mi gran amigo's

Me, MIke & Pepe at the Rizal Shrine in Calamba, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

I'm not certain if I said it right in Spanish but this two guys are just awesome!

They are my first ever recruits - Pepe Alas and Mike Adzuara!

It is my grand aspiration to enlist more people to team up with this group of trasnochadores'(night shifter's) - as we attempt to encourage the preservation and awareness of our country's great past in our work community.

Viva Señor Miguel! Viva Señor Pepe!

Pearl of the Curacy

Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buenviaje, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

My recent visit to the Antipolo church has brought back one of my fondness memory of mahal na araw rituals - the lenghty hike from our residence in Makati to its hilly footway. A spiritual cleansing through physical distress. I've only done it once but who could've forget such an exhausting tread at very a young age.

Its one of the most critical iglesia's during the Spanish era, friars and secular's contested to secure its ground. Nick Joaquin cited on one of his book how it was bitterly fought for, the Recollects protesting the appointment of a creole clergy in the 1860's, this only goes to show how strategic and rich the church was then.

During the WWII it was heavily bombed by the Americans forces. It was levelled to the ground, the resilient Antipoleños and the committed friars would have to raise it from the ground on the following years.

The church now have a hall at the back of the altar that acts as a semi museum. In display are colognes, dresses, crowns and other memorabilia's in its collection. It also have a fascinating life-size panoramic pictures and informative information that labels it.

Rizal was taught by his mother to patronize the Lady. He has written beautiful works dedicated to the patron of peace and good voyage. A known devotee in his early years and through out his adult life, he is known to call upon our Lady for unharmed and sound tours. He has even etched the image in one of his leather cases.

Anitpolo now has become an overly urbanized province, it has been city for years but I still consider it a countryside. It has been trying to cope with the rapid urbanization -- commerce, vehicles and beggars abound but one just need to go around and observe to notice the town's history.

Though the M commercial logo tower of Mcdonalds tries to compete with the M symbol of the church's tower (A Marian emblem) Anitpoleños lives has still cycled around the famed iglesia of Marian devotion - from commerce to devotion. All leads to the prominent symbol of the faith's 'pearl curate'.

Tayo na sa Antipolo!

The APAC History Club

Arnaiz & Alas, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

So far I have only two other members since I started this group a month ago. I hope I could increase the numbers once I get the club published in our company's weekly journal. I've also requested for a regular article the would primarily focus on interesting history facts.

My first ever recruit is another history buff named Pepe, he runs a Spanish blog that covers everything from history, politics and some other interesting stuff he usually write about. I consider him more of a co-founder. Now, I don't have to worry about understanding poems when its in Español!

Small as it is, it has not prevented the club from conducting its activities. For the month of March we have visited Biñan and this month the Calamba.

The club has made interesting discoveries in both places. I try to make it interesting and fun, learning never stops as they say and what better way to learn than to travel back in time.

Such efforts, although small have made the activities worthwhile. Other than this, I plan to make a walking tour of Biñan available to all upon request.

It is all about looking back at our rich heritage and this group of mine intends to promote national awareness through our heritage sites.

What is this?

Fortification, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

I found what look like to be a fortification or a small bridge below the present bridge in Poblacion, Muntinlupa. I was curious enough to take this picture and ask some people around what's this structure. No one seems to know.

This could very well be a footbridge since it was built above the small estero but could also be a recent dike built to control flood water. This has caught my attention for I do not know what it is, I hope I could figure this one out soon.

In the present time, I'm researching the city for historical heritage sites.

Much of the fame this once sleepy town has is owed to Bilibid prisons which as I would write later - played a key role in building the municipality's community, commerce and reputation.

Historic Pagsanjan

The Historic Pagsanjan Church, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

I went to this place under the cover of wanting to take the boat ride to the falls but the history nerd that I am-of course was more interested in finding sites that would be of interest and it was not hard to find one for Pagsanjan is such a historic place. This was last year and I was reminded of this place today while driving and seeing one of the buses with its ad showing Pagsanjan (and its current Mayor) as a tourist destination.

It was Despujol who said that to ‘decatholicize’ is to ‘denationalize’ us - a remark he made to defend his action of sending Rizal to Dapitan. He must’ve been referring to towns like Pagsanjan and the other great domains founded or was made into a community by the religious orders. The main road leads to the town’s great church and true to its name (Pinagsangahan) the ways that would lead you to the other neighbouring town is through this small town’s crossroads.

Though the barrio was believed to have been established by Chinese traders and some enterprising folks who made a living from betelnuts and other agricultural activities, the then barrio was elevated to township on the mid 17th century by Governador General Bonifaz and due to its strategic location was made La Laguna’s capital. The capitolship lasted for more than a century.

The church was no longer the original one founded by Fray Magdalena with the help of the piuos locals, like in many other places it was destroyed by American bomb attacks(like the many other historic sites during the WWII). The then image of our Lady of Guadalupe was destroyed, it would be years later that the Mexican people would be once again be generous enough to give the old town its new life size image as a gift, making the same gesture that their catholic nation as brothers to us, has made when they brought to shore together with the missionaries the first image through the galleon trades.

Reading Dr. Zaide’s PAGSANJAN: In History and Legend I was moved by its historic contibutions not only to the province of Laguna then but on a wider scope, for a diminutive size in comaprison to other towns it was a giant. It has provided the nation wih great sons and places of significance to the revolution. You wouldn’t really know unless you travel to this far flung places and whenever I do I often imagine how long it must’ve took then to travel from what we know now as metro Manila to this places. Rizal in his diary told us that Calamba to Manila is a 10 hour journey. We don’t have an excuse not to tour around for we have faster means.

Aside form the rich historical role it is also blessed with natural wonders, I had great time shooting the rapids - make no mistake about it. I was strolling at dawn the next morning we arrived and was surprised that people attends dawn masses, they have this all year round unlike us here in the metropolitan. The town is still very traditional although one can see imposing traces of urbanization.

I’m always discouraged when I see commercialization stand together with the old, somehow our track record as a nation shows that this has been disastrous for eventually the new would destroy the old. I have never condemned urbanization for it benifits society economically but I’ve seen how such venture would have the old lose. In Makati for example, we had pre American structures who were sold by the next generation of owners since the market was just irresistable - the old houses never stood a chance. In its place now stands building.

After leaving the town, passing the historic Pagsanjan arch, I was in deep thought if the people I’ve met in the town have in them the desire to keep the gifts that time had given them, almost three centuries in the making. How would they preserve the old tradition alive to pass on to the next generation. People seem content with time slowly passing, life’s still simple there and I have dreams of building a house in the banks of its river where i can throw my fishing line and hope to catch ayungins, hito and tilapias. One day I will.

The Japanese Shrine in Muntinlupa

Shrine, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

Located at the end part of the local cemetery in Bilibid one can find this peaceful haven. A shrine memorial dedicated to the Japanese soldiers who died in Muntinlupa and the neighbouring towns. The shrine is a cemetery for it houses the 17 Japanese soldiers who were actually executed in the hilly areas of what is now known as Katarungan.

Legend has it that Gen. Yamashita himself was buried in this place, some people have actually referred to it as Yamashita shrine. I first caught the story from the elders that recounted that his body was laid to rest there together with the two other officers who were executed in Los Baños on 1946 but this would not be accurate. I visited the site today, it was beautiful even with the heat of this summer I was greatly impressed with the memorial they had created. It was a fitting tribute to the son's they've sent across the seas to fight. The visitors can also look at the pictures of those whose ashes are laid to rest, this are actual photos before they were executed.

Yamashita famed for his military campaigns that gave him the title 'Tiger of Malaya' - and of course also known for his treasures (known as the Yamashita treasure) that according to our historians were looted during his reign over the Asian countries his army occupied.

Interestingly enough, for all the atrocities he and his army committed, he was regarded as a gentlemen by his American escorts. His last words was actually thanking American soldiers who supervised his detention. He was a proud man, though the actions he and his nation took were to cause great suffering to us Filipinos - he had written a manuscript that deserves to be read in full (Yamashita's last words). These are reflective words from a man who was about to fce his end.

In an article by Pete Fattig on the Mail Tribune dated June 29, 2003 Medford, Oregon (interviewed were the wife & son of Gen. Yamashita executioner, Robert Alkire)

The olive drab U.S. military cap, size 7 1/2, was the one removed from the head of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita on the island of Luzon around 1 a.m. on Feb. 23, 1946.

Moments later the officer known as the "Tiger of Malaya" and two other Japanese soldiers were hanged for war crimes.

"My husband said he took it off the general so he could put the black hood on him," Claudia says. "He just stuck it in his back pocket and forgot about it, what with everything that was going on."

"My dad hung three gentlemen that night," says Steven, also an Army veteran. "He was only 20 years old."

It's an interesting story, one you wont find in the history book.

But in the last years of his life, Robert Alkire, who died in Medford on August 24, 1996 at the age of 73, and was buried in his native Taft, Calif., had been working on the book tentatively titled, "Under a Hood of Black."

A staff sergeant in the Army, he had been appointed provost sergeant in 1945 for the Philippine Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Los Banos. His job, for which he received commendation, included watching prisoners as well as tracking escapees.

On Jan. 5, 1946 he was introduced to a Lt. Francis, a new arrival who had a curious habit of looking at the neck of the person he was talking to. His previous employer was San Quentin Prison in California where he was a hangman.

Francis brought his rope.

"I was concerned because one of my duties was as provost sergeant was assisting in any executions performed at the prison," Robert Alkire writes. "I was not looking forward to acting in this official capacity."

That's where the manuscript ends.

"He introduces you to the hangman, then that's it," Steven says. There is nothing in writing that we have found that says he had orders to hang Gen. Yamashita . . . but we have everything else."

That includes Claudia, Robert's wife for 43 years.

"He said that it was something to shoot at someone who is shooting at you but when you put a rope around a man's neck whose hands and feet are tied . . . ." she says, her voice trailing off.

"He liked Gen Yamashita," she explains.

He had come to know Yamashita necause he saw him every day. He served him food and talked to him.

One of the photos she has is of Robert Alkire and the hangman by the scaffold. Thirteen steps lead to the trap door.

"My husband said Yamashita walked up the steps with military bearing and stood in front of the trap door," she says. He turned to my husband and asked which direction was Tokyo.

"Gen Yamashita turned the direction my husband pointed, bowed, didn't say a word and stepped onto the trap door," she adds.

That's when my husband removed the cap.

"The hangman put the noose around him and my husband put the black hood over his head," she says. "The hangman dropped him through."

It was 20 minutes before the stocky general was pronounced dead, she says. Robert and several others buried the three men in an unmarked grave.

"All three were wrapped in blankets -- they were not put in boxes," she says. "There were no markers, nothing. Then they camouflaged the graves so they could not be found."

Now Steven Alkire wants to complete the task his father started, putting the story together. He hopes to gather more information, perhaps even present the cap to Yamashita's family as his father intended.

So it could be said that the 'Tiger of Malaya' is buried somewhere in Los Baños, close to the facility where he was detained. There is also a shrine in Los Baños similar to what we have here in Muntinlupa. It does not really matter I guess where this lost soldiers were laid to rest whats important, and this has touched me when I visited the shrine - is the dedication of their government and that of the relatives and those who knew this soldiers to commemorate their sacrifices. The Filipino caretaker of the shrine said 'we always have Japanese coming over to visit all year long but not that many, not sure if their relatives to this soldiers but their always solemn with their prayers - some still cries.'

I rarely see this from our own people. Let's not forget about our very own brave soldiers.

The Alberto house in Biñan

Alberto - Alonzo House, originally uploaded by Arnaldos' shutter.

In a recent visit to the Alberto house in Biñan. I was awed by its beauty but at the same time regret its present condition. This classic stone house displayed the prominence and style of the family that once lived here. You could feel by observing the house that the occupants are no ordinary Filipinos add to this is the location of the house which is right at the heart of the Biñan, on its left is the municipio and in front is the rotonda.

With its solid built utilizing the most durable construction materials that I'm certain only a rich builder can afford during those days, its no wonder that this house has stood the test of time. Its unfortunate that no matter how strong a house is built it would eventually, if not well preserve succumb to deterioration. This house has seen its better days. Below is a brief history of the owner of this wonderful 'bahay na bato'

Jose Alberto an uncle of Rizal, had been educated in British India, spending eleven years in a Calcutta missionary school. This was the result of an acquaintance which his father had made with an English naval officer who visited the Philippines about 1820, the author of "An Englishman's Visit to the Philippines." Lorenzo Alberto, the grandfather, himself spoke English and had English associations.

The great Binan bridge had been built under Lorenzo Alberto's supervision, and for services to the Spanish nation during the expedition to Cochin-China-probably liberal contributions of money-he had been granted the title of Knight of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, but by the time this recognition reached him he had died, and the patent was made out to his son.

An episode well known in the village-its chief event, if one might judge from the conversation of the inhabitants-was a visit which a governor of Hongkong had made there when he was a guest in the home of Alberto. Many were the tales told of this distinguished Englishman, who was Sir John Bowring, the notable polyglot and translator into English of poetry in practically every one of the dialects of Europe. His achievements along this line had put him second or third among the linguists of the century. He was also interested in history, and mentioned in his Binan visit that the Hakluyt Society, of which he was a Director, was then preparing to publish an exceedingly interesting account of the early Philippines that did more justice to its inhabitants than the regular Spanish historians. Here Rizal first heard of Morga, the historian, whose book he in after years made accessible to his countrymen. A desire to know other languages than his own also possessed him and he was eager to rival the achievements of Sir John Bowring.

In his book entitled "A Visit to the Philippine Islands," which was translated into Spanish by Mr. Jose del Pan, a liberal editor of Manila, Sir John Bowring gives the following account of his visit to Rizal's uncle:

"We reached Binan before sunset .... First we passed between files of youths, then of maidens; and through a triumphal arch we reached the handsome dwelling of a rich mestizo, whom we found decorated with a Spanish order, which had been granted to his father before him. He spoke English, having been educated at Calcutta, and his house-a very large one-gave abundant evidence that he had not studied in vain the arts of domestic civilization. The furniture, the beds, the table, the cookery, were all in good taste, and the obvious sincerity of the kind reception added to its agreeableness. Great crowds were gathered together in the square which fronts the house of Don Jose Alberto."

Being a Rizalist (not the religion but one who studies the man!) I consider this - a pilgrimage of sorts, my mind was focused on how Rizal lived his youth in this busy town, so close to us here in the south metro yet unknown to many, how in some way or the other it shaped his character and strengthen his resolve. In almost all areas of the town I found reminders of its inspiring past. Such lovely old houses, I don't mind spending the whole afternoon feasting my eyes on this gems of the past.



I consider myself fortunate that in my time I've visited this historic place I've noticed that not too many people are aware of its role in our political evolution - I've actually spoked withs several Biñanero's and found out that either they were not told about the significance of the house or they were just disinterested. Such is an example that I hope with all my faith would change amongst us, we need to value such monuments of time for it physically links us to our past.

History starts with our family

Not everyone can be co-host of a documentary show, but everyone can be the family documentarist. - Howie Severino

Researching our family tree is just as exciting as reviewing our nation's past. Though I hardly consider this venture a success since I haven't been able to prove many of what I thought was a link, it was still a rewarding interest that has introduced me to what my family was then - and now.

Genealogy research is a big hit in the US. Many Americans are paying good money and spending time tracing where their ancestors came from, what they were when they migrated. Americans have in their institute well kept records of immigrants from all over the world. Unfortunately we don't have an Ellis Island log but for those who does not have the benefit of kept document, oral history is just as good - researchers would just have to hurry and jot down notes while we still have the great resources with us.

My father for example was barely a teenager when he got separated from his family. It was during the chaos of Japanese raids when he lost contact with known relatives in Negros Occidental, he lost his parents and a brother. The only surviving relative is a sister who now resides in California. Listening to his story gives me a clear idea what it was like then. Those were the 'hardest days' he recalls. He found himself fleeing to Manila (14 years of age) to try to make a living with his only surviving family Norma, his sister.

In my desire to find his family and please him, I started looking into every known Arnaiz, I spoke with individuals with the same apelyido in my teen years. I also studied this man, Antonio Arnaiz the Filipino aviation pioneer (made the Manila-Madrid, 1st flight in 1935 together with his navigator J Calvo) was from the same place where my father spent his childhood. Among my subject of interest was Antonio for he strikingly resembles my father. Arnaiz made history when he circumnavigated the world with his single engine plane (he actually bought the plane himself)quite a feat for a Filipino back then. In the 90's they renamed Pasay Rd Arnaiz in his honor (though I'm in disagreement with this seasonal street changing affair. let's stop this!). His achievements later on open the doors for aspiring Filipino pilots - Arnaiz has proven that the Filipino can fly.

My research has brought me to the conclusion that this guy is probably an uncle. Ironically the year of his greatest achievement was the year when my father was born.Tatay would sometimes tell me that they lived a comfortable life, big house and stylish wooden furniture, I'm not sure if he intentionally with hold memories of his youth but there were times that he would just say 'I had a beuatiful childhood', how it was exactly the details was somewhat lacking- everything spiraled down in the succedding years, it was a case of 'bad to worst' when the Japanese invaded. In my research I came across walls but I haven't laid to rest my quest to learn more about my family - it was my intention to also engage my father with this amateurish genealogy research of mine, to have him open up but it seems that his still lil' bottled up or again he must've completely erased the ugliness those events in his life.

My father already a septugenarian seems to be content with his extended family now (he occasionally ask about his sister and her family since they write emails, he doesn't). I've observed that he really does not put any bearings on the results I tell him, how his related to this and all the other names that pops out of my book. There was this one time when a police Colonel from Bicutan who spoke with him after finding out his another Arnaiz, also a Negrense - he just reached out to shake his hand with a little chit chat he left without giving out his contact, it turns out that he was a distant relative. I haven't fully figured why my father is like this I find it weird at times but he has his reasons.

My Mother (Diaz' of Bacolod) on the other hand is also huge clan. Theirs is also as colorful and as wonderful as the history of their town - their story can fill volumes and still it would not be enough. I've research my mom's side but wrting about them would probably consume days, I'll wirte about it someday.

Our family ancestry could be as colorful as Rizal's or our other heroes or maybe not - but its worth to be revisited.

---

Additional historical information I gathered about Antonio Arnaiz:

Aviation history in the Philippines is largely forgotten nowadays, save for the founding of Philippine Air Lines (now known as the Philippine Airlines/PAL), which was the first commercial airline in Asia. Few people are aware of those great, early aviators who became heroes in the Philippines, Spain, and throughout Asia for their pioneering efforts. The most important of these triumphs were the historic Madrid-Manila flight of Spanish pilots Captain Joaquín Loriga y Taboada and Captain Eduardo Gallarza y González, of the Spanish Royal Flying Corps, and the reciprocal "Arnacal"Manila-Madrid flight of Filipino aviators Don Antonio Arnáiz and Don Juan Calvo.

In October, 1924, Captain Loriga and fellow pilot Captain Rafael Estévez y Martínezpresented to the Spanish Director General of Aviation a plan for a Madrid-Manila flight utilizing the new Breguet Type 19 biplane, which would help to further enhance Spain's reputation in aviation and bring back the Castilian flag to a former colony "where the love for Spain remains so vivid and warm."

The Director General endorsed the plan to Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, el Marqués de Estella, the dictator of Spain and nephew of former Governor General of the Philippines Fernando Primo de Rivera. Primo de Rivera gave the proposed flight his official consent, and Capts. Loriga and Gallarza began supervising modifications to their Breguet biplanes, which were christened the "Magallanes" and "Legazpi" after the famous explorers respectively, as soon as the planes arrived in December, 1924.

The start of the Madrid-Manila flight on 8 April, 1925. Capt. Eduardo Gallarza prepares to board his Breguet Type 19 biplane, the "Legazpi."

The "Legazpi," ironically the only of the Breguets to survive the journey, leaves Macau for Aparri, Philippines on 12 May carrying Capts. Loriga and Gallarza. Portugal provided assistance in this great endeavor -- the Portuguese Navy also offered to station its cruiser "Republique" in the South China Sea in support of the Spanish aviators as they made the long overwater flight between the Portuguese colony and the Philippines. After experiencing numerous close calls with disaster, Capts. Loriga and Gallarza arrived in Manila on 13 May, 1925, completing the historic flight.

Capts. Eduardo Gallarza and Joaquín Loriga following their arrival in the Philippines, with some society women.

The two aviators were welcomed as heroes amid shouts of "Viva España," "Viva Filipinas," "Viva Loriga," and "Viva Gallarza" by the crowds of Manileños gathered to greet the arrival of the "Legazpi"which featured the flag of the Philippines on the left side of its fuselage. Capts. Loriga and Gallarza were carried off on the shoulders of the jubilant spectators as the young Manileñas and Spanish women threw themselves on the pilots, embracing and kissing them. A motorcade ride on streets lined with waving crowds followed, which took them to the Luneta. At the Luneta, the pilots laid wreaths at the foot of the Rizal monument, as a symbolic gesture. A similar ceremony was then held at the monument to the explorers Legazpi and Fr. Urdaneta, which was followed by an even larger one at the Manila Cathedral, where a choir of a hundred men and women sung a dedicatory hymn especially composed for the occasion by Prof. Trápaga. Following a press conference at the Casino Español de Manila, the pilots were taken to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, in Intramuros, where they received hononary degrees from the Universidad de Santo Tomás and attended an evening banquet hosted by the presitigious institution. Speaking at the banquet, Fr. Calixto Prieto enthused in "the nobility of Spain's labor in her Christian colonization of the countries discovered by her,...mixing their bloods and creating new race types." In the days that followed, Capts. Loriga and Gallarza were feted and honored by many of the country's leading business magnates (including tycoon Don Enrique Zóbel y de Ayala and media mogul Don Alejandro Roces y González, who brought the pilots to Baguio; aristocrat-cum-insurance industry titan Don Antonio Melián y Pavía, whose el Hogar Filipino led the effort to have streets in Metro Manila named after the pilots; and Secretary of the Casino Español de Manila Don Antonio Ossorio, who brought the pilots to the shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buen Viaje at the old Antipolo Church), prominent literary figures and scholars (including 1926 Premio Zóbel laureates Jesús Balmori and Manuel Bernabé; and Dr. Rafael Palma), and politicians (including Mayor Miguel Romualdez, Governor Filemón Pérez, Councilor Francisco Beech, Consul General Emilio de Motta, House Speaker Manuel Roxas, former President Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, presidential aide-de-camp Manuel Nieto, and President Manuel L. Quezon). Prior to the two Spanish aviators' leaving the Philippines, Capt. Loriga paid a wonderful tribute to their well-wishers in the country (translated from the original Spanish):

«You, Spaniards, voluntarily expatriated, who have known to create in the midst of this hospitable country a home in which burns perpetual the sacred fire of the country, become a part of the great Spain extended over a chain of twenty sister republics and are the soldiers, unknown yet unforgotten, in that great crusade for the spiritual union of these lands, which at one time formed a gigantic empire fighting under a single standard. Viva Filipinas! Viva America! Viva España!»

Tragically, Capt. Joaquín Loriga died less than a year later in a plane crash in Spain. All of Manila was saddened by the terrible news. His death is said to have caused considerable grieving in the Spanish community in the Philippines -- especially among those of its ladies who became very close to their dashing heroes from Spain.

It was nearly eleven years later when, in 1936, a proposal for a Manila-Madrid flight finally took shape. A Filipino salesman for the Manila Trading and Supply Co. enrolled in flight training at the Valeriano School of Aviation named Juan Calvo approached his instructor Antonio Arnáiz with an idea for a Manila-Madrid flight, which he had conceived several years earlier. Arnáiz was receptive to the idea, and the two began the planning for it shortly thereafter. Don Antonio Arnáiz was a young, but capable, pilot who had trained at the Dallas Aviation School in the U.S. He belonged to a prominent hacendero clan from Bais, Negros Oriental and was able to obtain from his family the funds needed to purchase a Fairchild 24 plane.With the help of real estate broker Don Federico Calero y Ortíz, Jr. (father of legendary Filipino advertising executive Don Javier José "Jay Jay" L. Calero, a cousin of Vázquez-Prada family), the two aviators recruited publisher Carlos P. Romuloas a backer for their ambitious endeavor. However, they needed additional funding and ended up securing it from Arnáiz family friends and associates in Bais.

Having secured money for the venture, Antonio Arnáiz returned to Manila on 17 May, 1936 to supervise modifications to the Fairchild required for the trip at Nielson Airport with Juan Calvo. By the end of the month, they were ready for their record-breaking flight to Madrid.

On 27 May, 1936, Mayor Juan Posadas broke the traditional champagne bottle, christening their Fairchild 24 as the "Commonwealth of the Philippines."

At dawn of Friday, 29 May, Antonio Arnáiz and Juan Calvo climbed into the cockpit of the "Commonwealth of the Philippines" and took off at 5 AM following an exchange of waves between the pilots and the crowd of well-wishers gathered at the edge of the airfield. They arrived at Hong Kong late in the afternoon, having braved poor weather conditions (and lacking radio equipment) to become the first Filipino pilots to cross the China Sea. In Hong Kong, they were greeted enthusiastically by prominent members of the Filipino community (including Antonio's brother Don Ricardo Arnáiz) and also by a number of Americans and Britons.

The two Filipino pilots finally reached Spanish soil on 11 July, arriving at Barcelona. The Mayor of Barcelona presented Antonio Arnáiz and Juan Calvo keys to the city and welcomed them with a banquet at the mayoral palace. From there, they took off for Madrid and arrived at 5 PM, completing their historic journey and first-ever goodwill flight by Philippine aviators, dubbed the "Arnacal Flight."

Antonio Arnáiz and Juan Calvo with Juan's father Col. Juan Calvo, Sr. (center)

In Madrid, the Asociación Hispano-Filipinopresided over the welcome ceremonies for the arrival of the Filipino aviators. Madrid's entire Filipino community was present for the momentous occasion. Among those in attendance was Juan Calvo's long-lost father, Juan, Sr., who was a colonel in the Spanish Army. It would be the first reunion between father and son in many years and also their last. As the pilots stepped out of their plane, they were lifted up by the cheering crowd and carried on shoulders to the terminal, where the surviving hero of the original Madrid-Manila flight Eduardo Gallarza, now a Major, and other Spanish officials waited to honor the new heroes. The two Filipinos were the toast of Madrid and were treated to numerous receptions and even an hononary bullfight! Unfortunately, Spain was on the verge of civil war, and they just managed to escape ahead of the opening salvos. Their plane, the "Commonwealth of the Philippines," was lost when the ship carrying it was attacked by Republican forces, forcing the crew to run the vessel aground and scuttle it.

Antonio Arnáiz and Juan Calvo were commissioned as Lieutenant Colonels in the new Philippine Army Air Corps by President Manuel L. Quezon following their arrival back in Manila on 8 September, 1936. They were welcomed as heroes back home in the Philippines and honored with countless receptions. Juan Calvo went on to a career with the Iloilo-Negros Air Express Co. (INAEC), which was founded by the powerful López family. The Valeriano School of Aviation would eventually expand to become the Philippine Islands Aviation Corporation and selected Don Antonio Arnáiz to serve as Vice President and Director.

Discovering Rizal's Chapel of Our Lady of Peace

Recently I discovered the kapilya where Rizal at an early age made his prayers to the Holy Virgin. The Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buenviaje located in La Paz Biñan (namesake of popular old church in Antipolo) its a 15 minute walk from the town proper. It was once a modest chapel built with stone and mortar, solid wooden doors, small windows and a modest church bell with the Virgin as its centerpiece inside, it can seat less than a hundred churchgoers.

Rizal admired both of his parents but he was closer to his Mother, his first teacher. He adored his mother's ways and loved her the most. His mother has made a panata to visit the church in Antipolo ('thanksgiving' for successfully giving birth to Pepe himself), later on it was the young boy and his father who fulfilled that promise on her behalf. This was the reason why the young boy had made the same devotion to the patron saint at the time he was in Biñan. It impressed me that he would walk early at dawn to attend the 4am mass in Our Lady of Peace when at that time the proximity of the town church and another kapilya (San Jose) is more practical.

It was one hot day when me and my friend (Pepe!) arrived at the place via tricycle (a ride that lasted 3 minutes) from Biñan's rotonda. It was said that Rizal stayed (at an Aunt's house) close to where he studied when he was in Biñan. A prominent house in front of the town's rotonda was owned by his relatives (its standing in front of the plaza, the Alberto-Alonzo stone house). The young Rizal would wake up early to make the walk to La Paz and back to attend Maestro Cruz' class. The kapilya is now a parish that could accommodate up to 300 or more parokyanos far from what it was before.

We met Fr. Adi and his secretary who were gracious enough to tour us around (even offered us a meal for which we respectfully decline). The parish is now equipped with modern sound system, lights and comfortable seats --with smooth stylish floor tiles and a relatively new altar one could hardly trace any old relics, it felt like a new church.They were very proud of their history. They handed me this piece of paper where it outlined the parish story.

THE HISTORY OF NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA PAZ PARISH

What now a parochial church in Brgy. De La Paz used to be a chapel built on a 1,172 sq. mtr lot donated by then the Bishop of Lipa, Msgr. Olalia, DD in the year 1868. A priest from the town proper of Biñan used to say mass during the highlight seasons of the barrio fiestas and Christmas. It was only on January 1967 when a parish priest was assigned in the person of Fr. Benito Pagsuyuin under the Diocese of San Pablo's Bishop Pedro Bantigue. The current parish Priest Fr. Ricky Yapana is the 17th in line. Th eold stone and mortar chapel and wooden rectory down in 1988 and a new church building was slowly put up. Construction was completed in 2003. The nearby house and852 sq. mtr. lot owned by the Cardena family had been bought by the parish through the proceeds of various fund campaigns and has now become the parish rectory. It was only on 1993 under Fr. Zaldy Fortuno finish the payment and transferred to the Roman Catholic Bishop of San Pablo.

Being the history guy that I am - I was disappointed that they have approved to bring the old kapilya down and replaced it (also expanding the floor area) perhaps the religious leaders and the faithful had little choice since the population has grown tremendously. I felt despondent but it is what is - this structures were built to last but not if men decide to tear them down. The priest later on gave me contact information of Mr. Eric Alonde - their church historian and once head of their lay community. I was excited to talk to him and discussed Rizal's brief preferrence for their kapilya over the other churches in the area at his time. We traded notes and oral history, he was knowledgeable of La Paz' past and was very proactive on their parish activity.



the renovated chapel, now a very modern looking structure

Turns out that Mr. Alonde was also not aware that our hero made his devotion to their chapel. I told him about the devotion of the young Rizal and some other things about how the hero while he was in Biñan, i also explained why Rizal chose their kapilya. He later on acknowledge that they have no prior knowledge of this, they've probably thought that Rizal won't even bother going the distance but he did!. It was a great feeling to have actually shared something that would add pride to their small barrio, theirs is place often flooded and with a noticeable impoverish shanties around.

Viva Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buenviaje

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I've already emailed Fr. Adi and Eric some reference text from Palma's & Guerrero's biography of Rizal. They requested to be provided with this materials (how I wish I could provide them more). According to Fr. Adi he would bring this up to their council since they are planning to create another material where they'll once again write their Parish history (even a footnote about this discovery would be a great addition!)


Kudos to my good friend Pepe, ever ready to help out with some difficult Spanish translations!

From Bahay kubo to...

From Bahay Kubo to Bahay na Bato to ...

by Robert Gardner

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"Houses have their own ways of dying, falling as variously as the generations of men, some with a tragic roar, some quietly, ... while from others ... the spirit slips before the body perishes."
("Howards End", E. M. Forster, 1910)

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Wherever I traveled in the Philippines, I always enjoyed the old wooden houses that lined the streets especially in out-of-the-way provincial towns. A few years ago I began to notice that many of these houses were either abandoned or disappearing altogether--victims of changing family fortunes, good and bad--and the ravages of nature and time.

In their places, new houses are being built of concrete, cinder block and stucco. The dwindling use of wood in construction can be blamed on the loss of the great forests that once covered the islands with a seemingly endless supply of lumber. Along with the change in building materials, the shift in architecture has moved toward western influences--both European and American. I've seen subdivisions that could have been named "California-kitsch".

Our original ancestral home, and still the home of Filipinos in rural areas, is the bahay kubo, or "nipa hut" (prob. from Spanish cubo, cube). The prehispanic architecture was perfectly adapted to the climate and could be easily repaired or rebuilt after the frequent typhoon, flood or earthquake using simple tools and native materials.

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"Their houses are constructed of wood, and are built on planks and bamboo, raised high from the ground on large logs, and one must enter them by means of ladders. They have rooms like ours; and under the house they keep their swine, goats and fowl."(Antonio Pigafetta, 1521)

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After colonization, the Spanish brought their architecture but quickly learned that stone buildings didn't last very long in an earthquake-prone country. As towns and plantations grew, more substantial homes were being built by the rising upper-class. These principalia and ilustrados combined the structural features of the bahay kubo with stylistic elements from Europe and Asia. The result was the bahay na bato, literally "house of stone", that served as the model for townhouses from the 19th century until World War II and for many is considered the quintessential Filipino house.

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"The third and final stage in the development of the Spanish-Filipino domestic architecture retained the wooden supporting structure but restricted the use of brick and stone to the lower level; the upper level consisted of an enclosure in vertical wooden siding which left ample openings for sliding windows. Capiz shells were often used as window panes. What emerges is a Spanish-Filipino house."(Architecture in the Philippines, Winand Klassen, 1986)

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The old houses are as unique as the families that lived under their roofs and there are a wide range of styles between the bahay kubohacenderos. There are also some regional differences but they all have some features in common. Typically raised or two-story, the main living area is on the upper level. To take advantage of cooling breezes, large windows surround the upper floor. The window sashes commonly have capiz shell panes and can be opened wide or closed for privacy or in stormy weather. Vents above the windows, protected by the roof eaves, let air in even when it's rainy. Small shuttered windows below the large windows, called ventanillas, are screened with balusters or grillwork and can be left opened when the large windows are closed such as at night. As the name implies, the lower walls of the classic bahay na bato were traditionally finished in stone or masonry. More modest homes have wood walls for both levels and in more recent times, cinder blocks have been used to enclose the lower level. This space, the zaguan, was used to store the family carriage and processional cart in the old days and nowadays often function as office, shop or the family's sari-sari store.

I find it interesting that the word bahay, "house", is similar to the word buhay, "life". And that the word bahay-bata, "house-child", is the word for uterus; where life begins. It wasn't long ago that a baby was delivered with the help of a midwife in the home of her parents. She would grow up there and her love interest would make a "house-calling" (umaakyat ng bahay) to seek permission of her parents to court her. Even in death, the wake is often held in the home of the deceased with black and yellow curtains hung in the windows.

and the mansions of the

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"The dinner was being given in a house on Anloague Street which may still be recognised unless it has tumbled down in some earthquake. Certainly it will not have been pulled down by its owner; in the Philippines, that is usually left to God and Nature. In fact, one often thinks that they are under contract to the Government for just that purpose ."("Noli me Tangere", Jose Rizal, 1887)

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Like an endangered species, these wood and stone houses are vanishing toward certain extinction. What once embodied the character of the urban landscape and the heart of Filipino life will be blown away by the winds of progress. Already many towns are looking like cluttered strip malls and subdivisions provide homes without character. The capiz, that naturally filtered light, has given way to glass and the large open windows have been replaced with air-conditioning. Homes that shared a street or square are now isolated in gated compounds. Such is progress and it's no wonder that a modern-day Rip Van Winkle wouldn't recognize his surroundings upon awakening twenty years from now.After noticing the demise of these old homes, I thought it would be an interesting photo subject and quickly used up a roll of film on one trip. Afterwards, I did some research and found the book "Philippine Ancestral Houses", Zialcita and Tinio, 1980, which covers the subject in wonderful detail. This is a book to peruse with its many photos and drawings if you're interested in the subject. Another good book is "Filipino Style" with a chapter about traditional houses also written by Zialcita.

You can find good examples of these homes in the quieter provincial towns. A few towns have made an effort to preserve their architectural heritage. One such place is Vigan in Ilocos Sur. The National Museum in Manila has a display of photos and architectural drawings of Vigan's ancestral homes (as of July 2000). The town of Taal, Batangas, is also notable for its preserved buildings. Good examples of the hacendero lifestyle can be found at the Balay Negrense in Silay, Negros and Villa Escudero in San Pablo, Laguna. There are still some fine old homes in Quiapo and Binondo; parts of Manila that weren't destroyed in World War II.