Ancient history unfolds in Vigan

VIGAN CITY – All it takes is a one hour ride through the Heritage Park and the city proper to experience historic Vigan – a place known for its old Spanish architecture, langgonisa Iloco, bagnet, inabel, burnay and other unique attractions.

A glimpse of historic past is retold: That Vigan was largely a coastal trading post in pre-colonial era; that seafaring merchants came to Isla de Bigan to barter goods from Asian and Mid-East kingdoms with gold, beeswax and other mountain produce brought down from the Cordilleras; and that migrants, mostly from China, settled in Bigan, intermarried with natives and started a multicultural bloodline of Biguenos.

Historical and contemporary accounts likewise mentioned that among the illustrious Biguenos "who influenced the course of national destiny’’ include Fr. Jose Burgos, Isabelo delos Reyes, Elpidio Quirino, Leona Florentino, and Don Vicente Encarnacion.

Going to Vigan from Manila takes about seven hours by bus and passengers like us were treated to different kinds of vistas along the Ilocos Highway and through towns lined with old churches and municipal halls.

TOURIST MECCA

One of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, Vigan makes for a major tourist mecca for foreign and local visitors. Our short visit confirmed this fact as we witnessed hordes of Taiwanese men, women and children walking along the cobbled stone streets to shop for souvenir items and native delicacies, or just enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.

Interestingly, the ‘’calesador’’ doubles up as tourist promoter, being very knowledgeable about Vigan’s history and interesting places. For a one-hour horse-drawn ride, a visitor is charged R200, a very nominal amount in exchange for the delightful experience.

The must-see places are:

• Calle Crisologo in the heart of the Mestizo District which is lined on both sides by centuries-old Vigan houses whose ground floors have been turned into shops selling souvenir items and Vigan furnitures at reasonable prices.

• The St. Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral built by the Augustinians in 1790-1800 with distinctive Earthquake Baroque architecture. It has three naves, 12 altars and a choir loft. The octagonal belfry is on the southside of the cathedral.

• Arzobispo (1783) is the only surviving 18th century arzobispo in the country, its palace serving as headquarters of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898 and the invading American forces under Col. James Parker in 1899. Its Museo Segovia showcases antique portraits of bishops, a throne room, archdiocesan archives and other ecclesiastical articrafts.

• Plaza Salcedo is an elevated elliptical plaza west of the 17th century Juan Salcedo Monument, the oldest of its kind in Northern Luzon where Gabriela Silang was executed by public hanging in 1763.

• Burgos National Museum is the ancestral house of Padre Jose Burgos showcasing archeological and ethnographic treasures, antiques, dioramas of local historical events and photographs of Ilocano heroes and achievers. A priceless collection of 14 Esteban Villanueva canvasses depicting the 1807 Basi Revolt are on display at the museum’s upper floor.

Other Vigan attractions include the Mindoro Beach Resort, Syquia Mansion, Mira Mills Eco-Park, Pagburnayan Jar Factory, Crisologo Museum, Terracotta Red Clay Industry, Abel-Iloco Weavers and Native delicacy makers.

[ Plaza Salcedo Wiki ]