Pampanga is home to many ancestral residences and
historic houses, many of which were built during the province’s glory years,
when the sugar industry turned many hacienderos into millionaires. To show off their ascent in society, they
erected homes and mansions fit for royalty. Where have all these beautiful old
houses gone? These then-and-now photos tell the story.
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| REYES HOUSE: THEN: 1974 photo/ NOW: 2010 |
The history of the Reyes House begins with the Nicolas
Castro, a former capitan of Candaba, who built the house in 1780. His great
grandson. Estanislao Reyes, inherited the house and settled here with his wife
and children. A typical bahay na bato, the lower part of the house is made of
adobe while the commodious upstair area had five bedrooms. At its prime, the
house was furnished with a Weber upright piano, German-made chandeliers, Vienna
chairs, 4-poster beds, and a portrait of Castro by Hilarion Asuncion. Whenever
the Spanish governor general visited Pampanga, he stayed in the Reyes House. In
more contemporary times, the house was used for the shooting of the movie,”Noli
Me Tangere”, a 1961 film directed by Gerry de Leon. Reconstructed in Bagac in
2005, it now stands as part of Las Casas
Filipinas de Acuzar, where it is known as Casa Candaba.
THE DE LEON HOUSE,
Bacolor.
The De Leon-Joven Family was the single richest family in all of Pampanga in the 1920s, owing to their majority ownership of PASUDECO, The Pampanga Sugar Development Company. Don Jose “Pitong de Leon” (b.1867/d.1939) was married twice, first to Regina Joven and then after her early demise, to Regina’s siter, Maria Natividad. Together with other affluent Kapampangan investors, he put up the PASUDECO in 1918, which he headed as President. His large and splendid 1850s ancestral “bahay na bato”, with its spacious azotea escalera and sprawling gardens was the site of legendary parties thrown by the de Leons for their fellow hacendero friends and sugar barons. De Leon was gunned down along with two others in a labor dispute in 1939. The house, sadly, no longer stands.
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| DE LEON HOUSE, THEN, 1950s photo/NOW: 1993 |
The De Leon-Joven Family was the single richest family in all of Pampanga in the 1920s, owing to their majority ownership of PASUDECO, The Pampanga Sugar Development Company. Don Jose “Pitong de Leon” (b.1867/d.1939) was married twice, first to Regina Joven and then after her early demise, to Regina’s siter, Maria Natividad. Together with other affluent Kapampangan investors, he put up the PASUDECO in 1918, which he headed as President. His large and splendid 1850s ancestral “bahay na bato”, with its spacious azotea escalera and sprawling gardens was the site of legendary parties thrown by the de Leons for their fellow hacendero friends and sugar barons. De Leon was gunned down along with two others in a labor dispute in 1939. The house, sadly, no longer stands.
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| PAMINTUAN MANSION. THEN: 1966 photo/ NOW: 2015 |
Constructed around 1890 by spouses Mariano Pamintuan and Valentina Torres for their son, Florentino, mayor of Angeles. Don Florentino, who became a successful haciendero, settled in this mansion with first wife Mancia Suarez, who gave him 5 children. After her death, he married again, this time to Tomasa Centeno, with whom he would have 11 more offsprings. The house could be accessed through a grand entresuelo, from where one climbed a massive stairway of solid Philippine hardwood to reach the landing. The opulence of the second floor becomes even more apparent—from its metal ceiling with pukpok (repousse) designs to the ornamental arches and painted walls. The mansion featured modern amenities; it had running water in the bathrooms and kitchen that was hand-pumped from a well. Rooms were illuminated by liquid petrol lamps. Two separate spiral staircases led to a rooftop tower that doubled as a veranda, from where one could take in the view of the town. The Pamintuan Mansion became the headquarters of the revolutionary army under Venancio Concepcion and General Antonio Luna in 1899. It was occupied by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and it was here that the first anniversary of Philippine Independence was celebrated on June 12. It was brought by the Central Bank of the Philippines in 1981, and the restored residence was inaugurated in 1988. The Pamintuan was converted into the Museum of Philippine Social History in 2015.
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| ARRASTIA HOUSE. THEN: 1925/NOW: 2012 |
The palatial house of one of the town’s most affluent
Spanish-Filipino family was built in 1920 by Valentin Roncal Arrastia, a Basque
from Spain,who found not only
fortune in Pampanga, but also a wife—Francisca
Serrano Salgado of Lubao. The grand house in front of the municipio was typical
of the architecture of the period—a transitional style featuring elements of
the ‘bahay na bato” and modern American influences. Lavish parties were
regularly hosted by Don Valentin for his friends—mostly rich hacenderos and
fellow-sugar planters, including a luncheon for Mr. R. Renton Hind, a
high-ranking American official of the country’s sugar industry. Daughter Juanita
and husband Dr. Wenceslao Beltran Vitug, bought out the shares of her siblings
when their parents died, hence the property was passed on to the Vitugs. In
2007, the Vitug-Arrastia heirs sold their ancestral home to Architect Jose L.
Acuzar. It was transported and reconstructed in Bagac, Bataan as Casa Lubao, a heritage
house of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.
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| GUANZON HOUSE.THEN: 1933 photo/ NOW; 2014 |
The Guanzon house was built in 1932 by Don Felipe Pineda
Guanzon for his wife Dona Epifania Alvendia- Guanzon of Sta. Rita. It is also
known today as Villa Epifania. It was restored by the Guanzon heirs and
descendants, many of whom have moved to
the U.S., hence the U.S. flag in front of the grand residence. The villa was
used as a venue for the filming of several movies like Tinimbang Ka Nguni’t
Kulang (1974) and Tanging Yaman (2000),
which raised the level of awareness for the house and made it popular among
local tourists.
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| DE LA CRUZ TOWER HOUSE, THEN:1933 photo/NOW; 2009 |
At the end of the Sta. Ines Expressway exit. one can find
the 1932 house of the prominent sugar planter Vicente de la Cruz and wife
Felipa Lim. It is most notable for its tower, rivalling
the church belltower in height, as it once was the most visible feature of
downtown Mabalacat. It was built for daughter Constancia, who had suffered from
tuberculosis in her youth. The family believed that fresh air would be good for
her lungs, so every day, she ascended
the tower via a spiral staircase to spend a few hours there. The roof tower
fell down in 1991 due to an earthquake and a typhoon blew it off shortly after,
but the owners always replaced it. Well-kept through the years, the house had
only minor refurbishments; it still retains its original 80 year old Puyat furniture. A few Dela Cruz
grandchildren currently live and maintain the house, the way their grandparents
have lavished it with their love and care.
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| LOPEZ MANSION, THEN: 1933 photo/NOW: 2016 |
One of Pampanga’s most spectacular and most photographed
landmarks is the Lopez Mansion, an imposing concrete residence and office built
by the sugar magnate, Don Alejandro Lopez (b. 16 May 1883) of Guagua for his
wife Jacinta Limson in the early 1930s.
Constructed of APO Cement, the mansion also doubled as his office. Done in the
Greek Revival style, the façade is dominated by Grecian columns accented with
reliefs of foliate swags flowing down from the column's capital. Sandwiched in
between are glass-panelled openings that lead to individual room balconies. Concrete
balusters line the building perimeter as well as the 2nd floor protruding
balconies where one can stand to watch the world go by. The house was furnished
with Puyat Furniture and the grounds
were landscaped with flowering trees and
greeneries. In its time, this mansion
was an object of awe and attention, hailed in publications as “The Pride of Guagua, Pampanga”.
It was well kept until 2006; after which, it fell into a state of disrepair and
decay due to family squabbles. Today, the Lopez Mansion is being converted into
a commercial restaurant.
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| DISON HOUSE, THEN: ca. 1933 photo/ NOW: 2016 |
The Archdiocesan Chancery is a heritage house in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Located along Consunji Ext. in barangay San Jose, the house was the former residence of Luis Wenceslao Dison and Felisa Hizon. Dison was a successful sugar planter, businessman and devout religious leader. It was propitious that his house was purchased by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando. The 1930s house, whose main features remain intact, is now being used as the Archdiocesan Chancery.
PHOTO SOURCES:
Casa Candaba (2010)
Photo by Oliver Bautista, https://www.flickr.com/photos/oliverbautista/4446790929
Casa Lubao (2012)
Guanzon House
(2014):
wikipedia commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FvfSantaRitaPampanga2644_11.JPG
De la Cruz Tower
House (2009), courtesy of Mr. Leo Cloma
Lopez Mansion
(2016)
Photo by: https://www.jadagram.com/i/clarolee/630756744?next=1290579296553087405https://www.jadagram.com/i/clarolee/630756744?next=1290579296553087405
Dison House/ San
Fernando Chancery (2016)
Pamintuan Mansion
(2015): http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/images/2015/08/16/museo-ng-kasaysayang-panlipunan-ng-pilipinas-424914http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/images/2015/08/16/museo-ng-kasaysayang-panlipunan-ng-pilipinas-424914
All other photos: Alex R. Castro Archives
All other photos: Alex R. Castro Archives
Very beautiful.
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