VIGAN, Ilocos Sur (PNA) — If there is any town in the Philippines that can claim to the title “The Live-in Museum,” Vigan is it. It has all the facilities and amenities which are tremendous potentials for tourism.
Travel agencies find it tempting to include Vigan in their package tour of the north. Some of the numerous old mansions have been developed to fit into Vigan’s lifestyles.
So upon the invitation of Ilocos Sur Governor Deogracias Savellano thru Ruby Paurom of RubyComm, off we came here via Partas Lines. The trip from Manila up to here is approximately eight hours.
The name Vigan was derived from “Biga” (Alocasia Indica), a coarse plant with ornate leaves that grow abundantly on the banks of the rivers. Vigan, the capital town of Ilocos Sur, was founded in 1572, on order of Governor-General Guido de Lavezares given to Capt. Juan de Salcedo.
At that time, the town was a powerful kingdom among a confederation of Ilocano barangays or autonomous communities. After his conquests, Salcedo returned to Vigan to make it his home bringing with him from Spain his widowed mother and sisters.
Vigan became the bulwark of Spanish culture and influence in Northern Luzon during the latter half of the 16th century. The Spanish government assigned Ilocos to the Augustinian father, who made Vigan the center of their missionary activities.
The Augustinian friars presided over the gradual hispanization of the city. They constructed the grand cathedral and laid out the streets and districts, while encouraging farmers to cultivate corn and tobacco which made Vigan grow into a thriving colonial town.
Later, Vigan became the core of ecclesiastical and civil power in the region. As a tribute to Juan de Salcedo, a monument was erected surrounded by a lagoon. Beside it is the Vigan Metropolitann Cathedral built in 1641, which houses all forms of native religious art.
Besides the historical spots like Plaza Burgos, Leona Fua, Florentina Plaza, there are houses which were converted into hotels like the Cordillera Inn, Gordon Inn, Villa Angela, Grand Paz Inn, Mom’s Courtyard, the Vigan Hotel and the Syquia Mansion, the grandest of the museums in Vigan.
The Syquia (formerly Sy Quia) Mansion was built in 1830 by Don Jose Angco Ressurecion and bestowed as dowry to his daughter Estifancia on her marriage to Don Gregorio Romero Syquia. It sits on a 2,000-sq. meter area.
Don Gregorio was decorated by King Alfonso XII of Spain with the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella Catolica and was made Knight Commander of the order of King Charles II.
In 1921, the Syquia Mansion became the house of Elpidio Quirino which subsequently became President of the Philippines. At that time, Quirino was representative of the First District of Ilocos Sur. He was married to Doña Alicia Syquia.
The Burgos Museum on Rizal St., a spitting distance from the municipal hall and the St. Paul Cathedral, houses a treasure trove of Vigan memorabilla. The museum is actually where Fr. Burgos was born and raised, but it keeps diverse relics of the indigenous region, and their farming implements, painting and photo exhibits of the town history, the famous Viganons, and other historical figures.
The Crisologo Museum, on the other hand, is a repository of several decades of the family’s political presence. It is formerly the political clan’s house donated to the town government when the Crisologos bowed out of the public limelight.
The congressman’s wife, Carmeling, was one time governor of Ilocos Sur – ruled the town for several decades, seeing through the terms of several presidents from Quirino, Garcia, Macapagal to Marcos.
The house has collection of valuable antiques, including statues of saints, intricately carved furniture, Ming jars and vases, embroidered in gold thread and studded with precious stones, oil lamps, a washtub inlaid with marbles, and a replica of the holy Sepulcher. At the spacious living room, where every furniture is made of narra, one can see two “window chairs” that lean against the wall.
At the dirty kitchen, with the floorboards creaking and all, stood a wooden food receptacle, one which has an ice compartment inside that keep the food fresh and old model of a freezer (of American make) that it kept close at all times lest it fall on its hinges.
The Crisologos had a gas-fired range for cooking. The one on exhibit though, is a clay oven, called “dalican,” around which crowded some clay pots, wooden spatulas and ladles. There are also some quaint indigenous cooking implements.
The Crisologos also have two horse-drawn carriages, one of which can fit several passengers and is currently being rented out at weddings. (PNA)
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