Discovering women’s libber, freedom fighters and the city's olden days heritage
Growing up in a time when a P10 bill was enough to buy me a bowl of arroz caldo and a bottle of soda, I always found myself being reminded of the historic significance of Malolos’s Barasoain Church, whose image was printed on one side of the currency. Coined from the term baras ng suwail, meaning “dungeon of the defiant,” the walls and four corners of this church was then the rendezvous point of the anti-colonial Illustrados.
Conversely, as history is
told in a myriad of ways, it is also forgotten in innumerable ways. Eventually,
the story of Malolos took a backseat, among other places of historic importance
in the country.
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| Barasoain Church |
In dire need of a history knowledge fix, it is as if the gods conspired and led me to Malolos, Bulacan, as part of the recently concluded seventh edition of Lakbay Norte—an annual media familiarization tour of Northern Luzon organized by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau (NPVB).
A morning stride through
the streets of Malolos’s historic district had us following the footprints of
the earliest women’s liberation movement in Asia, and the rest of the Filipino
patriots who took sanctuary in the city. It was here, in Malolos, where brave
young Filipino men and women spearheaded the establishment of the First
Philippine Republic on January 23, 1899.
Interim Capital of the Philippines
Following General Emilio
Aguinaldo’s declaration of Philippine Independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite,
on June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo moved the capital to Malolos City, the seat of
power from September 1898 until the conclusion of the First Philippine
Republic, when Aguinaldo was captured by the Americans on March 23, 1901, in
Palanan, Isabela.
Tracing the historic trail
of the first Philippine Republic, we went to the Malolos Cathedral, which
served as The Palacio Presidencia. or the Office of the President from
September 1898 until March 1899. The adjacent Barasoain Church then functioned
as the legislative building, and is where the Malolos Constitution was ratified
on January 21, 1899.
If U2 sang about the
streets that have no names, here, the streets bore the footpaths of heroes. At
one time while trudging around the historic district of Malolos, our guide
pointed to us, “That is the Maria Reyes House. It was Apolinario Mabini’s
office when he served as Aguinaldo’s chief adviser.” A few steps later, he
showed us the Arcadia Ejercito House. “It used to be the office of the
Department of War, and there’s the Erastro Cervantes’s House, which served as
the office of the Department of Interior,” he shared.
While engrossed in the
stories as told by our guide and in awe of the sights of old houses, I felt
goose bumps knowing that this was where our nation’s freedom fighters fought
and ran the First Philippine Republic.
Heritage-painted Kamestisuhan District
Calle Pariancillio, a
stone’s throw distance from the Neoclassical Malolos City Hall Building, was
where we started our morning stride. After a few steps, I immediately noticed
the postwar Art Deco Eden Cinema, which, despite of its derelict appearance, still
evokes a charming look.
Situated a few meters from
Eden Cinema, stands the Adriano House. Currently functioning as a Meralco
office, it’s well-preserved exterior and interior still retains the pleasant
vibe it had during the olden days when it served as the Gobierno Militar de la
Plaza during the Philippine revolution years.
For art connoisseurs, the
Art Deco Dr. Luis Santos Mansion should provide visual orgasm, thanks to the
works of two Philippine National Artists housed inside the property: the garden
fountain sculpture by Guillermo Tolentino and a ceiling mural painted by
Fernando Amorsolo.
In the 19th century the
community of rich Chinese mestizos resided in Calle Pariancillo and the snaking
streets around it, better known as the Kamestisuhan District.
Perfectly conveying the
opulent taste of the rich Chinese at that time were a handful of old houses
exhibiting mostly French Nouveau and Neoclassical architecture. One such
mansion is where one of the patriarchs of the Cojuangco clan, Jose Chichioco
Cojuangco, was born.
The National Historical
Institute has listed down more than 20 establishments comprising at least 15
ancestral houses, plus a few other centuries-old landmarks like the
aforementioned Barasoain Church and the Malolos Cathedral—as among the heritage
edifices forming the heart of the Kamestisuhan District.
Heavily concentrated
around Pariancillo Street, the district was declared a National Historical
Landmark and a Heritage Town by the National Historical Institute in 2001. The
number of heritage structures in this district rivals those in Vigan and TaalTown in Batangas.
Turning into a corner, we
were led by our tour guide inside the Alberta Uitangcoy-Santos House, which
sits adjacent to the original site of Instituto de Mujeres.
‘To the Young Women of Malolos’
In the years preceding the
Philippine revolution, whispers about a burgeoning women’s rights movement from
Malolos started snowballing and eventually reached the far corners of the
world—earning the respect of a group of young Filipinos in Europe.
Among those who admired
the exploits of these ladies was Marcelo H. del Pilar. Upon his urging, the
great Dr. Jose Rizal, who was then in Europe, penned a letter in Tagalog
entitled ”To the Young Women of Malolos.”
In his message, Rizal
voiced his support for women by stipulating a number of relevant ideas, such as
for Filipino women to have the same rights as men in protecting their honor and
dignity, Filipino mothers to get the same respect as Spanish mothers, to
achieve an honored and noble name as their male counterparts, among others that
buoyed the spirits of the Malolos women to intensify up their fight for
equality during the Spanish rule.
Ignited by the message of
Rizal, the 21 Filipinas went against the will of the Spanish friars and
courageously handed a petition letter to Governor General Valeriano Weyler.
Cornering him during a lavish party, the Filipinas demanded for an educational
institution for women. This event set in motion one of the earliest acts of the
women’s rights movement that paved the way for the establishment of the
Instituto de Mujeres.
The Alberta
Uitangcoy-Santos House now serves as a museum dedicated to these women of
Malolos. An awe-inspiring painting depicting that historic encounter with
Weyler is proudly displayed inside the said house, along with some photographs
of these courageous women.
Unsealing the Past
As we walked back, we
passed by the Old Carcel or the Casa Tribunal de Malolos building. First
constructed in the 17th century as the original home of the Adriano family, it
was turned into a prison in 1898. Looking up, I noticed the half-moon balconies
that were sealed from the inside by a thick wall. This image came with a new
perspective on the significance of the Kamestisuhan District. As it is easy to
pour cement to seal a window, a door or any other opening, unsealing the past
can be effortlessly accomplished, as well.
A day of wandering around
the Malolos Historic District taught me more than I ever learned from my
history classes. Merely associating Malolos City to the Barasoain Church
printed on the P10 bill of my youth will never suffice anymore. Because right
here was where a women’s libber movement was founded and whose streets bore the
footprints of freedom fighters who risked their lives for our independence, and
these will never be more real to me than that.
All photos courtesy of Martin San Diego / North Philippines Visitors Bureau.
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This
is a first of a series of articles about Lakbay Norte 7, a media tour held from
January 30 to February 5, 2018, and organized by the North Philippines Visitors
Bureau (NPVB), a non-stock, non-profit organization spearheaded by the Manila
North Tollways Corporation, builder and concessionaire of the North Luzon
Expressway.
This
article first appeared on the Tourism pages of BusinessMirror on April 15,
2018.
