing buring acalman cu,acalman cu.

HABLADOMARIA: Baquet dinatang ca ngeni? Nanu ing buri mu queti?ENRIQUE: Maria—

CRISSOTThe volume, variety and qualityof his literary output should put himin Shakespeare’s league

Crisostomo Soto

Alang Dios!by Juan Crisostomo Soto

Birthplace of thevernacular zarzuela

Kapampangan literature reached its goldenage during the lifetime of Soto, Galura and PabalanByron, the drama triumvirate of Bacolor.Pampanga was among the first provinces to havetheatre companies with resident playwrights,directors and actors, and nowhere in the provincewas the theatre scene more active than it was inBacolor.

There were more poets per square meter herethan in any part of the Philippines, wrote JoseLuna Castro, former editor of The Manila Times.

Athens of PampangaSource: The Unpublished Memoirs of Justice Jose Gutierrez David.

It probably came with the gene pool, but the role of money could not beunderestimated. Many rich families sent their children to Europe to study,and when they returned they brought with them European tastes andlifestyles, including love for theatre. Zarzuela companies from Spaincame from Bacolor, thanks to rich families, which also financed localproductions whose performers included children of the same rich families,thus ensuring continued support.

In Bacolor, the first theatre company was Compania Sabina, organizedshortly before 1901 by local patron Ceferino Joven, who was thengovernor of Pampanga. Actors’ wages ranged between P4 and P15 pershowing. The play’s author received P100 per production. Costumeswere provided by the performers themselves and the troupe performedfor 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.

Constructed in 1901, Teatro Sabina, was one of two importanttheatres in that part of Pampanga (the other being Teatro Trining inGuagua, home base of Aurelio Tolentino). Named after its owner, thespinster sister of Ceferino Joven, TeatroSabina was unique for its deep well locatedunder the middle of the stage, dug there toimprove acoustics.

Entrance fees varied, from P2.00 (palcoproscenio seats), to between 60 centavosand P1.00 (orchestra seats), to 20centavos (entrada general). Rates wereoften reduced after opening day. TeatroSabina averaged two productions a month.It was renovated in 1909; the prosceniumarch contained the names of dramatistsPabalan, Soto, Galura, Gozun and JoseGutierrez David (only 18 at the time) andthe names of composers Pablo Palma, JosePrado and Amado Gutierrez. The theatreeventually closed when patronage dwindled.

Source: The Unpublished Memoirs ofJustice Jose Gutierrez David

Teatro Sabina

Reference: Kapampangan Literature: A Historical Survey andAnthology by Edna Zapanta Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila University Press)

Felix Galura

Jose Gutierrez David andZoilo J. Hilario as actors

ESCENA 64 MARIA LUZ Y ENRIQUEMusic by Pablo Palma

Excerpts from

1 41 41 41 41 4

Escuela deArtes y Oficiosde Bacolor

The Escuela de Artes y Oficios deBacolor (formerly El Colegio de Santa Terezade Jesus, later Pampanga School of Artsand Trades, now Don Honorio VenturaCollege of Arts and Trades), founded by Fr.Juan P. Zita and Don Felino Gil on a site donatedby the Suarez sisters of Bacolor, opened onNovember 4, 1861 upon the approval of itsstatutes by Governor Lemery.

Destinies of town andschool linked forever

with political unrest, the school was madeheadquarters of the Voluntarios Locales deBacolor who were the first to revolt againstSpain. The provincial capitol was alsotransferred from the Casa Real to this schoolduring the early American Occupation. Whenthe provincial capital was moved to SanFernando, the school was relegated to municipalhall.

It was converted back into a school andalternately named Bacolor IntermediateSchool, Bacolor Trade School (in 1922), andby virtue of Republic Act 1388, Regional Schoolof Arts and Trades (on July 1, 1956).

The school was destroyed by fire at leastfive times, in 1869, 1896, 1898, 1944 and 1958.

The school is credited for the active localindustries requiring skilled labor which not onlysustained the economy of the communities inthe region but also inspired and guided the uniquecraftsmanship and artistry of Kapampangans.

BacolorElementarySchool

Opened in June, 1901, the BacolorElementary School initially occupied just oneroom of the ruined Escuela de Artes y Oficios deBacolor. Among the first teachers were TirsoManabat (Grade I) and Mariano ProcesoPabalan Byron (Grade II). Promotion to thenext grade was through examinationsadministered by Amando Gutierrez (forSpanish) and Luther Parker (for English).

Operated on fundsraised during fairs

Formerly called the Bacolor CatholicSchool, St. Mary’s Academy was the first ofthree Benedictine schools opened in Pampanga(the other two being Holy Family Academy inAngeles and St. Scholastica’s Academy in SanFernando). Founded in 1919 by Fr. PedroSantos of Porac, education was initially free toall pupils without discrimination. The Sisters tookover in 1922, with five nuns supervising morethan 200 students and Fr. Santos remaining asthe school director.

Fr. Santos started a highschool which, however, failedafter only two years.Undaunted, the energeticparish priest purchased aschool bus which transportedthe girls from Bacolor to the

Assumption Academy(old name of St.

S c h o l a s t i c a ’ sAcademy) in San

F e r n a n d om o r n i n g ,noon and

a f t e r n o o nevery day, untilhis term ended.

Used tofree education,many studentsdropped out

St. Mary’sAcademyEducation was freein this Benedictine-runschool

after Fr. Santos left; the school was saved onlythrough the generosity of some people. Morethan a third of the students of St. Mary’sAcademy came from poor families; those whocould pay were charged the minimum monthlyfee, probably the lowest among all private schoolsin 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 saleUniversity and national president of the Jayceeswhen he died in a plane crash in Baguio;Mariano Alimurung, internationally knowncardiologist; Fr. Pallasigui and Fr. OdonSantos; top violinist Biliong Palma; GerryRodriguez; civic leaders Raquel Gonzalesde Leon, Elisa Buyson Sison, EmilianaGonzales and Pilar Villarama.

Source: The Story of Bacolor in a Nutshell byDr. Rogelio Samia

ProfessorsPadre Dizon del MoralSeñor Don Agaton EstrellaSr. Don Pedro PinedaSr. Don Mariano NatividadSr. Don Valentin RamirezSr. Don Vicente QuirinoSr. Don Nicolas del CarmenSr. Don Joaquin Dizon

Students from BacolorDon Mariano AlimurungDon Jose TuazonDon Mariano FajardoDon Juan Garcia y LampaDon Domingo PanlilioDon Julian PalmaDon Augustin MercadoDon Cecilio Laxamana

GuaguaPadre Maximo VironPadre Ignacio Tambungi

Sta. RitaDon Ariston MaglalangPadre Braulio PinedaDon Bonifacio Carlos MarianoDon Juan SasonDon Franco SasonDon Prudencio Santos

PoracDon Lupo CarpioDon Felipe Juico

AngelesDon Fabio QuiasonDon Juan NepomucenoDon Mariano LimsonDon Julian MananquilDon Catalino Mercado

LubaoDon Exequiel ZitaDon Emiliano Dimson

San LuisDon Emilio Alfaro

San FernandoDon Antonio ConsunjiDon Mariano CustodioDon Teodoro SantosDon Mariano SantosDon Mariano DayritDon Diego Pamintuan

MexicoDon Mariano CunananDon Vicente CunananDon Leon Lising

San SimonDon Pablo dela CruzDon Mariano Pamintuan

MabalacatDon Leoncio de Castro

TarlacDon Marciano Barera

Concepcion, TarlacDon Pedro Sanchez

Instructors & Studentsof the Escuela de Artes

y Oficios 1861-1869

house in the church patio; faculty roster includedEmerenciana Palma, Lorenzo Malig andTirso Manabat who was also the principal.Later, American teachers who are nowremembered only by their surnames, joinedthem, e.g. Mr. Higgley, Miss Huff, MissCarlston, Mr. Pinstaff, Mr. Crawford andMrs. Butts.

In 1913 a ten-room building was built onthe old site of the Casa Real, using a P25,000.00funding through the so-called Gabaldon Law.The school’s principal at this time was MarcianoMalig and the faculty included AlejandroLopez, Benito Pangilinan, etc. The schoolwas run mainly on government grants plus fundsraised through fairs, industrial and agriculturalexhibits, athletic, literary and beauty contests,as well as pork barrel funds of political luminariessuch as Senator Gil Puyat, Rep. Pedro ValdesLiongson and Rep. Diosdado Macapagal.

Fr. Pedro Santos

In 1896 when the country was percolating

In 1902, classes were transferred to an old

1 51 51 51 51 5

Sugar issweet

The new industry brought huge profits butwidened the gap between rich and poorBy Ivan Anthony Henares

in the social patterns of Pampanga. Andquoting its preface, the social registeraimed to put “the right people in the rightplaces, and in the places where theybelong.” It was “a tribute to Pampanga’sleaders in business, in the professions, andin society.”

Among these sugar planters was JoseLeoncio de Leon y Joven, founder andpresident of the Pampanga SugarDevelopment Company (Pasudeco) whichconstructed the first Filipino-financed sugarcentral in Pampanga in the town of SanFernando.

In the latter part of the 19th century,sugar became a very powerful commodity,dictating the movements in the upperechelons of Pampanga’s social classes. Theearly 20th century saw the rise of a newclass of society, which was beginning togain prominence—the sugar planter.Although the center of activity shifted toneighboring San Fernando, the newprovincial capital, several citizens of Bacolorstill found themselves at the center of thelucrative trade.

Other sugar planters included siblingsJusto Arrastia, president of thePampanga Sugar Mills Planters Association,and Jose Arrastia; first cousins Alfonsode Leon y David of San Fernando andRafael de Leon y Lazatin of Mexico, ahalf-sibling of Jose Leoncio de Leon.

Writer’s Note:My fascination with Bacolor began with a

Simon Flores portrait of Don Jose Leon Santospublished in the Manila Bulletin a few years back,as part of an announcement of the opening ofthe Museo De La Salle in Dasmariñas, Cavite.The museum is actually a showcase of the richBacolor heritage, as the entire Santos-Joven-Panli l io residence and its contents weretransferred there before the coup de gracestruck Bacolor in 1995. Thus, everything wassaved. And how ironic but true it is to say thatfor one to feel the former opulence of Bacolor, avisit to the Cavite museum is necessary.

With further research, I found out that JoseLeon Santos was my direct great-great-greatgrandfather, a son of Don Francisco Paula delos Santos and Doña Luisa Gonzaga de Leon. Hisson from his first wife, Doña Arcadia Joven, wasDon Mariano Leon Santos y Joven, my great-great grandfather, who would later transfer toSan Fernando and become its municipalpresident from 1902 to 1903. Arcadia Joven wasa daughter of Don Juan Joven and DoñaGeronima Suares.

True to its title as the “Athens of thePampanga”, Bacolor was not just a cradleof culture, it was also the seat of beauty,echoing the fabled reputation of Greeceas the land of beautiful goddesses—Hera,Aphrodite and Athena—who figured inperhaps, the first documented beautypageant of ancient times, as judged byParis.

Bacolor belles like Luz Sarmiento,Paz Sanchez, Consuelo Santos andElisa Gutierrez were regarded as thetown muses in the mid 1920s-1930s. Themore notable crowned beauties howeverwere Rosario Manuel and GuiaBalmori.

ROSARIO MANUELMiss Pampanga 1927In 1927, a Bacolor beauty was

crowned Miss Pampanga, and therebygained the right to represent theprovince in the 2nd National BeautyContest sponsored by The Philippine FreePress. Doe-eyed Rosario Manuel went toManila for the competition to make herbid for the Miss Philippines crown. It wasa tall order for Rosario, as among theprevious year’s winners was a kabalen—Socorro Henson of Angeles, whoreigned as Manila’s Carnival Queen of1926.

In the 1927 edition, 28 beauties fromaround the country participated. Two ofthe contenders that year were AmeliaRomualdez, Miss Leyte, who bore astriking resemblance to a niece, ImeldaRomualdez and fellow Kapampangan, LuzBesa of Tarlac. In the end, Luisa

PASUDECO

In a province knownfor lovely women,the loveliest shouldnaturally come fromBacolor

Belles ofBacolor

Marasigan, Miss Manila, won as MissPhilippines. Her court included Miss Luzon,Iluminada Laurel (Batangas), MissVisayas, Lourdes Rodriguez (Cebu) andMiss Mindanao, Nora Maulano (Sulu).Even then, Rosario Manuel’s beauty wasimmortalized in a special commemorativebooklet issued by Free Press.

GUIA BALMORIMiss Philippines 1938Guia Balmori was the second known

winner of the National Beauty Contest(formerly, the Manila Carnival) withKapampangan roots. Her father wasJoaquin Balmori of Bacolor, a well-known labor leader who married RosarioGonzales. The Balmoris were of Spanishstock, and this showed clearly in Guia’sfair and finely chiseled mestiza features.

The Balmori family settled in Ermitaand Guia was named after the district’stitular patron, Nuestra Sra. De Guia. Guiawas a secretarial student at the U.S.T.when the contest beckoned. Hercandidacy stirred quite a ruckus, from herfather who saw the pageant as a frivolousexercise, and from the religious nuns inschool who frowned on such beautyshows. Nevertheless, she surprisedeveryone with her victory. At hercoronation, she wore a Ramon Valera goldgown and was escorted by a dashingKapampangan collegian, Ernesto“Gatas” Santos, son of Teodoro Santosof San Fernando and Mabalacat. Her prizemoney of P1,000 was discreetly tucked

A look at the Pampanga Social Registerof 1936 would reveal an emphasis on sugar

By Alex R. Castro

(to page 28)Guia Balmori

1 61 61 61 61 6

Church PioneersBachiller Don Miguel Jeronimo deMorales, the first Filipino priest (1654)Padre Mariano Hipolito, the first Filipinopriest-calligraphic artist (1793)Padre Anselmo Jorge Fajardo, the firstFilipino priest-playwright; the second Filipinopriest delegate to the Spanish Cortes of 1822Doña Luisa Gonzaga de Leon, the firstFilipino woman author; translated the religiouswork Ejercicio Cotidiano into Kapampangan(published posthumously in 1844, reprinted in1854 by the UST PressSor Bibiana Zapanta, the first Filipinomissionary beata to Mindanao; she served asschool principal in 1875 in the Jesuit mission inTamontaca, Cotabato, giving refuge tolibertos (children ransomed from their Muslimcaptors)Sor Asuncion Ventura, the first Filipinofoundress of an orphanage; she founded theAsilo de San Vicente de Paul, a house withschool for poor girls, in Paco, Manila in 1885,using her own inheritance; the orphanage stillexistsSource: Laying the Foundations: KapampanganPioneers in the Philippine Church 1592-2001 byDr. Luciano PR Santiago (Holy Angel University Press)

LegislatorsDon Francisco Liongson, the firstKapampangan senatorVenancio Concepcion, represented Iloiloin the Malolos CongressPablo Angeles David, member, House ofRepresentatives, senator from 1947 to1953;

Francisco Liongson

ArtistsPablo Palma wrote music of countlesszarzuelas, including Crisostomo Soto’sAlang Dios!Virgilio Palma, musicianAntonio Fajardo, doctor, orator, linguist,actor, musicianVicente Alvarez Dizon bested Salvador DaliHenry Dizon,award-winning international painterand sculptorFlor de Jesus, “theJoni James of the

Jose Gutierrez David, delegate tothe Constitutional Assembly thatdrafted the 1935 ConstitutionPedro Valdes LiongsonZoilo Hilario authored the first landreform law in the PhilippinesSally Gozun Acosta, member of theCalifornia State Legislature

Dario Fajardo, “the Harry Belafonte ofthe Philippines”Fred Panopio, “the singing cowboy”Lorenzo de Jesus, star actor at theTeatro SabinaJose Rodriguez, popular movie starChito Feliciano, star of TV showDancetime with ChitoArturo and Ceferino “Ninoy” Joven,leading stars of Circulo EscenicoTemang Mangio who, along withhusband Pepe Baltazar of Sasmuan,founded the famous Banda 31

Vicente Dizon

Businessmen andAccountantsDon Jose “Pepito” Leonciode Leon, Pampanga’s firstmillionaire, founded thePampanga Sugar DevelopmentCompany (PASUDECO)Justo ArrastiaCarlos ValdesAmaury Roque Gutierrez,first Filipino President of CaltexJoaquin “Jake” GonzalesFrancisco GamboaRomeo GonzalesMarciano DizonFrancisco Granada

Amb. Carlos Valdes

AmbassadorsCarmen BuysonCarlos ValdesBienvenido Tan, Jr.Rafaelita Hilario Soriano

Amb. Rafaelita Soriano

Governors ofPampangaTiburcio HilarioCeferino JovenFrancisco Padua de los SantosFuljencio NuñesHonorio VenturaPablo Angeles DavidEstelito Mendoza

Ceferino Joven

Justices of theSupreme CourtJustice Tiburcio HilarioJustice Jose Gutierrez DavidJustice Roberto RegalaJustice Jesus BarreraJustice Ricardo Puno, Sr.

Philippines”

Jose Gutierrez David

JudgesCeferino Hilario, Court of First InstanceEduardo Gutierrez David, Court of First Instance inLuzon and VisayasFederico de JesusGregorio de JesusEduardo Gutierrez David, represented theprovince at the proclamationof the PhilippineIndependence in June, 1898Zoilo HilarioMariano Buysony Lampa, Court of First Instance in Visayas

Mariano Buysony Lampa

Zoilo Hilario

CabinetHonorio VeKapampangan(chief of the then Secretasucceeding Feremembered student fromMacapagalArsenio LuServicesAmparo VilSocial WelfareRodrigo Pesecretary of PRicardo PuJusticeEstelito Methen Secreta

Eduardo Gutierrez David

CHILDCHILDCHILDCHILDCHILDofofofofofBACOBACOBACOBACOBACOOut of the ga

small village incame a whol

Kapampgreat men a

1 71 71 71 71 7

t Membersentura, the firstn member of the CabinetExecutive Bureau in 1921,

ry of the Interior,elipe Agoncillo); he is alsoas the benefactor of a Lubao, Diosdado

gay, Secretary of General

llamor, Secretary ofe

erez, Jr., executivePresident Magsaysay

uno, Sr., Secretary of

endoza , Solicitor General,ry of Justice

Honorio Ventura

Jose “Ping” de Jesus, Secretary ofPublic Works and HighwaysRonaldo Puno, Secretary of Interiorand Local GovernmentsRicardo Puno, Jr., Press Secretary

Ricardo Puno, Sr.

Doctors/ScientistsRegino Navarro, bacteriologist; chief of theLaboratory Department, Philippine GeneralHospitalJacobo Fajardo, the first Filipino Director ofthe Bureau of HealthAntonio Fajardo, an official of the Worldhealth OrganizationConrado Buenviaje, chairman of theCommittee on Scientific Assemblies of thePhilippine Medical AssociationMariano “Ano” Alimurung, internationallyknown heart specialist, first Asian to becomeVice President of the International Federationof Catholic PhysiciansBenjamin Canlas, head of PathologyDepartment, UP College of Medicine; VicePresident of the Philippine Society ofPathologistsBenjamin Barrera, Dean of the UP Collegeof MedicineLucrecia Regala Castillo, chief ofPediatrics, Veterans Memorial HospitalAmelia Almeida Garcia,chief of Clinical Pathology,Veterans Memorial HospitalRogelio Samia, cardiologist, secretary-treasurer of thePhilippine Heart AssociationFrancis and Luz Serrano,prominent doctorsJuan Galang, owner and director, Galang Maternity Hospital in Manila

Jacobo Fajardo

EducatorsPantaleon Regala, first Superintendent ofthe Philippine School of Arts and TradesVidal Tan, President of the University of thePhilippines and Far Eastern UniversityCeferino Joven, (not to be confused withthe revolutionary), Supervisor of PrivateSchools

Elisa Gutierrez Abello, Head of the Spanish Department of UP DilimanFr. Bernardo Perez, Rector ofthe San Beda College Evangelina Hilario Lacson, Akademyang Kapampangan

Public ServantsPraxedes Fajardo, headed the Red Cross during the RevolutionConrado Cajator, PAGCOM chiefJose Regala, Trafcon chiefEmerito de Jesus, Undersecretary of National DefenceRegis Puno, Undersecretary of JusticeBienvenido “Bidong” Escoto, headed the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Commission and sat in the National Advisory Board onHealthErnesto V. Santos, Member of the Monetary BoardRodrigo Perez, Jr., Chairman of the Commission on ElectionsManuel Abello, Chairman of the Securities and ExchangeCommissionRolando Olalia, labor leaderFortunato Aguas, Commissioner, Bureau of Internal Revenues

Fortunato Aguas

Military OfficersMaj. Porfirio E. Zablan, the firstFilipino fighter pilot; an airfield atcamp Murphy (now CampAguinaldo) was named Zablan AirBase in his honorGen. Gregorio M. Camiling, Jr.,Commanding General of thePhilippine ArmyCol. Modesto Gozun, AdjutantGeneral of the Armed Forces ofthe PhilippinesBrig. Gen, Virgilio DavidCol. Augusto Gutierrez, PCCommander of PampangaFederico Calma, chief of AFPengineersCiceron de la Cruz, PC personnelchief

Media LeadersEnriqueta David Perez, editor of the Philippine HeraldWilfredo Buyson Villarama, President of The Manila Times

Church LeadersMsgr. Alejandro Olalia, DD,Bishop of LipaRaquel Gonzales De Leonheaded the national CatholicWomen’s League; she rose tonational prominence when shecrusaded against motels andlodging houses

PhilanthropistsDon Jose “Pepe” Panlilio, behindthe unequalled Santacruzan of Bacolorin 1934Don Mariano Alimurung, pioneerof the Knights of ColumbusDon Gregorio AlimurungDon Francisco “Paquito” PanlilioPedring de JesusDoña Natividad de Leon and herchildren ran a charity clinic in MalateJorge de Leon, received papaldecoration for his works in charity andservice to the poorDon Pascual Gozun, writer,dramatist, public servant, town leader

BeautyQueensLuz SarmientoRosario ManuelPaz SanchezConsuelo SantosElisa Gutierrez

Guia Balmori

DRENDRENDRENDRENDRENfffffOLOROLOROLOROLOROLORates of thisn Pampangae galaxy of

panganand women

Border calligraphic drawing by Padre Juan Severino Mallari (1785-1840)

1 81 81 81 81 8

As I look back the years gone by, Icannot but recall with very fond memoriesthe 15 long years that the Lord permittedme to spend in the town of Bacolor. Theywere not only years to remember but theywere also the earl ier years of mypriesthood; consequently, they were theyears when the idealism and vigor of youthdrove me to many inspiring ideas.

My recollections of Bacolor date backto my boyhood days when I first came tothe town as a student in the InstitutoZita del Moral. This was a famouseducational center in those early days. Firstof all, it was established to honor the lateRev. Fathers Zita and del Moral, twovery distinguished Filipino priest educatorsduring the days of the first PhilippineRepublic. The school was organized byDon Roman Valdes and was situated inwhat is now the house of the late DonPepito de Leon. Among its leadingprofessors were such luminaries as DonMarcelino Aguas, Don Tomas Gamboa,Don Modesto Joaquin, Don BenignoRicafort, and later Don Vicente Neri andDon Tirso Manabat. Don Roman Valdeswas the director and the sub-director wasDon Pedro Abad Santos. Among themany prominent alumni of that small school,I can recall Don Pedro Valdes Liongson,Don Jose Valdes, and many others. Itwas opened only to boys.

Another important remembrance Itreasure with much value today is the closeassociation of the foundation of theCatholic primary, later elementary, schoolof the town (St. Mary’s Academy) andthe Circulo Escenico. When I invited theBenedictine Sisters to conduct the schoolin1922, the Sister Superior-to-be remarkedthat the physical condition of the schoolbuilding (the old Convento) was in a sadstate, needing immediate repairs and re-

I rememberBacolor...By Archbishop Pedro S. Santos, D.D.

(1889-1965)

The former parish priestof Bacolor, who went onto co-found Holy AngelUniversity and becomethe Archbishop of NuevaCaceres (Naga), looksback fondly

Other prominent house guests ofJose Gutierrez David’s family includedFernando Ma. Guerrero, CecilioApostol, Jose Palma, writer of theoriginal Spanish lyrics of the NationalAnthem, and Juan Luna, already afamous painter at the time. His visitcoincided with a horse race, the prizesof which were clothing materialdecorated with embroidery or painting,donated by prominent ladies in the

community, including Jose’s sister Trining. Trining’sdonation turned out to be plain-looking compared to theother donated prizes, so she asked her brother Eduardoto ask his friend Juan Luna to paint something on it. JuanLuna complied and finished the painting after a few minutes.Trining’s prize, it goes without saying, outshone them all.

Aside from Rizal and Aguinaldo, Bacolor was visited byother historical figures, according to the unpublishedmemoirs of Justice Jose Gutierrez David (1891-1977).When Jose was a young boy, his brothers Amado andEduardo regularly brought home their classmates in Manilafor the Christmas vacation. Among them were Epifaniode los Santos, Vivencio del Rosario, and Manuel L.Quezon. In one of those visits, the young Quezon arrivedafter everyone had left the house for the midnight mass.He went straight to bed but since it was cold, to took awoolen suit hanging near the bed and wore it to sleep. Itturned out to be Vivencio’s holiday suit. When he found

out, he roused Quezon from sleep and a shouting match ensued. The nextmorning, 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 boyscontrolled themselves. Jose’s mother, noticing the tension, reconciled the twoand ironed Vivencio’s suit for him. Years later, when Quezon became Presidentof the Philippine Commonwealth, he appointed Vivencio to various importantpositions in government and the judiciary.

in one-and-a-half months’ time, so thatclasses were opened formally under theSisters in June, 1922. How was thisaccomplished? It was through thepresentation of a Spanish zarzuela (Morirsea Tiempo), through the generous servicesof a group of first-class actors of the townand a few guests from Manila, includingPepe and Paquito Panlilio, AntonioFajardo, Leonardo Abola, andothers. I had to prepare for the wholepresentation, rehearsing and directing theplay. However, since it was a zarzuela, Idiscovered that, on the gala night,someone would have to be with theorchestra to conduct the same. I had todo this also. In so doing, the need forsomeone to remain in the back of thestage to coach and serve as apuntador detelon became obvious.

It was for this specific task that I invitedDon Paquito Liongson to serve as such.I believe this was an important experienceof his that must have contributed to DonPaquito’s subsequent interest in dramatics.And it was also from that original stagepresentation that the same group becameinspired enough, so that they continuedtogether and eventually formedthemselves into the Circulo Escenico.Everybody knows now how popular thisdramatic club became, not only in the townand in the province but later even in Manila.Tickets for that original presentation weresold at P2.00 per seat in the rows ofpreferentes, and the rest at P1.00. Bycombining the classrooms of the first floorof the building we were able to have acapacity of 240.

I do remember that among those whocame to the affair was a young lad whopaid P200.00 for his seat to be in apreferred spot to listen to a lady guestpianist from Angeles City.

roofing. I can recall with special satisfactionnow that, through the Lord’s kindness, Iwas able to have such repairs accomplished

MLQ and the red-hot chili peppers

Source: The Unpublished Memoirsof Justice Jose Gutierrez David

Juan Luna andthe lucky horse-rider

Source: The Unpublished Memoirsof Justice Jose Gutierrez David

Juan LunaManuel Quezon

1 91 91 91 91 9

As Compania Sabina faded, a newbreed of artists in Bacolor organizedCirculo Escenico in 1923, with Madrid-based Francisco Liongson Alonzo, sonof Don Francisco Liongson by his firstwife, as president and Jose GutierrezDavid as vice president. The objectivewas to stage dramas, zarzuelas andoperettas in Spanish and Kapampangan.Performers included children of Bacolor’srich and famous: Elisa Gutierrez, OfeliaPamintuan, Nieves Joven, Jose

Panlilio, Francisco Panlilio, ArturoJoven, Horacio Gutierrez, AntonioFajardo, Ignacio Santos and guestperformers from Manila. The group’sfirst Kapampangan production was atranslation of Severino Reyes’ Huling Pati(Ing Tauling Bilin), starring Luz Palma,Arturo Joven and Pablo AngelesLoroño, with Jose Gutierrez Daviddirecting.

Circulo Escenico

Source: The Unpublished Memoirs ofJustice Jose Gutierrez David

The paper lanterns of BacolorThe Giant Lantern Festival,for which San Fernando isknown today, has its roots inBacolor’s La Naval fiesta

Newly elected Pampanga GovernorMacario Arnedo of Apalit presided overthe transfer of the provincial capital fromBacolor to San Fernando, despite theobjections of his predecessor, CeferinoJoven, and prominent families of Bacolor.The transfer began in early 1903 andaccomplished July, 1904. The PhilippineCommission had earlier approved the

decision, citing the strategic location ofSan Fernando. The Manila-Dagupanrailroad, which crossed San Fernando butnot Bacolor, linked the former with Manila,Cavite, and Tarlac. The capital was firsthoused in an old building in barrio Del Pilar,across the San Fernando River frontingthe parish church (now cathedral).

Source: The Unpublished Memoirs ofJustice Jose Gutierrez David

Losing the capital toSan Fernando

As part of the La Naval celebrations heldat the tail end of the rainy season inNovember, residents used paper lanternsto protect the candle flame from wind andrain as well as to liven up the processionwith multi-colored lights. These lanternshung until the Christmas season. Lanternsmounted on poles during the La Navaleventually made their way to thelubenas, the nine-day adventprocession, and the maitinis, whenprocessions from various barriosconverge in the church patio on ChristmasEve.

(According to parol makers, the trendthis year in parol design is a return tothe traditional Bacolor-style lanterns.)

Queta qng busal naNiting CapampanganCarin ya mayaquitTibuan cung balayanA nung nu babagulIng marimlang amiamAt nung nu masayangTitiman ing bulan.

Carin e mapansingAngin dayat-malatDapot caring ilangMisna qng calapadSangapan mu namanIng tiup nang banayadNing macayayamangAngin qng abagat.

Malambis a basleCarin mu damdamanIng siuc da ding batisAng angin qng parangAng dalit ding ayupIng biung ding tanaman…Paua ngan ping babieTula’t capaldanan.

Lauisuis ding cuayanMatas magparayoIng azul a banuangLililung qng yatuAlun ding palayanIng sinag ning aldoPanagaula nalaMasayang balen cu.

At ita… balu mu?Ausan dang Baculud.Qng bale meyaringCuayan at pinaudA quecang acaquitQng metung nang sulucCarin cu mibaitMebiasang linugud.

Tana… tuquian mucuCarin ca magsayaQueta qng balen cuGauan dacang mutya;At carin, baluan muAlang lua’t paliasaBucud mung mimiralIng lugud at tula.

End of an era

Tuqui Ca,Baculud

(dedicated to Concepcion Roque)

Jose Gutierrez DavidBacolor, 1908

2 02 02 02 02 0

And then… HORROR

thing to the rest of your family, your house, yourcar, and your entire neighborhood. It does so withsuch swiftness and finality that you will not be ableto retrieve anything, not even memories, not eventhe chance to return and start again. Even thegravesites of Bacolor’s heroes and artistsdisappeared forever.

Bacolor has finally come full circle; lahar fulfilledthe prophetic etymology of the town—it elevated theplace above the rest. Bacolor is now, truly andironically, makabakulud.

The end came in the form of boiling mud and waterthat sounded like a thousand carabaos runningberserk. It came from the same mountains fromwhich gentle rivers had, for centuries, flowed intothe town to create its idyllic landscapes and inspireits resident poets and painters. It came like a thiefin the night—monster would be more like it—snatching children from their parents’ grip andburying them where their bodies could never befound again.

No community deserved this kind of ending.History’s great civilizations were treated with morekindness: Greece was defeated in war, Romedeteriorated over centuries. But Bacolor’s fate isworse than war or epidemic or flood or fire orearthquake, or all of those combined. Lahar comesunannounced; it scalds and then entombs you withdirt that hardens like rock; then it does the same

The end came in the form of boiling mud and waterthat sounded like a thousand carabaos runningberserk. It came from the same mountains fromwhich gentle rivers had, for centuries, flowed intothe town to create its idyllic landscapes and inspireits resident poets and painters. It came like a thiefin the night—monster would be more like it—snatching children from their parents’ grip andburying them where their bodies could never befound again.

No community deserved this kind of ending.History’s great civilizations were treated with morekindness: Greece was defeated in war, Romedeteriorated over centuries. But Bacolor’s fate isworse than war or epidemic or flood or fire orearthquake, or all of those combined. Lahar comesunannounced; it scalds and then entombs you withdirt that hardens like rock; then it does the same

ALL GONEOn 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 populabarrio Cabalantian from the map. More than 100 lives were lost andleast 15,000 houses destroyed. “Villagers escaped death by a hairlineclimbing on roofs (of their rich neighbors’ houses) but remained maroonfor days without food, water and change of clothes,” said Ananias Canltown mayor at the time.

Since 1991, lahar from Mount Pinatubo had repeatedly struck portioof the town at a time, and the barrios fell one by one like domino chOf the 21 barrios—Balas, Cabalantian, Cabambangan, Cabetican, CalibutbConcepcion, Dolores, Duat, Macabacle, Magliman, Maliwalu, MesaliParulog, Potrero, San Antonio, San Iisidro, San Vicente, Santa BarbaSanta Ines, Talba and Tinajero, only Calibutbut at the boundary with AngeCity has remained relatively unscathed.

thing to the rest of your family, your house, yourcar, and your entire neighborhood. It does so withsuch swiftness and finality that you will not be ableto retrieve anything, not even memories, not eventhe chance to return and start again. Even thegravesites of Bacolor’s heroes and artistsdisappeared forever.

Bacolor has finally come full circle; lahar fulfilledthe prophetic etymology of the town—it elevated theplace above the rest. Bacolor is now, truly andironically, makabakulud.

Yann Arthus Bertrand “ La Terre Vue du Ciel”

2 12 12 12 12 1

wasatedd at bynedas,

onsips.but,pit,ara,eles

2 22 22 22 22 2

It can be said that Bacolor’s dead were given two burials—well,actually, several burials, if you count the number of times lahar layeredthe cemetery at the back of the church every year from 1991 to1995. When All Saints’ Day comes, the living returns to Bacolor tolight candles where they think their departed relatives’ graves lie, 20feet below. “First we buried them six feet below,” one residentsays. “Then lahar buried them 20 feet below. It’s a total of 26 feetbetween us and our loved ones! Worse, we might be several morefeet off the mark!” The parish priest has instructed the people tolight candles in their homes instead.

EVEN THE DEADNOT SPARED

“This was worse thanthe eruption itself”

As they crawled in mudlike trapped animals,

it was difficult to imaginethat these were the same proud

descendants of the Jovens,Galuras, Maligs and Palmas

of BacolorBy Robby Tantingco

THE PARISH church of Cabalantian,one of the more populous barrios ofBacolor, was still being fortified withsandbags on the night of October 1, 1995,which was a Saturday, when TyphoonMameng 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. At4:30 a.m., his assistant, Louie Lansang,18, rose to prepare for the Sunday Massscheduled at 6 a.m.

Groping his way in the dark convento,Louie’s thoughts were on the trip he wasto make with his parents the next day,Monday, for a surgery to remove a largebirthmark on his shoulder. As the rainscontinued, he worried about lahar, whichhad inundated parts of Bacolor in the lastfew years. He calmed himself by thinkingthat Cabalantian was a relatively elevatedarea, and that the Gugu dike recently builtby government engineers would hold.

Suddenly, the parish secretary came

in shouting about rising floodwaters andpeople climbing to the choir loft of thechurch next door. In an instant, Louiefelt warm water around his thighs. Fr.Musni, the secretary and Louie had barelyclimbed the ladder to the choir loft whenthe flood overtook them.

Louie, who could not swim, sank. Thepriest pulled him out of the water andthe three of them joined some 200frightened people on the choir loft. Theysaw the muddy water, now steamingwith volcanic debris and reeking with

sulphur, rise inside thechurch below them.The wooden pewsfloated noisily andthen, in a heap againstthe altar, sank undertheir own weight. Tothe priest”s horror, theflood continued risinguntil it overflowed intothe choir loft.

The men peeledoff the ceiling and theyhelped the women andchildren climb to theroof of the church.The steep pyramidalroof forced them tospread around it whiledoing a balancing acton the gutters. Louieand the secretary satclose to the parishpriest; drenched to thebone, they looked atthe tempest aroundthem: the dark grey

(to page 30)

THE PARISH church of Cabalantian,one of the more populous barrios ofBacolor, was still being fortified withsandbags on the night of October 1, 1995,which was a Saturday, when TyphoonMameng 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. At4:30 a.m., his assistant, Louie Lansang,18, rose to prepare for the Sunday Massscheduled at 6 a.m.

Groping his way in the dark convento,Louie’s thoughts were on the trip he wasto make with his parents the next day,Monday, for a surgery to remove a largebirthmark on his shoulder. As the rainscontinued, he worried about lahar, whichhad inundated parts of Bacolor in the lastfew years. He calmed himself by thinkingthat Cabalantian was a relatively elevatedarea, and that the Gugu dike recently builtby government engineers would hold.

Suddenly, the parish secretary came

in shouting about rising floodwaters andpeople climbing to the choir loft of thechurch next door. In an instant, Louiefelt warm water around his thighs. Fr.Musni, the secretary and Louie had barelyclimbed the ladder to the choir loft whenthe flood overtook them.

Louie, who could not swim, sank. Thepriest pulled him out of the water andthe three of them joined some 200frightened people on the choir loft. Theysaw the muddy water, now steamingwith volcanic debris and reeking with

sulphur, rise inside thechurch below them.The wooden pewsfloated noisily andthen, in a heap againstthe altar, sank undertheir own weight. Tothe priest”s horror, theflood continued risinguntil it overflowed intothe choir loft.

The men peeledoff the ceiling and theyhelped the women andchildren climb to theroof of the church.The steep pyramidalroof forced them tospread around it whiledoing a balancing acton the gutters. Louieand the secretary satclose to the parishpriest; drenched to thebone, they looked atthe tempest aroundthem: the dark grey

(to page 30)

“This was worse thanthe eruption itself”

As they crawled in mudlike trapped animals,

it was difficult to imaginethat these were the same proud

descendants of the Jovens,Galuras, Maligs and Palmas

of BacolorBy Robby Tantingco

2 32 32 32 32 3

Lahar victims’ travails did not end afterthey had fled to safety. First, they wereherded like cows on military trucks toevacuation sites, which ranged from schoolbuildings to tent cities and gymnasiums. Thesewere halfway houses en route to thepermanent resettlement areas—nothing morethan rows of identical units located in themiddle of sugarcane plantations that sizzledunder the sun. Conditions in evacuation andresettlement areas can be hellish—loss ofprivacy, lack of sanitation, flies, disease, pettythieves and other indignities. Farmerssuddenly had no farms and shop owners hadnothing to do, except to line up for reliefgoods. These on top of the trauma of beinguprooted from home and losing all possessionsand livelihoods and facing a bleak, even blank,future. Hundreds had succumbed todepression, neurosis, even psychosis.Suicides had been recorded.

And, as if to add insult to injury, corruptionreared its ugly head amidst the sea ofsuffering. Billions of pesos in governmentfunds were reported missing as dikes,megadikes, sabo dams, catch basins and otherengineering interventions were pushed bypoliticians, contractors and agents whosalivated after the commissions, when themoney could have been better spent onwelfare and livelihood among the evacuees.In some cases, the dikes had given residentsa false sense of security, leading to tragicconsequences.

Bacoloreños with their proud heritage areprobably wondering what they did in the pastto earn this suffering.

FROM BAHAY-NA-BATOTO HOUSE-ON-STILTSSome families used singlecar jacks to raise their houses

FROM BAHAY-NA-BATOTO HOUSE-ON-STILTS

The elegant colonial houses of Bacolor,locally known as bahay na bato (stonehouse), were not spared in the deluge.Many were totally entombed, togetherwith their antique furniture, paintings,documents and other heritage materials.One exception was the Panlilio mansionwhich was transported, in the nick of time,to Cavite to become the Museo de LaSalle, thanks to the efforts of Bro.Andrew Gonzales and Joey Panlilio.

Other houses were raised on stilts tooutwit the annual flow of lahar. In 1991,houses were buried in two-meter deepmud. In 1994, a fresh flow elevated theground with another one meter of mud.In 1995, another 3.5 meters, for anaverage total deposition of 6.5 meters.

Some houses have been raised as manyas four times.

Family members dug with shovels andbare hands to retrieve and recycle materialsfrom their old house to reconstruct a newone. Against all odds, Bacolor returneesraised their recycled houses using singlecar jacks until rich Kapampangans in theUnited States donated six large hydraulicjacks to the town. The local governmentthen instituted a house-raising program,donating jacks, materials and copper moldsfor making the concrete sti lts andsupporting beams, and designated a localcontractor and construction crew.Homeowners paid only the labor costs.

Source: Can This Town Survive? A CaseStudy of a Buried Philippine Town by Kathleen S.

Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Malig Mansion after a lahar flow

MISERYWITHOUTENDDepression, diseaseand corruptionplagued evacuees

Some families used singlecar jacks to raise their houses

Anachronistic houses-on-stilts in the middle of dry land

Dai

ly I

nqui

rer

2 42 42 42 42 4

by intense daily shuttles; the eastern portion of the Bacolor townproper (e.g., barangay Cabalantian) even became part of theouter, upper-income residential ring surrounding San Fernando’shistorical center. A clear sign of this urban stagnation is therelatively slow population growth of Bacolor during the 20th

century. Between 1903 and 1990, censuses show Bacolorpopulation multiplying by 4.98, compared to San Fernando’s 8.85.(Prior to the transfer of capital, between 1837 and 1887, Bacolorpopulation multiplied by 1.78, compared to 1.58 of San Fernandoand Sto. Tomas, then combined.) Evidently, the transfer reverted

the trend.By 1990, Bacolor had thus been down-

ranked to the level of a small town, its onlyclaim to fame being its cultural functions.Then came the Pinatubo eruption of 1991,and the huge recurrent lahars (volcanicdebris flows) between 1991 and 1997buried Bacolor by portions and in stages.At least 75% of Bacolor’s population hasfled the town or been resettled in theadjacent municipalities of San Fernando,Mexico, Mabalacat, Floridablanca and Lubao.Bacolor thus lost one of the main elementsthat help define the hierarchical level of a

town: its population. In a previous article (see Singsing Vol. 1No. 4), we have already shown how the people of Bacolorstruggled to maintain the town’s cultural functions and how thevalue of territorial markers increased throughout the crisis. Anotherasset that never left Bacolor was the Don Honorio VenturaCollege of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT), which did not stop itsoperations even at the peak of the lahar crises, compared to thecommercial and economic establishments (banks, hospitals, stores,etc.) and administrative units (municipal offices, justice court,water service, etc.) that fled, closed down or were destroyed.It is really the cultural and educational functions of Bacolor thathelped the town survive the disasters.

The decrease in population resulted in revenue shortage aswell, as the internal revenue allotment (IRA) is mainly based onpopulation figures. Taxes from economic investors were also cutdown to almost nil. In 1996, Bacolor was ranked at the bottomof the Pampanga urban hierarchy. In the span of one century,the combination of anthropogenic and natural disasters hasproduced a complete reversal of fortune for Bacolor.

WHEN speaking about disasters and Bacolor, one would thinkfirst about Pinatubo lahar onslaughts. But another event alsohad a tremendous and surely longer-lasting effect. This is theconstruction of the Manila-Dagupan railway. The successionof these two disasters struck Bacolor down, from the gloriousseat of power and culture it once was, to a small village it hasbecome today.

Founded in 1576, Bacolor was described by Mariano Hensonas the capital of Pampanga as early as 1746—at the time whenPampanga covered a wide territory that extended to NuevaVizcaya in the north, Aurora in the east, andparts of Bulacan and Bataan in the south. From1762 to 1764, it even enjoyed the privilege ofbeing the capital of the Spanish government inthe Philippines during the British occupation ofManila. In 1762 it was also granted the veryrare title of Villa by the Spanish authorities.During the colonial period, this town thereforeenjoyed complete urban functions. Provincial-level administrations were located in Bacolorwhich also enjoyed commercial functions due toits strategic location at the contact betweenthe two geographical units of Pampanga—thewetlands of the Pampanga River delta andCandaba Swamp, and the so-called dry lands. Bacolor was alsofamous for its trade school, the first in East Asia, and for itscultural activities. These complete urban functions made Bacolorrank very high in the Philippine urban hierarchy, at least at thelevel of a regional urban center.

However, in 1892, the government decided to build a railwayto link the Lingayen Gulf to Manila. The choice of the routeseems to have passed through a debate. The principalia ofBacolor presumably faced tough objection from the nobility ofMexico (Masicu), who also wanted the railroad to pass throughtheir town. Allegedly, to settle the feud the governmentselected San Fernando instead, which lay in midpoint betweenthe two towns. As it turned out, the railway became a majoraxis of development in the Central Plain of Luzon and Bacolorwas cut off from it. Ten years later, the provincial capital ofPampanga was transferred from Bacolor to San Fernando. Thus,Bacolor lost its administrative functions and much of its economicpower, in favor of San Fernando. What remained were its culturalfunctions.

Bacolor eventually deteriorated into a mere satellite of thenew provincial capital. The two towns were indeed connected

History delivered the first blow, Nature the secondBy Jean-Christopher Gaillard, Ph.D.

TWO KNOCKOUTSConstruction of train bridge over Pampanga River in the 1890s Lahar devastation in the 1990s

(to page 28)

FREE

PR

ESS

Libr

ary

of C

ongr

ess

Despite a stunningreversal of fortune,Bacolor now hasa real chance ofrecoveringthe powerand the glory

2 52 52 52 52 5

True to the spirit of their ancestors, the first structuresthat Bacoloreños rebuilt were their churches and schools. Thisthey did through donations from teachers, private citizens,elected officials and foreign benefactors, as well as through aninformal tax on each truckload of sand quarried from the town(as many as 100 trucks per day). The Don Honorio VenturaCollege of Arts and Trades (formerly the Escuela de Artes yOficios de Bacolor), alternately closed and reopened throughoutthe lahar season; students, faculty and administrators cleareddebris each time. Since all shops and labs had been buried totheir rooftops, as well as all first-floor classrooms, make-up classes

By risking everything, the trade school inspired the townDEFYING PINATUBO

were held in resettlement areas and alternate campuses werereadied. At some point, enrollment dropped to 2,800 (downfrom 5,300), but the school remained open, although dismissingstudents early to allow them to go home before dark. By1998, enrollment had recovered at 4,079 students. By 2001,the school was the major employer in Bacolor, with 186 regularfaculty and 50 non-teaching personnel, not to mention theeconomic activity it created in the town proper and theinspiration it gave to residents of Bacolor.

Source: Can This Town Survive? A Case Study of a Buried PhilippineTown by Kathleen S. Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)

The much-photographedSan GuillermoChurch ofBacolor is thevisual symbol,measure anddiary of lahardevastation inP a m p a n g a .Lahar beganentering thechurch in 1994;by 1995, thec u m u l a t i v edeposition was6.6 meters.What used tobe the choir-loft windowabove theburied mainentrance is nowthe door. Huge

chandeliers are nearly touching the elevated ground. Thefamous retablo (main altar) had been unearthed and raised,and religious services have resumed as early as 1996 tocontribute a sense of normalcy to the community. The LaNaval was celebrated in November, 1995, barely weeks afterthe worst lahar episode. A large tent was erected in front ofthe church, and scattered Bacoloreños returned to participatein the ceremonies. At once heartbreaking, defiant and hopeful,it was one of the shining moments in the history of the town.

UNIFYING SYMBOL

Because of the tons of lahar dumped on the town, theraising of the national highway, and the dikes intended to sacrificeit, Bacolor is now at least 6 meters higher in elevation thaneither San Fernando on the east or Guagua on the west. Bysustaining the lahar flows, Bacolor has ironically solved its historicalproblem with flooding, which in turn has become severe in otherPampanga towns not directly affected by lahar. Since allgovernment buildings, residential houses, churches and schoolshave been either raised or fortified in anticipation of future flows,and residents and town leaders have shown independence fromthe national government in responding to disaster situations,the town is probably the safest place in the province today.

HIGH AND DRY

In the face of a diaspora, Bacoloreños have shown an awe-inspiring devotion to the land of their birth. Aside from houseson stilts, residents built new houses on top of dikes rather thango back to resettlement areas. “I would rather live and die inBacolor” is their determined reply when asked why they wouldrisk their lives again. They also express disappointment with

No placelike home

former neighbors’ lack of loyalty to their town. Many familieshave invested heavily in rebuilding their houses in the town;others who don’t have the resources to rebuild contentthemselves with returning every day to visit old friends and tryto capture a lifestyle that is probably lost forever. Those inresettlement areas try to recreate their former environment bynaming streets after their old streets, insisting on electing theirold town officials instead of the officials of the town where theresettlement area is located, and celebrating the fiesta of thetown that is miles away. Unfortunately, the residents’ attachmentto their land is not shared by the town’s economic sector, whichfled and relocated at the first sign of danger and stubbornlystays away.

Reference: Can This Town Survive? A Case Study of a Buried Philippine Townby Kathleen S. Crittenden (University of Illinois at Chicago)

No placelike home

Ironically, Bacolor, once condemnedas the catch basin for lahar,has become the safest townin the province

TO

DA

Y

2 62 62 62 62 6

AT the early period of colonization, it was noted thatthere 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 KapampanganRegion. By choosing Bakulud from among these settlementsas the regional capital, the Spaniards already acknowledgedthe town’s superiority at the time.

The early Kapampangans were probably Buddhist as aresult of cultural influences from India through the Sri-Vijayaand Majapahit Kingdoms dominating the Southeast Asianregion with which Kapampangans were trading. TheKapampangans that the Spaniards found were Muslimbecause by that time, Islam had already dominated the entireSoutheast Asian region from its point of origin in northernSumatra.

Bakulud was ideally situated because of its access to rivernetworks, specifically the Betis River (linked to the Guagua-Pasak River, which is the major tributary to IndungKapampangan, or the Pampanga River). Pre-colonialKapampangans (so named because of their communities alongthe riverbanks) probably used tough barangay-style boats,which carried 60 to 90 persons, in interacting with variousmerchant capitals overseas. The heavy trading activity inthe area is evidenced by artifacts unearthed in Lubao andPorac which are in the vicinity of Bacolor. From all indications,they were active seafaring people. Archaeological as well assatellite evidence shows the ancient delta reached the Betisarea, which makes pre-Hispanic Bakulud a coastal town, furtherreinforcing its role as an entrepot of trade and economicdevelopment in the region.

When the Spaniards came in 1571, they found a thrivingMuslim 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 populationof 2000 at the time of the conquest (Candaba, by the way,had 3500). Thus, the Spaniards added little to the alreadyprogressive Bakulud to make it the capital of the newprovince.

Pieces of artifacts like black-white decorated jars,discovered in Lubao, which is very near Bakulud, date backto 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 andanother 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 inPorac, Bakulud’s neighbor tothe west.

In short, the unearthedtradeware and the Muslim faithdiscovered by the earl iest

Spanish conquerors show thatBakulud and its neighbors in the

delta were firmly linked to theSoutheast Asian trade network

centuries before 1571.

In search ofprehistoric BacolorFacing extinction, a town goes backto its beginningsBy Joel P. Mallari

of Spanish era officials which supplemented the “official” historyof Angeles. However, Don Mariano’s unique contribution toKapampangan studies may have been the inspiration hesupplied to his nephew, Mariano A. Henson, who decadeslater composed histories of both Angeles and PampangaProvince. The younger Henson also utilized Parker’s works thathe found in the collections of H. Otley Beyer. Thus, there existsa direct linkage between the work of Mariano Vicente Hensonand Luther Parker and the histories of Mariano A. Henson thatrepresent a starting point for the modern era of Kapampanganstudies.5

Bacolor’s preeminence did not long outlast the first decadeof the twentieth century. The status of capital of Pampangaalready migrated from Bacolor to San Fernando in 1904.Through the latter community passed the railroad that carriedpassengers and commodities to Manila. In addition, in 1921San Fernando became a milling center of the revived sugarindustry that flourished for two decades following the 1909passage of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. Eventually, cinemaand other diversions cut into Bacolor’s local cultural productionand the town faded into regional obscurity. Around 1911, LutherParker transferred out of the province, and his project of thewriting of Kapampangan town histories ended. The idea wasreborn after World War II with the compiling of the HistoricalData Papers (HDP) by local teachers from every province. Theformat of the HDP resembles remarkably that of Parker’s originalhistories with their listing of officials and breakdown into barrios;however, I have never been able to learn enough about theorigins of the HDP to establish a connection between the twoprojects. Nevertheless, the similarity between the two indicatesthe worth of Parker’s original scheme.

In his thinking about Pampanga’s history and culture Parkerwas, no doubt, stirred by the vibrant cultural life of Bacolor.Besides knowing its outstanding authors, perhaps he alsoattended zarzuela performances at the Teatro Sabina, andother cultural happenings. Perhaps he was impressed thatBacolor had once served (from 1762 to 1764) as the Spanishcapital of the entire Philippines.1 At any rate, he proved himselfone of those rare American colonials who possessed anappreciation 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 accentuatethe positive about America’s representatives, Luther Parkerdeserves at least a simple acknowledgement for his role inforging Kapampangan studies. Bacolor made that rolepossible.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 ParkerCollectioniv 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 LutherParker, 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 MarianoVicente Henson, Angeles, to Luther Parker, Bacolor, April 8, 1910, Luther ParkerCollection; Mariano A. Henson, A Brief History of the Town of Angeles in theProvince 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

(Bacolor and the Origin... from page5 )

2 72 72 72 72 7

This was the last stand of Manila. Archbishop Manuel Rojo,the acting Spanish Governor-General, was forced to agree toBritish terms of surrender. There was resistance however, fromsome Spaniards and Filipinos who continued the fight in theprovinces, particularly in Pampanga.

On Oct. 6, the oidor Simon de Anda, after paddling his wayout of Manila on Oct. 4 and a brief respite in Bulacan, settled inthe Augustinian convent of Bacolor, then the capital of Pampanga.It was to be the ‘belligerent’ cabecera of the Philippine colonyfor more than a year.

Baculud (or how the inhabitants of Bacolor pronounced itsname) was already a bustling settlement when the Spaniardsfirst arrived in 1571. Local history has it that a certain Don GuillermoManabat reorganized it as the Pueblo de Bacolor in 1576.

The same friar-cronista, Juan de Medina, had also somethingto say about Bacolor in the 1600s, “which is the best village notonly of Pampanga, but of all the islands; for it has more than onethousand Indians under the bell.”

“It is about one and one-half days’ journey from Manila bysea and creeks, as in the case of the others. It has the bestmeadow-land in the islands, and it all produces rice abundantly.It is irrigated, as was remarked above of the others. It has acelebrated church with a crucifix, which is entirely built of stoneand brick. The house is made of stone also. The inhabitants arethe richest and best-clothed of all Pampanga, and have the mostprominent of the chiefs. When the supply of religious is good,there are always three in this village, and there have even beenat times four or five; for besides the stipend paid by his Majesty(who owns this encomienda), it has its own chaplaincies, foundedby the said inhabitants of Pampanga. It has also its own altarfund, which, although not very important as yet, will yieldsomething for the support of those in charge there.”

When Simon de Anda proclaimed himself the Captain-Generalof the Philippines on the 5th of October in a town of Bulacan, theKapampangans at first did not agree. They refused to admit anySpaniard for that matter, believing that these people were notfaithful to their defense of the colony and that the death ofmany Kapampangan soldiers was a result of Spanish neglect ratherthan the prowess of the Englishmen. Nevertheless, theAugustinian friars of the province managed to convince theirparishioners to support Anda and Spain.

Thus, on the 11th of October, five days after Anda settled inBacolor to continue his resistance, the Alcalde Mayor of Pampangacalled a meeting of the gobernadorcillos of the province andneighboring towns to pledge their unanimous support andrecognition of the former as the Captain-General of the Philippines.Later, as an Augustinian, Eduardo Navarro, wrote, the towns ofBacolor, San Fernando, Mexico, Candaba, Santa Ana, Arayat, Betis,Guagua, San Luis, Apalit, Macabebe, Sexmoan, Minalin, San Miguelde Mayumo, Santa Rita, Gapan, Porac, Santol, Bongabon, SanJose, Tayug, Tarlac, and Magalang swore their allegiance to CharlesIII, 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 continuedthe government in Bacolor, initially reorganizing the army of Spanishand Filipino soldiers and dispatched circulars around the colony tocontinue the resistance, ‘in the Name of God and the King’.

In his many reports to the King of Spain, Anda enumeratedin detail the workings of his Bacolor capital. For example, to spureconomic trading, he permitted free trade among the provinces

and exceptional defense of the Spanish crown. Juan de Medina, an Augustinan historian, wrote in 1630

about the noble Kapampangan military heritage which del Panwas still praising two centuries later:

“And yet it can be said of these Indians (and a strange thingit is), that although they are treated so harshly, it is not knownthat a single one has deserted to the Dutch in Maluco, wherethey suffer more than in their own country. Many of the otherIndians go and come. When these soldiers leave Pampanga, theypresent a fine appearance, for the villages come to their aid,each with a certain sum, for their uniforms. All this is due to theteaching of the religious of our father St. Augustine, whoseflock these Indians are, and the children of their teaching.”

When the Englishmen attacked the Philippines as a carry-over of the Seven Years’ War that had repercussions on thediplomatic 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, immediatelytaking over the strategic portions of the Spanish capital. Skirmishesaround the arrabales of Manila persisted for a week, but sinceDay One the superiority of the British arms was evident. Therewere, however, motions of support for the Castilian escudo,especially from the Kapampangans.

On October 4 (or 3 in other accounts), at about two in themorning, some 3,000 Kapampangans and 200 Spaniards attackedBritish detachments in Manila; an assault characterized by bloodysurges and stiff hand-to-hand combat. It was in this encounterthat José Manalastás, a Kapampangan soldier, distinguishedhimself for his boldness. He personally entered the tent of theBritish commander, General William Draper, then dragged himout with a dagger poised to pierce his heart. The timely arrival ofreinforcements nullified the brave Filipino’s aim; wounded by Britishrifles, he had to flee. The lull after the battle would reveal thatthere were 200 killed and about 300 wounded, a great numberof whom were Manalastás’ kinsmen, the Kapampangans.

A.P. Thorton, a British who was probably present duringthe assault, made this account:

On October 4th, when the winds had dropped, (Draper) wasattacked by a thousand Malays (Pampangos), whose ferocityand courage amazed the English, used in India to seeing nativelevies better armed and led flee at the sight of them. But thesestrange Indians repeated their assaults and died like wild beasts,gnawing the bayonets. The pressure of attack on the gun-positions continued, and at the same time the walls of the citywere beginning to wilt before the bombardment. Draper decidedto take by storm.

In the early 70s, motorists passing through Bacolor neverfailed to notice a hobo standing motionless on the roadsidenear the Don Bosco Academy. Rich students in the exclusiveboys’ school threw sandwiches at him; children taunted him.Old folks said he lost his mind afterwife died in an accident on her way back home; since then hehad stood on that spot day and night, rain or shine, as ifwaiting for his wife who would never return.

After the lahar episodes in the 1990s, nothing more washeard of him.

Rugged man in ragged clothes

(Bacolor as the center.. from page 8)

“Bacolor is the best village notonly of Pampanga, but of all theislands.”

- Juan de Medina,17th century Spanish chronicler

Tagalogs, Ilocanos andPangasinenses fleeing revoltswere given a safe haven inPampanga during Gen. Anda’sstay in Bacolor

(next page)

2 82 82 82 82 8

and that all lands of Pampanga be planted with rice and sugarcane; however, as a rebuttal against the British and their Spanishcollaborators, he forbade the sending of any provision to Manila.He also encouraged the circulation of the barrilla (coins) in thewhole province, which he later suspended with the proliferationof 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 fromthe tribute and from polo y servicios.”

Curfews were observed in Bacolor; Anda ordered that in thecapital and the surrounding villages that “the bell be rung at nineo’clock at night for all people to retire, and not to be seen onthe streets, in order to avoid disorders.” Games of dice,cockfighting and cards were prohibited; nipa wine in the capitalwas to be sold only on retail, to avoid drunkenness. He forbade“illuminations at night, on the eve and day of the anniversary ofbirth and the saint’s day of the king and the prince of Asturias.”

Passports were strictly enforced, especially among Spaniardswho might bring provisions to their compatriots in Manila and theChinese who were supporting the British. Similar to thearrangement in Intramuros, Anda established “gates” to theBacolor capital in the pueblos of Lubao, Guagua, Sexmoan, andMacabebe. There was a mention of a carved plate “of some hardPhilippine wood, on which are three separate inscriptions, alsocarved in the wood”. Anda set up this plate on the gate ofSasmuan. When the walls were destroyed afterwards, it wassaid, the plate was preserved in a Manila government office in1858 and later sent to a museum in Madrid as a memorial of theexcellent signal services of Anda in his Bacolor capital.

J. del Pan’s comment of “mientras ardia Manila en ridiculas yesteriles discordias (Manila burning with ridicules and steriledisaccords)” could have been the altercations between ArchbishopRojo, who acceded to the British in the capital of Manila, andAnda, who continued the struggle in Bacolor.

Charged with defiance and insubordination, Anda wrote manyretaliatory letters and counter-charges to Rojo from his Bacolorcapital. Cutting provisions to Manila and other safeguards tomaintain his capital, he also instructed both friars and secularpriests in Pampanga to defy their archbishop who had instructedthem to go back to Manila.

It was during the stay of Anda in Bacolor that some Filipinostook 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 Juande la Cruz Palaris in Pangasinan.

To maintain the integrity of the Spanish crown, Anda utilizedmostly his loyal Kapampangan troops and other Filipinos insuppressing these revolts.

It should be noted that the melting-pot arrangement ofwhat was once the Kapampangan region took place duringBacolor’s term as the capital. For example, there was an edictfrom Anda that “land in the village of San Ysidro be given to theTagalogs who had fled from Manila.” Upper Pampanga, specificallythe towns of Tarlac and Capas, was opened for the Ilocanos andPangasinenses who had fled their provinces due to the Palarisrevolt.

In the midst of the fight between Anda and the British, theSeven Years’ War came to a close on February 10, 1764, withEngland restoring the Philippines to Spain. On the 14th of March,1764, the new Spanish Governor-General, Francisco de la Torrearrived in Bataan. Anda invited him for a visit; de la Torre arrivedin Pampanga on the 15th. The next day, the 16th, he took overthe post from Anda in the capital of Bacolor. Two weeks later, onthe 31st of March, the Spanish troops with their loyal Kapampanganand other Filipino soldiers marched back to Manila.

In recognition of the unquestionable loyalty of Bacolor andthe 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, Pampangain 1762-64, viewing the episode only as a fight between theSpaniards and the British. However, it should be seen as one ofthe first signals of Filipinism: by initially resisting even the Spaniardswho collaborated with the invading British, Kapampangans provedtheir loyalty to the concept of nation and not to their colonialmasters; and by opening their region to other ethno-linguisticgroups affected by revolts and disorders, Kapampangans showedkinship with other tribes. Kapampangans probably alreadythought of themselves as ‘Filipinos’ even in that early period ofour history.

Kapampangans proved theirloyalty to the concept of nationand showed their kinship withother ethno-linguistic tribes

in her bouquet. Her court included RosarioFerro (Miss Luzon), Belen de Guzman (MissVisayas) and Marina Lopez (Miss Mindanao).Later in life, she married Jose Avelino Jr.,who would soon be a Senate President, withwhom she bore 7 children. She settled inParanaque and operated a beauty parlor inMakati with her daughter.

(Belles... from page 15)

Right:Guia Balmori, daughter of labor leaderJoaquin Balmori, escorted by Ernesto “Gatas”Santos, son of Teodoro Santos of SanFernando and Mabalacat; she is the secondKapampangan to win a national beautycontest, after Socorro Henson.

Far right:Rosario Manuel represented the province in1927 (Photo courtesy of Museo ning Angeles,thru kindness of Marc Nepomuceno)

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postures and stern stares, not to mention the trappings ofwealth: bastons, folded handkerchiefs, exquisite gold jewelryand handkerchiefs.

The significance of Simon Flores’s art lies in the fact that itrepresented the best from a Filipino artist at a critical timewhen the concept of a Philippine nationhood was still evolving

(Reminiscences... from page 9)i n t e r -

c o n n e c t i o n sbetween thesethree famil ies.Among the childrenof Jose Leonardode Leon and hiswife CasimiraCustodia, wereDoña LuisaGonzaga de Leon,who is wellremembered for herK a p a m p a n g a ntranslation of theEjercicio Cotidiano,and Don JoseAniceto de Leon.Jose Aniceto would pass on thesurname de Leon to hisdescendants. While Luisamarried Don Francisco Paulade los Santos, and their

o f f s p r i n g(Celestino andJose) wouldbegin the Leony Santos clan,w i t hp r o m i n e n tdescendantsas far as SanF e r n a n d o ,Porac andAngeles. Jose Leon yS a n t o sm a r r i e dA r c a d i aJoven ySuares, a

daughter of Joven patriarch,Don Juan Joven and DoñaGeronima Suares, the landdonor of the Escuela de Artesy Oficios, the oldest trade

school in Asia, now known asthe DonH o n o r i oVentura Collegeof Arts andTrades. UponArcadia’s death,Jose would latermarry heryounger siblingR a m o n aJoven ySuares. Two oftheir daughters,Juana andJosefa LeonS a n t o s ,m a r r i e dD o m i n g oP a n l i l i o ,creating theSantos-Joven-Panlilio Clan.

Don Jose Aniceto de Leonmarried Doña Aleja Buyson,with whom he had five

children. Among them wasLeonor de Leon de Keyser,

whose daughterDolores Keyser,would marry JoseJoven yGutierrez, agrandson of DonJuan Joven.Another child,Damaso deLeon, had a sonJose Leoncio deLeon y Hizon,who would alsomarry into theJoven clan with histwo marriages tosiblings Regina andNatividad Joven yGutierrez. These

ties that bind are endless. Buttwo patterns definitely emerge:the numerous intermarriages,

(Homegrown... from page 12)

in the minds of ideological journalists, literary writers and peasantrevolutionaries. Like them, Simon helped foster the growingconsciousness for a national identity though his images thatrepresented the true Filipino sensibility. Unlike artists of meanslike Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo and Juan Luna who could affordto exhibit in the great galleries of Rome, Paris and Madrid, Simon’shomegrown purist style was just as expressive, virtuous anddazzling, successfully surmounting the challenges and thelimitations of historical circumstance of the world he lived in.

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 hallof San Fernando. Painting was lost in a fire when Antonio Lunarazed 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 familyfrom Culiat. C. 1880. (Leandro Locsin Collection)

5. Cirilo and Severina Quiazon and Children, c.1880. A much-reproduced work of Flores featuring once again this prominentCuliat couple. (Central bank Collection)

6. Primeras Letras (Learning to Read), c.1890, (Jorge VargasCollection)

7. Feeding the Chicken, c. 1890. The subjects of PrimerasLetras and this painting appear to be the same. (Jorge VargasCollection)

8. Portrait of Msgr. Ignacio Tambungui, c. 1890. Oil on ivory.9. Despues de la Ultima Cena, (After the Last Supper) ,189110. El Prendimiento, (The Arraignment of Christ), 189111. The Expulsion, 189512. 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 Clothes14. A Lady in Sunday Clothes15. 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).

Simon Flores’ ceiling paintings in churches in Betis (above),Guagua, Sta. Rita, Mexico and Bacolor have been either destroyedor painted over beyond recognition

Don Jose Leon y Santos Doña Ramona Suares Joven

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The wealthy Joven family financedthe Compania Sabina, whose membersincluded prominent residents of Bacolordrawn together by a common love fortheatre. Juan Crisostomo Soto wasthe company’s resident playwright anddirector. The Jovens alsosupported theOrchestra Palma, whose member PabloPalma composed the music of Soto’sfamous zarzuela, Alang Dios! Many of thesongs from this musical have becomepopular folk songs.

When the revolution against Spainbroke out—Bacolor, despite its being acolonial bastion, and despite thewidespread notion that Kapampanganssided with the Spaniards—produced thebravest freedom-fighters. Even poetsand artists took up arms against theircolonial masters. Crisostomo Soto, Felix

sky melted into the dark grey sea of laharthat raged below them. Only rooftopsand the tips of trees and electric postswere all that remained of Cabalantian.Louie wondered if the rest of the worldknew what was happening to them andif they were already doing somethingabout it.

Lahar flowed intermittently, at noon,in the evening and again at dawn thefollowing day, Monday. The 200 survivorssat helplessly around the edge of thechurch roof for more than 24 hours. “Wewere wet all throughout,” Louie narrates.“We urinated and defecated in full viewof everybody. Nothing was importantanymore since we expected the lahar toovertake the roof and kill us all.”

Helicopters came, hovered around,and left. Louie could not understand why

and the Joven tradition of marrying theyounger sibling upon the death of theolder, which in the examples above,appeared thrice. This is indeed a mostroyal pattern not at all new. The RoyalHouses of Europe had for the longesttime, used this same pattern of

intermarriage, as a form of consolidationas well as strengthening of wealth andpower.

Towards the end of the 19th century,it was said that almost every bahay na batoin Bacolor was either a Joven or a de Leonhouse, as every prominent resident, one

way or another, was connected to thisprincipalia pedigree. Together with otherilustrado families such as the Liongsons,Valdeses, Venturas and Palmas, theseclans dominated the social patterns of thiselegant Pampanga town, representing aswhat John Larkin terms as “the pinnacleof native society.”

(Jewel ... from page 7) Galura, Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron andmany others joined fellow Kapampanganwriters (like Aurelio Tolentino from theneighboring Guagua town) in the fightagainst Spain and later against the UnitedStates. Only a few kilometers separateMacabebe and Bacolor on the map, butthese two Pampanga towns representedthe farthest opposite ends of the politicalspectrum of the time. While theMacabebes cast their fortune with thecolonizers, Bacoloreños severed all ties withtheir former masters. Jose Rizal plantedthe seeds when he visited his wealthyfriends Don Balbino Ventura and DonFrancisco Joven in Bacolor in 1871. Thefirst cry of the Revolution in Pampangaoccurred on June 4, 1898 in Bacolor. Thefollowing year, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldoentered Bacolor in triumph.

the small town. In 1900, the last CapitanMunicipal, Don Ceferino Joven, steppeddown as the Americans occupied thearchipelago. The next year, the newcolonizers inaugurated in Bacolor thecountry’s first civil government, withCeferino Joven as the provincial governor. In 1903, the Philippine Commissiontransferred the provincial capital to thenext town, San Fernando, where the all-important Dagupan-Manila railroad passed.

But the jewel did not lose its lustereven when history moved the spotlightaway from it. Throughout the 20th

century, Bacolor continued to producehundreds of great men and women, waybeyond what might be expected from asmall town.

References: Kapampangan Literature: AHistorical Survey and Anthology by EdnaZapanta-Manlapaz (Ateneo de Manila UniversityPress); Our Islands and their People by Jose deOlivares; “The Story of Bacolor in a Nutshell” by Dr.Rogelio M. Samia.

(This was worse... from page 22)no help arrived for 24 hours when dry landwas just a couple of kilometers away.“When night came I felt desperate,” hesays. “The children were crying and theadults were in shock. All that Fr. Musnicould do was tell us to pray.

By daybreak Monday, the rain had notstopped and fresh lahar floweddangerously close to the roof. At 9 A.M.,during a lull, Fr. Musni decided to evacuatethe rooftop. “He felt that if we didn’t,the next lahar flow would drown us,” Louiesays.

So one by one they climbed down andgingerly stepped on hardening ground,avoiding soft spots that could turn intoquicksand. Someone had the bright ideaof using the electricity lines as hangingbridge, and everybody followed him. Mencarried old folks and children on their backs;

sometimes they fel l into the mud,screaming and flailing their arms like terrifiedtrapped animals, and had to be rescued.It was hard to imagine that these werethe same proud descendants of theJovens, Galuras, Maligs and Palmas ofBacolor.

Fr. Musni was the last to reach safeground. Days later, they dug out his vehiclealong with other cars where escapingfamilies had been trapped and suffocatedinside. To this day, the images that stillhaunt Louie are those of people beingcarried away by lahar. “We saw them ontheir roofs embracing each other as laharengulfed them,” he recalls. “They floatedfor a while and then they were gone.They were not shouting or crying. Theyjust looked so shocked.”

Interview conducted by Gina Diaz and SheilaLaxamana on July 17, 2003.

Bacolor will probably never get back the same administrativeand commercial glory it once enjoyed, but like the proverbialphoenix it is rising from the ashes of Mt. Pinatubo. The laharthreat has progressively decreased. The accumulation of volcanicsediments has elevated the town and rendered it safe fromflooding. The returnees from evacuation sites are beginning toboost the town’s population and tax revenues. Newinfrastructure, rehabilitated roads and bridges are also boostingthe morale of the residents. The construction of the municipalhall, frequently relocated in the past, symbolizes the return ofthe municipal seat of power to the town’s historical center. Allthese represent the governmental green light to the fullrehabilitation of Bacolor.

Today, the asset of Bacolor in terms of urban developmentresides in its location along the Manila-San Fernando-SubicBay Freeport pathway. This corridor is a major avenue for

(Two Knockouts... from page 24)population, goods and information flux of national importance.Commercial activities as well as passage-tourism for Subic-boundtourists are areas to look into. Bacolor can also take advantageof the economic dynamism that animates the City of SanFernando, especially because it can offer flood-safe and vacantgrounds for investors. (Ironically, it is the historical center of SanFernando that now takes a beating from floods.) Finally, Bacolor’scultural heritage will always be its main element of identificationand differentiation; it should certainly be taken into account infuture development plans.

Please visit our redesigned website:

www.hau.edu.ph/kcenter

But the tide of history quickly swamped

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WHEN the Kapampangans started referringto Baculud (Bacolor) as the “Atenas ningPampanga” or the cultural center of theprovince, they were unanimous in celebratingthe literary company that was fostered andnurtured by this town.

From Baculud’s Fajardo in the 18th centuryand on to the mid-19th to 20th century literatidotted the map of literary history in the region

and gave the Kapampangansthe arts and letters thathave remaineddistinguished since theearliest times of creativewrit ing, publication,printing and performancein the region. The “Athensof Pampanga” found its

flowering in thecontributions of

Bacolor’s sons anddaughters, works

and writ ingsthat are

rooted inK a p a m -p a n g a n

In her great and immortal childrenBacolor transcends disasters and humansuffering, and is now timeless as myth,poetry and song

From Athensto Pompeii… and on to Acadia

sense and sensibility yet borderless in theirexploration of human experience significant andtrue. When we speak of the glory of Baculud,we speak synonymously of the artistic creationsof her people. In a world where gildedmonuments and illuminated memorials arefleeting and transitory, the emotions, hopes,ideals, dreams and values of a people findethereal repository in the poetry, prose anddramatic/ musical articulations as well as the longtradition of patronage and support for the artsas exquisitely defined for the Kapampangans byBaculud and her literati.

For these poets and writers, musicians,printer-publishers and patrons and the audienceof Kapampangan literary arts, their town,‘Baculud,’ is a home and an ideal, their residenceas well as their pastoral and idyllic realm. ‘Baculud’for the artists was not only their town, the sourceof their rootedness; it was more importantly,and still is for many Bacolorenos, the acadia oftheir poetry and song. It is the inspiration, thebucolic and the pristine bit of heaven that theygo home to again and again, literally or

imaginatively, despite what calamities andnatural disasters can and may fashion.It may have been that Baculud was inthe past ‘Atenas’ or Athens, the cultural

center for a people. In the interim she hassuffered much from the clutches of man-madeand natural calamities like world wars, economicdislocation and volcanic eruptions and laharinundation. The last years of the 20th centuryplunged the town and the people into the gloomand death path reminiscent of a ‘Pompeii’.

Yet above it all, Baculud and her artists havemoved on to the fabled locale as the native-

born’s ‘Acadia,’ the serene and quiet dreamlandof one’s hopes and aspirations. In the countryof her literary and artistic triumphs, Baculudremains one of the enduring, the main sourcesand well-spring of beauty and truth for theKapampangan. Her poetry, prose and dramacontinue to delight and inspire those whorediscover them in the age of cyberspace. Herwriters, artists, printers and publishers havebecome models and mentors to otherKapampangans and to long generations ofliterary artisans and craftsmen. Here Baculudprevails, is untouched by the pains andsufferings of the world, of disasters and famine.Here she is timeless as myth, poetry and song,the stories and worlds imagined or factual thatpermeated her once elegant turn-of-the-centuryhomes and country streets, her glittering theaterand private artistic salons, her silvery orchestraland choral compositions from zarzuelas, duringreligious processions and misa cantadas, herbusy printing presses merrily putting out the localreading and pietistic fare of the Kapampangansfor well over a century.

Baculud, as locals continue to refer to thetown, evoke the image of the cradle of regionalcivilization, a cultivation that is one’s own, ajourney from ‘Atenas to Pompeii,’ yes, and on to‘Acadia’ that makes the tribulation and thetriumph equally poignant for a people who knowthat Baculud is, and always will be, the townenshrined in our hearts.

(Sources: L.P.R. Santiago, Laying theFoundations (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))

Rosario Baluyutand other immortalBacoloreños

by Erlita P. Mendoza

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