69. 10 PLACES IN CLARK AND THE NAMES BEHIND THEM

When one goes to Clark today, he passes avenues like C.M. Recto, G. Puyat, M.A. Roxas, K. Laxamana---all names of Filipino statesmen, heroes and personalities. But in the not-so-distant past, when Clark was still a piece of America in Pampanga, its  major thoroughfares and buildings bore ‘stateside’ names like Dyess, O’Leary, Kelly, Levin, Mitchell, Wagner among others. Not many Kapampangans know the faces behind these names today, so here are a few of them.

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CAMP STOTSENBURG, named after Col. John Miller Stotsenburg

The future Clark Air Base started as an unnamed camp established six miles northwest of Angeles town by soldiers of the 5^th U.S. Cavalry regiment on Dec. 26, 1902.  It was the tradition to name camps after American soldiers killed in the Philippine-American War, and that was how Col. John M. Stotsenburg, killed in action on April 23, 1899 near Quinga, Bulacan, came to be immortalized when the cavalry post was named after him. A graduate of West Point (1881) and  the Infantry and cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (1897), Col. Stotsenburg was assigned to the Philippines to lead the 1^st Nebraska Regiment as their battalion commander. In an unplanned engagement on April 23, Col. Stotsenburg ordered an immediate advance to fight the Filipinos. Moments later, he was shot in the chest and killed; he was only 40 years old.

CLARK FIELD, named after Maj. Harold Melville Clark

The first airplane landing field were just long dirt landings scraped from the ground in 1919. Eventually, a more expansive airfield was built, asphalted and expanded before World War II. The airfield would be named after Maj. Harold M. Clark, a Philippine-educated American (Manila High School, 1910, future president Manuel A. Roxas was a classmate), who received his pilot’s wings in March 1917. One of the first aviators in Hawaii, Clark was flying his seaplane in the Panama Canal Zone when it crashed on May 2, 1919. The young pilot was killed but his name would live on, overshadowing the original camp name, and by the 1960s, the camp complex  together with its airfields, would be known Clark Field or Clark Air Base.

BOBBITT THEATER, named after Col. Aubrey Malcolm Bobbitt

The popular movie house of Clark that was favorite of  American servicemen, their families, as well as Wagner High teens, screened the latest blockbuster films from the 60s thru the 90s--from “The Thing” “Saturday Night Fever” ,”Jaws”, to “American Werewolf in London”. Bobbitt stood next to the BX, across from what used to be the main gas station, in the same parking lot of what was once the American Express Bank. It was named after Col. Aubrey M. Bobbitt (b. Jan. 25, 1940/d. Aug. 29, 1971), base commander and the commander of the 6200^th Air Base Wing, in September 1972. Col. Bobbitt had an illustrious 29-year career in the U.S. military, serving in Newfoundland, Europe and the Philippines. He died at the USAF Hospital of heart attack. Bobbitt Theater, post-Pinatubo, it became a hotel, a cocktail lounge (“Forbidden City”), and is  now part of the Widus Hotel and Casino complex.

BONG HIGHWAY, named after Maj. Richard Bong  (now Manuel L. Quezon Avenue)

Bong Highway has such a local ring to it, sounding much like a common Pinoy nickname. But this major Clark road which leads to the Mimosa main gate (now a Filinvest  property),was named after a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Major Richard Ira "Dick" Bong (b.Sep. 24, 1920/d. Aug. 6, 1945). One of t host decorated fighter pilots, Major Bong is known for downing 40 Japanese aircrafts in his lifetime. Tragically, he died in California while testing a jet aircraft before the war ended.

DYESS AVENUE, named after Ofcr. William Edwin Dyess (now, C.M. Recto Highway)

William Edwin "Ed" Dyess (August 9, 1916 – December 22, 1943) was an officer of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He was in command of the 21^st Pursuit Squadron tasked to defend Clark. He was captured after the Allied loss at the Battle of Bataan and endured the subsequent Bataan Death March. After a year in captivity, he escaped and spent three months on the run before being evacuated from the Philippines by a U.S. submarine. Once back in the U.S., he recounted the story of his capture and imprisonment, providing the first widely published eye-witness account of the brutality of the Death March. He returned to duty in the Army Air Forces but was killed in a training accident months later.

KELLY THEATER, named after Capt. Colin Purdue Kelly Jr.
One of the historic buildings in Clark Air Base was the Kelly Theater, constructed in 1953, the only cinema house in Clark and the venue of many stage plays and cultural shows. There was an earlier Kelly Theater built earlier—in 1947—that was converted from an old gymnasium. Both theatres were names after B-17 pilot Capt. Colin P. Kelly Jr. (b.Jul. 11, 1915/d. Dec. 10, 1941)  who died in action against the Japanese forces in 1941. Kelly’s damaged plane, while returning from a bombing run, blew up near Clark Field after being engaged by enemy forces. Capt. Kelly was declared America’s first hero of WWII by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  The memorial statue of the fallen captain was inaugurated on the theater grounds on 10 Dec. 2007—the 66th year of his passing. Kelly Theater, located at the cor. Ninoy Aquino Ave. and Foxhound St., survived Mt. Pinatubo, but eventually everything from the seats to the roof and front walls were stolen.

MEYER LEVIN GYMNASIUM, named after Master Sgt. Meyer Levin

The gymnasium facility on Dau Avenue, east of the Parade Ground was named after Meyer Levin in 1955, a master sergeant of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Levin (b.Jun 5, 1916/d.Jan. 7, 1943)—who had wanted to become an aviator—became a bombardier and flew with Capt. Colin Kelly after the Japanese attack of Clark Field. During his last mission on January 7, 1943, Levin volunteered to bomb the Japanese convoy ships that was approaching Australia. The weather worsened, and as the plane used up its fuel, the crew bailed out as the planed ditched the water. Levin remained in the plane to release the rafts that saved his crew. He died in the crash and is listed as one of those missing at Manila National Cemetery. Levin was awarded the  Distinguished Flying Cross (for successfully bombing the Japanese warship “Haruna”) and a Purple Heart for his heroic war feats.

MITCHELL HIGHWAY, named after Brig. Gen. William Lendrum Mitchell,  (now J. Abad Santos Avenue)

One of the most travelled roads in Clark—the Mitchell Highway-- stretches all the way from the Mars Station, then passes close to the Parade Grounds, and leads all the way to the Friendship Gate. It was named Philippine-American war veteran, Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell (b.Dec. 29, 1879/d.Feb. 19, 1936), regarded as the father of the United Sates Air Force. Gen. Mitchell also saw action during World War I in France, and even commanded the American air combat units in that country post-war. In 1924, he returned to Pampanga to revisit  Camp Stotsenburg where he even gave flying lessons to Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, whom he had helped capture. The North American B-25 Mitchell—an American military aircraft design—was also named in his honor.

WAGNER HIGH SCHOOL, named after 1^st Lt. Boyd David Wagner

The beginnings of Wagner High School and Middle School could be traced back in 1957-58 when the Grades 7-12 of Wurtsmith High transferred to individual wooden buildings at the former Chapel Center. That site that will eventually be renamed Wagner High School. The school was named after 1st Lt. Boyd David Wagner, of the U.S. Army Air Corps, who commanded the 17^th Pursuit Squadron that was ordered to protect Clark. On Dec. 14, 1941 shot down four Japanese airplanes, and 2 days later, downed another enemy aircraft at Vigan. Thus, he became the first American World War II Ace, and for which he earned him a Distinguished Service Cross. Wagner was nearly blinded in the Lingayen Gulf battle, but survived and evacuated to Australia where he recovered.Later, he was sent back to the U.S. to train new fighter pilots. On  Nov. 29, 1942, Col. Wagner disappeared while on a flight from Florida to Alabama. His plane wreckage was found six weeks later, some 4 miles north of Freeport, Florida. His remains are buried at Grandview Cemetery, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

WURTSMITH MEMORIAL SCHOOL, named after Maj. Gen. Paul Bernard Wurstmith

 The Clark Dependents’ School opened in 1947 to accommodate school-age children. In 1950, it was moved to another used office building that would be renamed in 1954 as Wurtsmith Memorial  High School. It was name in memory of Maj. Gen. Paul Bernard Wurtsmith (b. Aug. 9,1906/Sept. 13, 1946), who became a flying cadet in 1927. Over the next 13 years, he served in command positions and his fighters’ feats include downing 78 enemy aircraft in the defense of Darwin in Australia, against the Japanese. In 1945, he commanded the 13^th Air Force in the Southern Philippines campaign. Wurtsmith was killed when his plane crashed in the mountain area near Asheville, North Carolina. The Clark school that bears his name would have a new air-conditioned building on the former site of the Stotsenburg base picnic grounds in 1961. Construction of an expanded campus complex began in 1989, and the newly-renovated Wurtsmith High opened for schoolyear 1990-1991. The Pinatubo eruption (which occurred just a week before the end of the school year) forced the transfer of the graduation rites to Subic. The school was later demolished and replaced with Fontana Casino.

BONUS!

A hill in Clark bears a peculiar name, because it was not named after a person, or even after a flower, as its name suggests.

LILY HILL

Lilly Hill first appeared on an 1898 map, and is thought to have been derived from the Kapampangan  word “lili”, which means “lost”. The Americanized name was apt because it was easy to get lost on that hill which stood separately from other hills in the area. Used as an observation point by Americans from 1903--42, it was also used by the Japanese for the same purpose. It would become the stronghold of the Kembu Group which defended Clark from late 1944-45. Post-war, a USAF aircraft warning and control unit was put up in the summit until 1962. A Buddhits shrine was built on the hilltop by the Japanese in 1998 on  the 54th commemoration of the Kamikaze. It features a large 5-ton granite statue of Kannon, the "Goddess of Peace ".

SOURCES:

Camp Stotsenburg:

Pix of Camp Stotsenburg: Alex Castro Collection

Pix of Col. John Stotsenburg:

Clark Air Base:

Pix,:Harold Clark: An Annotated Pictorial History of Clark Air Base,  by David Rosmer

Bobbitt Theater:

Pix of Bobbitt Theater: www.margaritastation.com

Pix of Aubrey Bobbitt: https://stalagluft3.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/stalag-luft-iii-newsletter-august-2015-reunion-agenda/

Bong Avenue:

Pix: Welcome to Clark Air Base, Guardian of Philippine Defense booklet

Pix of Richard Bong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bong

Dyess Highway:

Pix: Welcome to Clark Air Base, Guardian of Philippine Defense booklet

Pix of  William Dyess: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_E._Dyess

Kelly Theater:

Pix: An Annotated Pictorial History of Clark Air Base,  by David Rosmer

Pix of Colin P. Kelly: Aces of WW2, http://acesofww2.com/bombers/41/

Meyer Levin Gym:

Pix: An Annotated Pictorial History of Clark Air Base,  by David Rosmer

Pix of Meyer Levin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meyer_Levin_(military)

Mitchell Highway:

Pix: Welcome to Clark Air Base, Guardian of Philippine Defense booklet

Pix of Gen. Billy Mitchell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell

Wagner High School:

Pix of Boyd Wagner: Photograph by Carl Mydans for TIME & LIFE Pictures),  (Colourised by Doug)

Pix: Wagner High School, 1971, collection of K. Morgan

Wurtsmith Elem. School:

Pix of Wurtsmith School: http://www.clarkab.org/history/

Pix of Gen Paul Wurtsmith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wurtsmith

Lily Hill:

Pix: An Annotated Pictorial History of Clark Air Base,  by David Rosmer

Images: 
Pix; clarksubic.com

http://www.angelesmap.com/parade-ground.html

68. 12 GIANT SAN FERNANDO LANTERN TRIVIA

COLORFUL 'SAMPERNANDU' LANTERN, Magazine Cover, Esso Silangan, 1965

The famed San Fernando giant lantern is a product of Kapampangan innovation, creativity and tireless effort. So the next time you witness their spectacular display of lights, color and dazzle, do appreciate the hard work put into each of these works of art that can be considered truly Kapampangan. Here are vintage photos and trivia about this Christmas parul that put Pampanga in the world map.

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EARLY LANTERN PHOTO, SAN FERNANDO.  Taken 26 Dec..1909.
Luther Parker Collection.

1.This predecessor of the modern day Giant Lantern Festival was actually a religious activity which we know today as “lubenas.” The lanterns measured just two feet in diameter, created in each barrio from bamboo and other locally available materials. During the nine-day simbang gabi novena before Christmas, these paruls were brought around each barrio in procession to their visita. Before the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the lanterns were brought to the town church together with the barrio patrons. This tradition gradually evolved as the lanterns became bigger and the designs more intricate. Later, one big lantern was made for each barrio, which was created through a cooperative effort.

 

TYPICAL SAN FERNANDO PROCESSIONAL LANTERN,1960,

2. The first documented lantern maker was Francisco Estanislao, active ca. 1908, from Barrio Sta. Lucia, San Fernando. “Apung Isku”, aided by his wife, crafted paruls in the 1900s using bamboo sticks, cotton, string, satin and coco fabric panels, which were glued to the framework using gelatinous rice paste. The back is left uncovered to accommodate the ‘kalburo’ (carbide) lights.

 

DEL PILAR GIANT LANTERN, 1940s

3. The San Fernando Giant Lantern Festival, which is held every December, finds its roots in Bacolor where a much simpler activity was held. Following the transfer of the provincial capital from Bacolor to San Fernando in August of 1904, this parul event followed as well.

STO.NINO GIANT LANTERN, in 1956

4. The earliest mention of a lantern procession that culminated in a lantern contest, was reported in the religious publication  in a 1930 issue of,“Ing Misyonero”, (year 4, no. 11) that was won by brgy. Del Pilar, followed by Sto. Niño. The next year,  it was reported in the same magazine that eight  barrios participated in the Christmas pageant  that was highlighted by lively band music and a colorful lantern competition with Del Pilar achieving a back-to-back win.

LANTERN PARADE IN SAN FERNANDO, 1960

5. It is believed that electricity was introduced to the San Fernando lantern in 1931. At this time, the lights were controlled by individual switches that were turned on and off following the beat of the music. Pioneer participants included the barangays of Del Pilar, Sta. Lucia and San Jose.

GIANT LANTERNS, from 1960

6. According to another version claimed by old folks, the Giant Lantern Festival started during the time of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon. At that time, Quezon was trying to make Pampanga a model province. In fact, he made Arayat his vacation place and converted the legendary mountain into a tourist resort. As a show of gratitude to Quezon, the people of San Fernando held a Christmas lantern contest to honor the first family. Quezon himself donated the prize for this lantern contest, which was personally awarded to the winner by First Lady Aurora Aragon Quezon.

SAN FERNANDO LANTERN EXHIBIT, Luneta. 1961

7. Severino David, married to Fortunata Estanislao (daughter of Francisco) is credited with introducing the battery-operated giant lanterns in the 1940s. Great strides in the 1950s made the San Fernando Giant Lantern more visually impactful. Steel wire was introduced in 1950 by Mario Datu and Susing Manalang for use in making the framework of the lantern, thus making it stronger.

INTRICATE LANTERN DESIGN, 1965

8. In 1957, Rodolfo David  invented the rotor system that used ordinary hairpins, attached to the end of the wires leading to each individual bulb. Masking tape strips are placed on the rotor to serve as light switches. As the rotor is turned, the hairpins brushes the tape strips, thus cutting off the current flow that lit the bulbs. When that particular hairpin regains contact with the steel rotor, the bulbs are again lit. Thus, the placement of the tape on the rotors determines the interplay of lights on the lanterns and can spell success or disaster for each entry.

SAN FERNANDO LANTERNS used in a San Miguel Beer Ad.1969

9. The lanterns gained national prominence in 1960, when, the Board of Travel and Tourism Industry and the Philippine Tourist and Travel Association sponsored the San Fernando lantern parade in front of the Luneta Grandstand. Beginning in 1964,  San Fernando lanterns became available for sale to the public, giving birth to the commercial lantern industry.

SAN FERNANDO LANTERNS, 1969

10. The Giant Lantern Festival, which was already an established San Fernando institution was cancelled for two years (1978-1979) by Mayor Armando Biliwang  because of Martial Law. It was revived in 1980. In 1987, Former San Fernando Mayor Virgilio “Baby” Sanchez started producing Capiz lanterns for the export markets, with MAKVEL Enterprises. These lanterns followed the traditional San Fernando design and were developed with the assistance of the Design Center of the Philippines. The next year, the first fiberglass lanterns were installed at the Pampanga Convention.

SAN FERNANDO LANTERN, 1979

11. The new 90s decade saw the transfer of the annual Giant Lantern Festival to the Paskuhan Village. The lanterns made international appearances at the World Expo in Seville (1992), and at the Hollywood Christmas Parade (1993). The festival venue was relocated to the open parking grounds of the SM City Pampanga at the turn of the new millennium.

LANTERN MAKER, Jesus Maglalang. 1979

12. The best-performing barangays in the Giant Lantern Festival Competition include Del Pilar, which had an incredible 9-year winning streak in the 1980s. before that, Sta. Lucia was a perennial champion. Brgys. San Felipe and Telabastagan almost became Hall of Famers (3 championships in a row) in the first decade of the 2000. In recent times, Brgy. Dolores has bagged the championship 4 times in a span of 10 years.

BONUS!

Double Take: LANTERN LOOK-ALIKES

TRADITIONAL MEXICAN WREATHS, have designs that mimic that of the famed San Fernando lanterns. Could these have been design inspirations as we also have a history of Mexican-Philippine relations? Or just plain coincidence?

VERY ENGLISH, VERY SAMPERNANDU. A giant lantern of English make has a striking similarity with the giant San Fernando lantern of San Jose. Taken at the Covent Garden, London, 1965.

SOURCES:

Henares, Ivan Anthony S. (2001). HOW TO MAKE A GIANT LANTERN: The story Behind the Giant Lanterns of San Fernando. School Project. University of the Philippines.

HISTORY OF GIANT LANTERN-MAKING IN SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA (Estanisla-Davido-Quiwa Clan), by Landlee Quiwa

HISTORY OF THE LANTERN INDUSTRY : Its Contribution to the Local Economy and Tourism, Oct. 4, 2016, Makati City

http://www.mapabcdf.com.ph/documents/presentations/Countryside%20Development/Tourism,%20Travel%20and%20Homesteads/Lantern%20industry%20in%20San%20Fernando%20-%20Copy.compressed.pdf

Giant Lantern Website: http://www.giantlantern.ph/index.php/about/history

Thanks to: Ching Pangilinan, CSF Tourism, Ken Gardiner

67. 12 RIVER MYTHS AND MYSTERIES OF PAMPANGA

1. THE ONCE-MIGHTY PORAC RIVER

Ancient Porac was in the vicinity of a seashore.

Three pre-historic settlements in Porac, one unearthed by anthropologist H. Otley Beyer’s team in 1939 (Hacienda Ramona site), another by archaeologist Robert Fox in 1959 (Balukbuk site), and the third by the National Museum in 1999 (Upper Balukbuk site) raise the question of why the settlers built relatively large communities high up on the foothills of the Zambales Mountain Range. A  theory says that the ancient Porac River, which today is nothing but a shallow brook, was navigable enough for large water vessels from Manila Bay, and that the subsequent eruptions of Mount Pinatubo, years (not centuries) before the Spaniards arrived in 1571, silted the river and either destroyed the communities or forced the inhabitants to abandon them. Old folks in Lubao town, claim that in the 1960s, they saw what looked like large wooden boards floating in the Porac-Gumain river. The boards, between 12 and 16 feet long, were roughly cut and had holes in them, which made the folks speculate that they must have been parts of a large ancient boat washed down from upstream Porac River, which they believe to be navigable in the distant past. (Joel Pabustan Mallari)

2. WERE BETIS AND LUBAO AS BIG AS CEBU?

The conquistadores found thriving Muslim communities here.

The earliest  Spanish chronicles show that the first settlements in Pampanga were situated along the major waterways. Miguel Loarca listed these ancient settlements with their corresponding population figures, thus revealing a comparison between Pampanga settlements and those in other parts of the archipelago. In the list, Betis (Vitis) and Lubao had a population of 3,500 people, the same number as that of Cebu. Calumpit (Calonpite) outnumbered Macabebe by 400 people, but the latter Pampanga town had a bigger population than Vigan (1,600 people), Malolos (800), Negros (700) and Ylocos (500). Most if not all of these Pampanga communities thrived along or close to riverine areas for two basic reasons: abundant resources and accessibility of transportation. This is true for all the great cities and civilizations of the world (J. Mallari)

3. LUBAO’S ANCIENT BURIAL BOATS

Skeletons turn up during a flood.

Old civilizations all over the world—like Vikings, Austronesians, and Ebypt--observed a variety of elaborate burial rituals, one of which involved boats. Researchers of the Center for Kapampangan Studies, together with Dr. Rodrigo Sicat, author of The Kapampangans, recently interviewed old folks in Dr. Sicat’s hometown, Lubao, living near the now-heavily silted Gumain River. According to them, during the great flood of 1972, an eroded section of the protective dike near the property of a Pablo de la Peña in Brgy. Gumi turned up several boat-shaped coffins. They described the finds as canoe-shaped kabaung, inside of which were the skeletal remains of what appeared to be at least six-footers. Beside the skeletons, the interviewees claimed, were indigenous and tradeware ceramics: blue-and-whites and local earthen pots like kuran and banga. Each coffin measured between 12 and 18 feet long, carved out of the trunk of a bulaon tree (Vitex parviflora Juss.).  (J. Mallari)

4. FACTORIA AND THE SHIP THAT SANK IN NUEVA ECIJA

Did Spanish galleons sail as far as the headwaters of the Pampanga River?

Pedro Arcilla wrote that as recently as the early 1900s, large boats could still navigate the Pampanga River from Manila Bay all the way to Cabanatuan City and other Nueva Ecija towns. In fact, a parish document in a Nueva Ecija town mentions a casco (old folks there say it was a Chinese junk, others say it was a Spanish galleon) that sank during a storm in the early 1800s in that upstream section of the Pampanga River that flowed through the town of Factoria. An old resident of San Isidro town (present name of Factoria) allegedly recovered a part of this sunken ship’s rudder which is now displayed in his private museum, awaiting scientific verification. In times past, Factoria once controlled the tobacco industry in the North and was once the capital of Nueva Ecija. Indeed, this once-thriving town, formerly within the boundaries of the Kapampangan Region, owed all of this to its proximity to the Pampanga River. (J. P. Mallari)

5. THE SASMUAN-CABIAO CONNECTION

This upstream town served as haven to Kapampangan refugees.

In the Sasmuan Papers of the Luther Parker Collections (c.1900), there is a claim that Factoria became the capital of Pampanga in 1762, when the British invaded Manila and the country’s capital was moved to Bacolor. The territory of Pampanga extended all the way to Nueva Vizcaya, and Nueva Ecija as a province, was still non-existent. The provincial governor of Pampanga, a Señor Biron, was residing in Factoria, when British soldiers invaded Sasmuan through the town’s Manglares River.  Biron ordered all the residents in eastern Sasmuan  to evacuate to Cabiao (then still part of Pampanga). A group of women, led by Doña Magdalena Pineda protested against the order, citing the inconvenience of moving to Cabiao. After the British left the country in 1765, the Philippine capital was returned to Manila and apparently, Pampanga’s capital was returned to Bacolor and thus ended Factoria’s brief shining moment in history.

6. MEXICO: PAMPANGA’S CAPITAL BEFORE BACOLOR?

Bacolor was the provincial capital only from 1755 to 1903

Bacolor  started functioning as capital of Pampanga in 1746 and officially became capital only in 1755.  The town served as the provincial seat of government until 1903, when the capital was moved to San Fernando. In Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas, Gaspar de San Agustin, OSA wrote that the provincial capital  prior to Bacolor was Mexico town, one of the oldest and most prosperous communities in Pampanga. The province’s oldest surviving church structure is found in San Jose Matulid; the town has a barangay named Parian which indicates the presence of a community of Chinese merchants before; and a tributary to the Pampanga River links Mexico directly to Manila Bay passing through the important towns of San Fernando, Bacolor, Guagua, Sasmuan and Macabebe.

7. SAPANG BALEN AND ITS VIOLENT PAST

Angeles City lies in the path of an old, forgotten river

When the city’s founder Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda  and wife Doña Rosalia de Jesus, came to Kuliat  to establish a new town, they chose the area around the Sapang Balen creek. The creek may seem harmless but its present tranquility belies a violent past. Historian Mariano Henson notes that on July 20, 1881, “A typhoon and a heavy downpour of rain caused the treacherous Taug salient, which used to originate at the southwesternmost tip of barrio Pampang, to swell up to a murky, clay-ey tone into the Sapang Balen Creek, causing the destruction of the three bridges of 1850 and carrying away three houses from barrio San Jose. It is said that before 1796, the Taug sometimes went a few hundred yards behind the present church during protracted heavy rainfall.” A similar devastation occurred in 1972 when Sapang Balen washed away dozens of houses in San Jose, and again when Mount Pinatubo erupted on June 15, 1991, when the creek overflowed into downtown Angeles. Sapang Balen is actually the ancient path of Taug River; at some point in the distant past.

(C. Manese)

8. THE MYSTERY OF THE SACOBIA RIVER

The mighty river probably did not exist before the 1850s

Sacobia River, which became a byword during the lahar season in the 1990s, is one of four major rivers emanating from the eastern slope of Mount Pinatubo itself.  Strangely, however, Sacobia River does not appear in maps made during the entire colonial period until mid-1800s. Cartographers could not have missed such a major river, considering that even creeks in the vicinity of the Sacobia River are depicted. Is it possible that Sacobia River did not exist before mid-1800s? There is a theory that it may have been formed, probably due to a lake breakout on the slopes of Mount Pinatubo, in the 1850s. Sometime in 1856, the town of San Bartolome in southern Tarlac was completely swamped with floodwaters from Parua, the river’s old name. Parua may have been the downstream name of Bamban River (Sapang Mabanglu). 1856 may have been the year Sacobia River was formed; it elbowed away from Mabalacat (in a spot called Maskup in sitio Bana) to merge with the Bamban River before proceeding to Concepcion and draining into Rio Chico. Another puzzle is the name “Sacobia.” Nobody knows what it means or to whom it refers. It is not a Kapampangan term and there was no Spaniard or Filipino who went by that name. (J.P.Mallari)

9. RUSSIA’S GRAND DUKE CAME BY BOAT

The world’s rich and famous traveled all the way to Apalit

DURING colonial times, elegant mansions of rich Kapampangan families lined the Rio Grande, the most famous of which was that of Don Joaquin Arnedo Cruz and Doña Maria Sioco Arnedo, in Sulipan, Apalit. “(Their) combined fortunes…created a lifestyle of leisure and luxury unmatched elsewhere in the archipelago,” writes Gene Gonzales in his book Cocina Sulipeña. The couple frequently threw lavish parties for their guests who came from Manila via the bay and Pampanga River .Among the guests  Jose Rizal, Gen. Arthur McArthur, Gen. William Howard Taft, and Prince Norodom I of Cambodia, who reportedly fell in love with a local maiden, Pepita Roxas of the next town Calumpit, Bulacan. But the best-cherished visit to Sulipan was that of Alexis Alexandrovich, Grand Duke of Russia and son of the Czar himself. While in Pampanga, the Russian Duke hunted birds in the surrounding marshes, and boar and deer in the mountains. In gratitude, he gifted his gracious hosts with a whole set of monogrammed porcelain dinner set.

10. THE LOST CANNERY OF GUAGUA

Why a small tributary in an interior town is called Dalan Bapor

Guagua has always been a commercial hub, even as early as pre-Hispanic times when it was a thriving community of Moros who traded with Chinese merchants. The Pasak-Guagua River which connected with the Rio Grande, served as the highway of cargo ships doing business in the town; a tributary to this river is known as Dalan Bapor (literally, ship’s way), which today has been reduced to just a shallow canal. Until World War II, however, it bustled with economic activity because it led to the Guagua  Cannery located in what is now a Brgy. Sta. Filomena  subdivision beside the Guagua National College. Old folks living in the area recall that the cannery occupied the entire land area of the subdivision; that “huge ships” transported tons of canned goods like sardines and even local specialties like tabang talangka and burung asan; that it offered retail canning services for affluent families who wanted to send canned products abroad; that it was bombed by Japanese planes in World War II; and that it finally closed in the 1960s following a series of labor disputes. (J. Mallari)

11. THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1972

Pampanga’s worst calamity before Pinatubo

Next to the eruption of Pinatubo, the worst calamity to ever hit the Kapampangan Region in recent memory was the flood of 1972, when the entire Central Plain of Luzon was submerged under water. Heavy monsoon rains lasting 40 days nonstop had been triggered by four tropical cyclones that made a direct hit in the area during that year’s rainy season: Asiang, Konsing, Toyang and Undang.The flood, which claimed 298 lives, was worst in the Central Plain because this area is the natural catch basin of two major waterways, the Pampanga River and the Agno River; moreover, the presence of the Candaba Swamp (pinac), alugin (waterlogged) areas and baná (marshes), as well as the phenomenon of subsidence, further makes the area susceptible to flooding. (C. Manese)

SOURCES:

Singsing Magazine, Center for Kapampangan Studies, "River Myths and Mysteries". by Joel Pabustan-Mallari, Robby Tantingco, C. Manese.

66. 20 FUNERAL TRADITIONS & PRACTICES THAT KAPAMPANGANS OBSERVE

All Saints’ Day (Todos Los Santos on Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2) used to be 2 distinct observances until somehow, they merged as one. When campo santos (cemeteries) began being built outside of the town, folks found it convenient to divide their pious duties: Nov. 1 was devoted to grave visits while Nov. 2 was reserved for church rites. Death came early for Filipinos in the 19th century; life expectancy was just about 35 years. Life, was indeed precious, which was why, death was considered major rite of passage, with traditional ceremonies and post-mortem practices created around the inevitable.

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1.There were certain portents of death that old Kapampangan folks believed in: the appearance of a black moth, a dog digging up the ground for no apparent reason, the dreaming of a loss tooth, combing one’s hair at night. To avoid untimely deaths, one should neither position his bed towards the door nor join a picture-taking session if the number of subjects is either 3 or 13. If the toes of the dead curled inwards, beware of another impending death.

2.As soon as someone died in the neighborhood (indicated by loud wailing), neighbors knew exactly what to do next. Members of the grieving family were not allowed to do any work, and so the neighbors took over. There were no funeral services, no embalming, and so everything that needed to be done must be done quickly, before decomposition set in (burial must take place within 24 hours)

3.Early Filipinos believed in the mystical number 7, representing the 7 holes of the head. Our pre-colonial ancestors thus covered their dead’s faces with a death mask cut out with 7 holes. But Kapampangans also believed that an invisible 8th hole exists at the crown of the head of certain special persons, gifting them with the power to liaise between the dead and the living.

4.The deceased was laid on his bed decorated with hangings (black for an adult, white for a child). If the deceased did not own a bed, he was laid out on a mat (dase or banig) on the floor. A black cloth is draped in front of the house to signify a death in the household.

5.The grieving family would have nothing to do but stay beside the dead to weep (they had less than 24 hours to say their final good-byes). If they had to talk to visitors at all, it should be about the life and legacy of the departed.

6.Meanwhile, the teenagers stayed up all night to keep watch and guard against the magcucutud (or manananggal), the airborne supernatural creatures who stole corpses. They entertained themselves by playing card games like entre siete and pierde y gana or playing the traditional Kapampangan games of caragatan (or bugtungan) and talubangan (or bulaclacan), where the boys played butterflies to the girls' flowers.

7.There are certain no-no’s when a death in the family occurred. The family of the deceased were prohibited from bathing, cleaning the house or getting a haircut. The children of the deceased were not supposed to play; if they did, old folks warned, they'd go crazy. A dead should not be perfumed lest he decomposes faster.

8.Children and infants were carried across the coffin to prevent hauntings by the deceased. Taking out the deathbed through the window is another sure way to ward off ghostly encounters.

9.In Macabebe they still do tagulele, an ancient practice that the Bergaño dictionary defined as "the chant of lamentation during a person's wake or burial, relating the bravery of the deceased."

10.Any form of house cleaning is still prohibited during the wake, or another member of the family might also die. When the coffin is already being carried out of the house, however, it should be followed with sweeping of the floor, to drive away illness and bad spirits.

11.Some relatives must also stay behind and peep out of the windows as the coffin is being taken out. The deceased person's bed must be discarded by taking it out of the house through a window, to ensure his happiness in the next life and to prevent another death in the family.

12.The Church dictated the rituals associated with the dead and the dying. Back then, fees were being collected by unscrupulous frailes for walking the dead to his burial ground or for ringing the church bells a certain number of times. During a funeral procession, prayers were intoned at regular intervals called “posas”.

13.During the funeral procession, everyone (not just the family) should be in black and holding lighted candles. The widow and female relatives should wear sucong (long black veils). Rich families spend more to have a punebre (funeral band) and the parish priest accompanying the dead to the cemetery.

14.In those days when there were still no public cemeteries, the dead were buried in private properties, usually the backyard. A child's corpse was always buried neck-deep while a male adult's corpse only knee-deep, in the belief that the soul of older people needed to get out of this world more quickly.

15.When it was time for the dead to be buried, the coffin, as was the custom in old Mabalacat, was placed on a “lankayan”, a stretcher of bamboos, which was then carried on the shoulders of 4 persons. Shortly before burial, relatives younger than the deceased took turns kissing his hand, while the children were held up and passed to waiting arms across the coffin to prevent hauntings. Taking out the deathbed through the window is another sure way to ward off ghostly encounters.

16.Everyone threw in a handful of soil as the casket was lowered, but only the gravediggers were permitted to look at it. There was also the prevalent practice of burying a rosary with the dead, but it had to be cut first lest the dead became restless. (Death is the end of our physical life, but a rosary, in a chain form, is “endless”, so it also needs to be cut).

17.In the first two nights after burial, family and friends gathered around a makeshift altar inside the house to pray for the deceased, have bread, sweets and tea or coffee (nothing more), followed by merriment (more caragatan and talubangan).

18.On the third night, when the soul was believed to come for a brief visit, a seat would be reserved for him at the dining table where ash, instead of food, was put on his plate and covered with cacaricucha leaves. The soul would be pleased to see this and would reward his loved ones with a passing apparition or even clues to some hidden wealth.

19.From fourth to eighth nights, only bread, sweets and tea/coffee would be served again to those who participated in the prayer vigils, but on the ninth night (the uacas of the pasiyam), a big dinner was served. Groups of visitors took turns praying for the deceased before proceeding to the dinner table.

20.The period of mourning ends after a year—lukas paldas—and on this day, the black clothes worn by the bereaved family are finally replaced and kept in the baul. A pa-misa and a grand salu-salo cap this day, with everyone reminiscing about the past year and of the days with their beloved departed. Tears are wiped, laughter returns. Indeed, to everything, there is a season.

SOURCES:

Tantingco, Robby P. 'Death and Our Neighbors", http://robbypeanutgallery.blogspot.com/2010/11/death-and-our-neighbors.html

Castro, Alex. Kematen: A Time to Mourn/ Mourning Mortality, www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com

65. 12 STATELY KAPAMPANGAN RESIDENCES, AS THEY LOOKED IN THE 1930s

The 1930s was a period of relative peace and prosperity for many Kapampangans, especially for those who made their fortunes from the province’s burgeoning sugar and rice industry. Old colonial homes were refurbished and expanded, modern residences were built,  designer mansions and multi-storey homes were commissioned to be lived in, and to be seen. Here are some of them as they appeared in the halcyon days of the 1930s.

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The spacious Don Alfonso de Leon residence was designed by Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo, considEred as the “Father of Modern Architecture”. It was constructed with Rizal Cement and furnished with renowned Puyat Furniture pieces.

The residence of Don Luis Wenceslao Dison and Feliza Hizon Dison is located in brgy. San Jose. It is another creation of Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo, built with Rizal Cement, painted by A.B. Villanueva & Sons, and furnished with Puyat Furniture. The 1930s house, whose main features remain intact,  is now being used as the Archdiocesan Chancery.

Don Benigno Fajardo is one of the founding fathers of Lubao Institute which opened in 1929. The most distinctive part of his multi-level house is the double-roofed upper storey terrace, accessible by a grand central staircase.

A prominent sugar planter of Lubao, Don Ambrosio Gonzales (b.1876/d.1957)  is also a socio-civic leader of the town, having founded the Hormiga de Hierro (Ants of Steel) in 1901. His charming 2-storey house, which is enclosed by a metal grill fence, sits on a lush garden and is typical of the modernized homes in 1930s Pampanga.

The Guanzon house was built in 1932 by Don Felipe Pineda Guanzon for his wife Dona Epifania Alvendia- Guanzon of Sta. Rita. Known today as Villa Epifania, the concrete house has sleek art deco elements, a style in vogue during the Commonwealth years.

Don Leandro Ibarra, an accomplished lawyer, was named Secretary of Interior of the Philippine Revolutionary Government under Emilio Aguinaldo. His capacious  “bahay na bato” residence was still well-kept and in order in the 1930s,

The Angeles home of Don Jose Lazatin, a  well-known businessman and sugar planter was designed by Menem Tayag. The concrete and wood house is furnished with the latest in Puyat Furniture.

The imposing Lopez Mansion, built in the grand Greek revival style, is reputed to be the first all-concrete house in Pampanga. It is constructed with APO Cement and furnished with Puyat Furniture. Owner Don Alejandro Lopez was a successful planter, owner of the Lopez Rice Mill, Co., and the Vice President of Pampanga Sugar Mills Planters Association. Together with his wife, Jacinta Limson and his family, Lopez resided and also held office here.

The home of Don Jose Luciano in Magalang was a favorite party place of the town’s elite, and the Lucianos would often host dinners and balls for Manila’s high society families like the Madrigals.  The beautiful house with a wide porch. was specially designed by Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo,  built with Rizal Cement and furnished with Puyat Furniture.

The beautiful home of lawyer  Don Pedro Morales (b.1886/d.1945) and Magdalena Hizon, was designed by his wife’s cousin, Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo in Mabalacat. A typical 30s house, it was furnished with Puyat Furniture. When the couple perished in he 1945 liberation of Manila, their lone surviving child inherited the house, and moved it to Magalang. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the ancestral Morales house.

The house of Don Teodosio Pecson Santos and Josefa Panlilio was another design of the much-in demand architect, Fernando H. Ocampo, and furnished with the usual Puyat Furniture. Located along A. Consunji Street in Barangay San Jose),  it was purchased by the Miranda family, and is now recognized as one of the capital city’s treasured ancestral houses.

Don Emiliano J. Valdes (b. 1876/d.1953), the generous Kapampangan philanthropist who gave his name as well as financial donation to fund Pampanga’s leading TB hospital in Angeles had his grand residence built along Plaridel St. in the mid 30s. The Valdeses had barely enjoyed their new house when his wife died on 20 September 1936.To make matters worse, his house was taken over by the Japanese during the war and turned into a military headquarters. To forget the sad events that transpired in his Angeles home, he sold the house and lot after the war, and the space has since become a commercial area.

SOURCES:
PAMPANGA SOCIAL REGISTER, 1933
Lubao Commemorative Fiesta Program, 1936
www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com, for Emiliano Valdes, Lopez Mansion, Pedro Morales House,