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San Luis Gonzaga Church
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The Advocates for Heritage Preservation family visited Pampanga for the third time. This visit saw the group travelling to the east side of the province. The areas we went to were San Luis, Arayat, Sta. Ana and Candaba.
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| God the Father detail above the main altar of San Luis |
Interestingly, the four municipalities mentioned have their share of noteworthy heritage churches that have withstood the ravages of time and also the whims of its parish directors. Incidentally, there were also some heritage homes that we saw (not necessarily entered but it was worth a go-see.) We motored early towards San Luis which was the first stop in our itinerary. It was an impressive facade that greeted us. Obviously, the community poured its resources in building the church of San Luis Gonzaga. The church is described thus:
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| the oldest church bell of San Luis |
"The town's Renaissance and Baroque church was finished during the late eighteenth century and restored in 1883 by Father Isidro Bernardo. The main altar was restored by Filipino Father Jacobo David in 1984. The convent was enlarged in 1877 by Father Francisco Diaz.
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| hidden columbary inside the sacristy |
The church is 56 meters long, 13 meters wide, 11 meters high and has a heavily stone-laden, chipped off and painted Byzantine facade decorated with triangular, segmented and arched window panels as well as arched and oval blind windows. Its recessed, carved main entrance door has the papal insignia on top and is flanked by two small niches. The main center window is decorated with heavily carved stone balusters. The pediment is encompassed on both sides by scroll like volutes. Flat, Ionic pilasters run up to the heavily carved stone balusters (enclosing the two bell towers) at the arched niche on each side, and the upper portions. San Luis is located 69 kilometers from Manila.*"
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| San Luis Gonzaga knave |
We then visited the Don Pablo Eleuterio house with painted frescoes on its exterior built in 1892.. Sadly, we were not allowed entry into the home as it was occupied by the family. The home was the typical "bahay na bato" with cast iron grills on the windows and "ventanillas" the iron work was exquisite.
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| Don Pablo Eleuterio heritage home in San Luis, Pampanga |
Our next stop was at Arayat, Pampanga where we visited the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria. Located on the east side of the province, we navigated towards the town passing through Sta. Ana first before reaching our destination.
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| Facade of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Arayat, Pampanga* photo by Dolcevitalux |
"The town's church, built in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria in 1863, is one of the oldest in the province and is known for its classical architecture. The present church was restored by Father Jose Torres in 1858, continued by Father Juan Terrero in 1887 and finished by Father Bedoya in 1892. The presbytery, ceiling and main altar have recently been renovated and the original stone covered with cement and painted white.
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| Retablo of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Arayat, Pampanga |
The church is 70 meters long, 16 meters wide, 12 meters high and has a three level Renaissance style facade dotted with geometric forms dominated by arches and circles of the doors and windows, and topped by a balustered dome. Projecting cornices separate the three levels. On the second level is a frontal arcade with Celtic-like cross windows. The pediment has a blind pointed archway consisting of an inverted "C" form breaking the sides of the triangle. Underneath it is a small semicircular arched window below a superimposed gabled plane. Its bell tower on the left has chamfered corners topped by intersecting gable roofs (replacing a former dome). Arayat is located 86 kilometers from Manila.*"
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| St. Catherine of Alexandria belfry |
After the church, the AHP family had lunch at the famous Kabigting's restaurant. Known for its Pampango style halo-halo. We had a meal of Sizzling Sisig, Chicken ala King, mushroom soup, mixed veggies, leche flan and iced tea that was plenty for a group of five but was enough for our group of seven.
Once lunch was done, we walked a few meters off the restaurant. We visited the Samia house built in 1895. It was, we learned the location for the TV series "Be My Lady". The home has been lovingly restored but was off limits to the public. Apparently the heirs of the property do use the home as a weekend retreat. In front of the heritage house was a "visita" or chapel. It housed a "Santo Entierro" apparently owned by the clan and its descendants. The chapel was done in the Philippine earthquake baroque style with buttresses outside of the walls.
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Visita across the heritage home
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We went to Sta. Ana after Arayat. We did pass by the church along the way so we knew it wasn't a long drive to another impressive church:
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| Sta. Ana church, Pampanga |
"The town's present stone and brick chrch was begun by Father Ferrer in 1853 and finished by Father Lucas Gonzalez. It is 58 meters long, 14 meeters wide and 13 meters high. The massive, five story hexagonal tower was built in 1857 by Father Lucas Gonzalez and has blind and open recesses, canopied by triangular segments and is topped by a balusterred dome and cross. The stone convent was built in 1866 by Father Antonio Redondo and restoredin 1872 (by Father Francisco Diaz) and in 1877 (by Father Paulino Fernandez). Sta. Ana is located 79 kilometers from Manila.*"
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| Sta. Ana knave |
Our final stop was in Candaba, Pampanga. Known for its marshlands, the area is visited yearly by migratory birds.However, Candaba is also rich in cultural heritage as evidenced by its church of St. Andrew the Apostle.
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| St. Andrew the Apostle, Candaba, Pampanga |
"The town's present church was built by Father Jose dela Cruz.Father Esteban Ibeas made considerable renovations, adding the grand dome in 1878. It measures 60 meters long, 13 meters wide and 13 meters high and has a simple and sparsely ornamented facade with depressed three- centered arches on the windows of the second level.
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| St. Andrew knave |
The convent, built at around the same time as the church,was enlarged by Father Vicente Ferrer in 1854 and continually improved by Father esteban Ibeas in 1878 and father Isidro Bernardo in 1892. Its original facade has an arcaded front with alternating semi circular and depressed three centered arches on the first level, rectangular windows on the second level and a cornice decorated with geometric designs separating both levels. The convent's roof and interiors were damaged by a tphoon in the 1960's.
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| bell detail |
The three- storey bell tower, mounted on a rectangular pedestal, interlocks with the church and convent and was built by Father Antonio Bravo in 1881. Another was installed by Father Bravo in 1890. Candaba is located 85 kilometers from Manila.*"
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| Reyes Mansion |
Finally, we visited a worn down mansion that was impressive in size but also left to decay. Apparently the heirs of the Reyes mansion had sold the house lock, stock and barrel to the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar group in order to arrest its further degradation. The house would have been amazing had it been kept immaculate. Among its details are embossed tin ceilings, tromp l'oile painted details on wood panelings and a bas rel;ief of a classical bust at the archway leading to the azotea. One would imagine how it would look like once it has been restored to its former glory. Then by late afternoon we had called it a day and headed back to Manila.
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| tromp l'oile detail |
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| bust detail |
* church descriptions lifted from
A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches
Benjamin Locsin Layug
New Day Publishers 2007
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