A seven-hour drive from the present

There is something about Vigan that pulls me away from my children

and deadlines at least once a year. I endure the seven-to eight- hour

drive (or ride, if you have top drivers like Anjo Perez and Manny de los

Reyes with you), just to be in that 400-year-old settlement for less than

a day.

Like a pilgrimage, I take that long drive to this part of northern Luzon where a

half-kilometer stretch of well-preserved Spanish houses of brick, hardwood and

stone are clustered along a cobblestone street. It is in this stretch of the Old

World which a street sign identifies as Crisologo Street, where I feel the same

quiet excitement when I am viewing a sunset.

I am in Vigan every year just to view this well-preserved part of our colonial

history. Always, the sight of the ancestral homes gives me an unexplained

high which eases the backache from the long drive.

Even if you are not a history buff, I am sure you will feel a sense of history and

awe when you view those structures built one stone at a time using primitive

equipment. Most of the houses have not lost their function and today is still

home to seventh and eighth generation relatives of the original owners.

According to Marjo Villanueva Gasser, president of the Save Vigan Ancestral

Homes Association, Inc. only about 40 owners are not living in the 189

ancestral homes. Marjo, of the seventh generation family, now lives on the

ground floor of the family's 200-year-old house which she has tastefully

renovated to function as her 21st-century home.

Like other ancestral homes there, a brass knocker hanging on the thick

wooden door announces the guests. Marjo's door opens to a wide walkway

which passes a lush indoor garden, and leads to a living room furnished with

what else, antique furniture. Thick arches of brick and stone attest to the

strong foundations of this house which during that time was built like a fortress

to withstand unfriendly forces.

The second floor has been preserved the way it used to be: an azotea

furnished with a long dining table and several chairs; a bedroom with canopied

beds and carved dressers; a piano; and of course, a truly wide and high

staircase that must have given the occupants a natural stairclimber workout.

Crisologo Street, with its ancestral houses, is also referred to in the brochures

as the Kamestizoan district, implying a mixed heritage. Thus, the houses

carry the varying influences of the Spanish, Mexican and Chinese architectural

styles - ancient tile roof, carved roof eaves, massive hardwood floorings,

balustrades and azoteas.

History

Vigan was one of the fairly advanced cluster of

settlements in the Ilocos region which was

familiar to Chinese, Japanese and Malay

traders when the Spanish explorer Don Juan

de Salcedo and members of his expedition

arrived on June 13, 1572. Salcedo then

proceeded to Laoag and rounded the

northeastern tip of Luzon on his way back to

Bicol and Manila. Two years later, the Ilocos

region was finally awarded to Don Juan de

Salcedo as his "encomienda" of fiefdom for

services rendered to the Spanish throne. He

returned back to Vigan and established there a

Spanish settlement called "Villa Fernandina"

and decreed the construction of a church, a

convent and fortifications.

Empanada and the setting sun at Plaza Burgos.

If you left Manila early in the morning, you will walk into Vigan in the late

afternoon, just on time for the first batch of "empanadas." A row of food stalls

along Burgos Plaza that sells "mountains" of this Vigan version of a vegetable

sandwich.

That will also give you enough time to walk around and enjoy the facades of

the old houses, but not the shopping because shops close at five. The real

bonus, will be the chance to enjoy the lingering mood of its sunset. The

picture, though, won't be a glorious ball of orange slipping off the horizon, but

of daylight softly dimming, ending the day in this old town.

Perhaps because Vigan has been there for so long and has been written about

countless times, it now goes well with the clichi - a page from our history.

Trite as it may sound, I felt like I was stepping into the past when I first saw

the Spanish houses. For first timers, it is best that you enter from the Burgos

Plaza, coming from the Archbishop's Palace and the St. Paul's Cathedral,

passing the food stalls selling empanada.

From that point, Crisologo Street, or also known as the Vigan Heritage

Village, can be viewed full length, the tiled roofs and wooden facades of

ancestral Spanish houses creating a Spanish era picture along the slightly

curving lane.

Then you would have passed two landmarks:

The Archbishop's Palace which features sliding capiz windows, was finished in

1793 after seven years of construction work. visits can be arranged from

Mondays to Fridays to view the collection of priceless ecclesiastical artifacts

and relics from other Ilocano churches.

The St. Paul's Cathedral was built by the Augustinians in the distinctive

Ilocano baroque architecture.

Spend a few minutes in prayer in that old cathedral; light some candles in

front of the life-size religious figures; or say the prayer formula for wishes they

say shall be granted to first time church visitors. (From my childhood

memories, that prayer formula is: seven Our Father's, Hail Mary's and Glory

Be's.)

A time for good conversation

Although some brochures say Vigan also comes alive after dark, I have not

seen it that way. After the sun sets, Vigan for me is a time to enjoy good

conversation with family and friends (that's why it is most important to choose

who you will be with in this trip).

But if you choose the comfort for your airconditioned hotel rooms to escape

Vigan's humid weather, you will lose the chance to have good conversations to

televisions (yes, they have cable TV) or to sleep.

I suggest you take a walk; the town is built for walking anyway. Stroll down

Crisologo Street; the ancient houses cast shadows that are part haunting, part

exciting. And of course it looks different without the tourists and the repro

antique furniture which are displayed outside the sidewalk during the day.

If you do not mind mosquitoes and a wooden bench, sit along the plaza to

take in some local color. You will most likely be enticed to ask about a variety

of scooters. This form of transportation has become quite popular in this part

of Luzon and you will see a lot of them as you enter Ilocos Sur. The scooters

are offered starting from P7,000 to about P30,000, depending on type of

engine, displacement, and LTO registration. When we were last there, they

even offered free delivery in Metro Manila.

Shopping and COD in Manila.

You can also get that kind of free delivery offer from the antique and furniture

shops there. The shops sell authentic antique pieces and also reproductions.

Several furniture shops specialize in making repro furniture and you will not

miss them being displayed along Crisologo Street. The antique pieces, so my

friend evaluated, are priced very reasonably and there are many hard-to-find

pieces which can be found among the hundreds of things piled in a shop. You

just need time and eye for antiques.

What will surely attract any shopper is the small-town trust that sellers are

ready to offer the buyers. For a small downpayment, the merchandise will be

delivered COD to your door in Metro Manila.

Vigan is also known for the famous Ilocano jars called "burnay" used for

storing vinegar, the local wine "basi" and "bagoong." Tourists buy them as

decorative pieces because the jars look old. That's because the factories still

use the pre-historic methods. These "pagburnayan" are at the southwestern

end of Liberation Avenue. Museums and memorabilia. For a sense of history, there are two popular museums: the Ayala Museum &

Library and the Crisologo Museum.