44. 'TIQUES TRIPPING, part II

Oh where, o where have all the Casa Tesoro antique shops gone? Seeing my shocked expression, the kind lady whose boutique now occupies Nora’s former place, directed me to Joncor Bldg., just across the street, where most of the shops have relocated since December. As usual, I was the last to know.

It was easy to find Atsing Nora’s new shop, she has the biggest space on the 2nd floor. After my hurried greetings, I surveyed her antique stock and came up with these quality pieces, both big and small. This 5 inch painted wooden Nino on a new manger is an excellent example of naive carving. I thought it was being sold individually, but it turns out he comes with a San Jose and Sta. Maria pair, thus driving the price up to 5 digits.

There’s also a 1950s San Isidro Labrador, from some religious commercial store..

But the more impressive pieces include this century-old talyado San Roque with traces of gilt on its carved robes. As is the common case with this santo, the dog and angel are missing..

I was interested in this consigned San Agustin head that was matched with a wrong size body. It reminded me of the San Agustin I chased around in Apalit, the one that got away and which I later found again for sale in a Manhattan shop! I choked when Atsing Nora quoted the price; I was interested in buying the santo head, not the whole Joncor Building! ;-).

One floor up, I chanced upon Bonnie having lunch, so I told him not to mind my nosey presence. The biggest item in his shop was the first thing that I saw: a magnificent century old, almost lifesize Crucified Christ that would have been perfect for a Semana Santa procession. And, it was in pristine condition!

The haunting face reminded me so much of Byzantine Christs.

I knew this was definitely way beyond my means, so I said a hurried goodbye and darted off outside, for a quick omelet lunch at Frendy's along Mabini St. I need to be more realistic! So, the next leg of my trip took me to good old Philtrade. I grabbed a cab which whisked me to the waiting antique pavilions, in no time at all. I worked the Philtrade shops systematically, hopping from one shop to another, and ocassionally chatting with familiar people manning the stores. Though the afternoon was s-l-o-o-w, I was quick to spot interesting finds!

At BERNALES ANTIQUE SHOP, I was shown this beautiful set of Virgin and Nino ivory heads and hands, still in a box!

I loved the carving, even if the faces had natural ivory striations. I imagined a future 5 footer Nstra. Snra. del Rosario for myself! (Reasonably priced too. Tantamount to 2 round trip tickets to the U.S. East Coast with pocket money to spare! ;-). In any case, I got hold of the store's contact numbers.

At BAYLOSIS SHOP, I saw this folksy santo grouping, heavily repainted, but charming, nevertheless. There was a Sta. Filomena, Virgen Antipolo, Maria, among others. Oh, but really not my cup of tea..

The sweltering heat was taking its toll on me and just as I was about ready to collapse, I found some energy to visit BLAS CORDOVA's ANTIQUE SHOP. Sometimes, Blas surprises with great finds from his Visayan forays.

Sure enough, I saw an unusual San Roque mounted on a cylindrical base, with 2 similar dovetailed bases for the dog and angel. Underneath the dirt and grime, I could see brilliant prolychromes of green, yellow and red. Blas told me the tableau came from Iloilo. I scrutinized it for a full 5 minutes and was smitten. To sweeten the pot, Blas further reduced the price from Ph P8,500 to PhP6,500. But I coaxed and cajoled. Being his VIC* (Valuable and Important Client, i.e. no bouncing checks to date), he further lopped off PhP500 from the price. Ano pa nga ba, e di..SOLD!

I took my San Roque home, gave it a sponge bath and a coat of wax, polished it..and here's how it looks now, occupying a place of honor on an already crowded table. Looks good to me!

And that's how I spent my Labor Day holiday. Tomorrow, it's back to the rat race. For us ordinary mortals, it's another day to make kayod..so I can fill my table with food...my cabinets with clothes..and my altar table with antique santos. Such is the cycle of my life. Until the next trip!

(1 May 2007)

31. Review: KURALDAL ATLUNG ARI and LIBAD BANGKA NG APUNG IRU: Beyond the Revelry

Category: Books 
Genre: Religion & Spirituality 
Author: Nina L.B. Tomen 
Published by the NCCA, (c) 2008 

Lubao-born Nina Tomen has written a definitive book about two of Pampanga's most important religious events that are largely unknown outside the province: the Kuraldal dance ritual performed during the feast of Sta. Lucia in Sasmuan town and the fluvial procession of Apung Iru or St. Peter, the patron of Apalit, carried out during the town's 3-day fiesta beginning June 28.

The author traces the beginnings of these celebrations which may have roots in our pre-colonial times. River rites, for instance, were undertaken by natives to appease water deities while dancing for divinities is an age-old custom practiced by ethnic groups in the Philippines. The book also gives an account of the origins of the central figures of venerations--namely, the seated ivory San Pedro attired in papal regalia, as well as the smallish Sta. Lucia statue that was even referred to in Gaspar's Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas.

Apung Iru, associated with the Arnedo-Espiritu-Gonzalez families, is lovingly cared for by a succession of appointed camaderos and has its own shrine at Capalangan. It is taken out once a year for the wet and wild river procession, conveyed on a grand pagoda and escorted by an armada of gaily-decorated boats full of devotees. Revelers shower each other with water, food, candies and fruits for the duration of the 6 hour river journey.

 On the other hand, on January 6, Feast of the 3 Kings (Atlung Ari), the whole town of Sasmuan goes on a dancing frenzy before the image of Apung Lucia as chants are shouted : "Viva Apung Lucia! Pwera sakit!" (Long Live, St. Lucy! Deliver us from sickness!).

The book takes a look at the roles of organized groups (e.g. the Knights of Saint Peter of Apalit) as well as ordinary residents in perpetuating the cults of these two saints. Testimonials from different residents attesting to the miraculous powers of the images are included in one chapter. But the more interesting part delves into the validity of folk religiosity or popular piety, and how the Church views such adulterated practices and traditions today. While the writing is organized and easy to read, the treatment of pictures could have been better. Important vintage pictures are often relegated as insets the size of postage stamps.

Overall, this book is a welcome addition to the growing number of books on Kapampangan religious history, which was started by Dr. Luciano Santiago's. "Laying the Foundations: Kapampangan Pioneers of the Philippine Church" and "Edna Gueco's "O, Indu: The Virgen delos Remedios Story". Nino Tomen, whose young son died of rabies just days before the book launch, deserves our commendation for completing this book against all odds.

(27 June 2010)

28. Book Review: LA CASA DE DIOS

Category: Books
Genre: Religion & Spirituality
Author: Fr. Rene B. Javellana, SJ The Legacy of Filipino-Hispanic Churches in the Philippines
By Ortigas Foundation, Inc.(c) 2010 Hardbound, 344 pp.

 Twelve years ago, Rafael Ortigas Jr., a successful businessman and a collector of rare books, started an ambitious project--that is, to document all Spanish era built churches in the Philippines--from the Metropolitan Cathedral to provincial parishes. Unfortunately, he died in 2009 before the project was completed, but not before assigning company photographers to shoot over 300 churches, using the Catholic Directory as their guide.

Ortigas Foundation decided to carry on with the project and "La Casa De Dios: The Legacy of Filipino-Hispanic Churches in the Philippines", is a realization of Rafael Ortigas' dream. In this book, we are treated to an overview of Catholic religious life and history, accompanied by snapshots of many beautiful churches--some rarely seen or visited--and which serve as great examples of this rich and formative period in Philippine religious history as well as our evolving ideas of architecture.

At Php3,500, this autographed book carries a hefty price tag, but is well worth the price, as it is packed with well-researched accounts about the character of our colonial architecture and comes with a diverse visual catalogue of Hispanic age church photos.

Fr. Javellana, who also authored books about Bohol churches and colonial architecture, sure knows his turf, ably analyzing art styles, building lay-outs and town plans, while providing commentaries on the contribution of Catholicism to the building of Philippine culture. "La Casa de Dios" is a "good-to-have" book and hopefully will inspire ordinary folks to value their places of worship and preserve their cultural identity for years to come. Mr. Ortigas, bless him, would be happy with the way his dream project turned out to be.

(2 January 2011)

15. STOLEN IMAGE IN CULTURAL TREASURE FOUND, by Tonette C. Orejas

(Wheww!! Look what online santo sleuthing has done: we helped recover a stolen church image! Hooray for cultural activists and heritage advocates! We won over the agents of doom! The recovery was reported on national news and made it to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. All's well, that ends well.)

 *****

By Tonette Orejas Central Luzon Desk First Posted 15:31:00 01/16/2009 

BACOLOR, Pampanga -- It took only a few days to recover a 19th century image of St. John the Apostle that was stolen last week from one of the country's 20 national cultural treasures. Text messages, e-mails, and mobile phone calls, plus loads of Catholic faith, saved the day for church heritage conservation.

 The image, reported missing on January 10, is part of a retablo (tableau) at the right wing of the Basilica Minore de San Miguel Archangel in Tayabas, Quezon. It stands on the right of the Mater Dolorosa, depicting a scene in which St. John was consoling the Virgin Mary after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The search for the image ended on Thursday night in this town that was ravaged by the Mt. Pinatubo eruptions in 1991. Bacolor is 215 kilometers away from Tayabas. The buyer, ecclesiastical art restorer Tom Joven, found tell-tale signs of theft, secured the image and said he was donating it to the basilica. The taklang ayup (bird droppings) spattered on the image gave away the crime, Joven said. Made of wood and three feet tall, the image is a detalyado or carved in the round. The search, it turned out, started on cyberspace.

The YahooGroup of the Heritage Conservation Society became an important communication line, said Ivan Henares, HCS director and administrator of the group's site.

 "We have received a lot of SOS calls from various locations in the country. Common are requests for help to stop the demolition of heritage structures or tasteless renovations on heritage churches, among many others," Henares said. Ryan Palad, a native of Tayabas and curator of the GSIS Museum in Pasay City, first posted the call for help, including an attachment of a photo of the image, on Jan. 15.

 "We would like to seek your help to retrieve the stolen image of St. John the Evangelist (wood, height 3 ft) from the Basilica de San Miguel Archangel, Tayabas,Quezon," said Palad. Palad also sent text messages to friends and colleagues who passed the information around.

 Palad's contact, Prof. Lino Dizon of the Tarlac State University, passed the message to HSC member Alex Castro. Emelita Almosara, deputy director of the National Historical Institute, also launched a search, communicating with Palad by text messages and cell phone calls.

 Castro launched his own search not long after he replied to the group's YahooGroup. "I was alerted by a friend about this stolen piece—San Juan Evangelista, a 3-foot image. Someone was peddling a San Juan the week before—of the same size! I was rather suspicious—until the identity of the image was corrected—San Ramon Nonato daw. So I didn't pursue my probing of the middleman who informed me of this image for sale. So, which is which?" Castro's posting went.

 Palad heeded Castro's request for a picture. The theft also became an opportunity for Palad to correct what had long been wrong all along. The image all along was that of San Juan Evangelista, not of San Ramon Nonato.

 Coincidence or not, Joven texted Castro on Thursday to say he bought a San Juan Evangelista on Jan. 9, on the Feast of the Nazarene, and felt something suspicious about it. He e-mailed Castro a photograph. The photographs from Palad and Joven matched.

"Alex informed me that after comparing pictures from Ryan and the one who purchased it, I think we found the image, thanks to the HCS network. Sharing of information here has proved to come out with quick result," Henares announced on the site. Angel Bautista of the National Museum of the Philippines, who was in the communication loop, learned of the recovery.

 "Tayabas Basilica being a national cultural treasure, I think we should not let this pass and find out who stole the image and prosecute those who committed this travesty," Henares said.

Palad, surprised at the fast discovery, exclaimed in typical Tagalog fashion: "Maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po (Many, many thanks)!" Castro rued "there are still unscrupulous dealers out there who are out to make big bucks out of our church material heritage.

 Joven, who restored the four-century old, half-buried San Guillermo (St. William The Hermit) Church in Bacolor, said he felt lucky that the image got to him and was given the opportunity to secure it.

 "Serendipity" was what he felt all along about the image, he said. "I didn't want to buy it at first because I have a San Juan Evangelista already but I did because I felt like it was really going to me," he said.

 Initially, he planned to include it in the Holy Week exhibit of the University of the Sto. Tomas Museum. When the image was delivered, Joven said he believed that the dealer, possibly a middleman, lied to him. The latter, doing business by text and e-mails, claimed that the image belonged to a family in Pagsanjan who was disposing of it because the brood was transferring to Makati City.

 "I had a hunch something was wrong. If this belonged to a family, why did it have bird's feces all over it? I said it might have come from a church," he recalled. His suspicion grew when UST's Fr. Didoy Abaño informed him that a San Juan Evangelista image was stolen in Tayabas. That's when he texted Castro.

Asked why he agreed to return and donate it, he said: "That's the right and good thing to do for art restorers, collectors and Catholics like me. We should be part of the church heritage conservation effort."

Dr. Leticia Cordero-Yap, a native of Tayabas who worked in the Pampanga capital of San Fernando, will return the image to Msgr. Antonio Obena, the parish priest, on Saturdayv.

PHOTO B: The recovered San Juan image, found and sold in Pampanga. Secured by the buyer, it was turned over to a Tayabas resident today for its return to Tayabas.