Thursday, June 8, 2017

49. 18 PAMPANGA LANDMARKS AND MONUMENTS, 1st of 2 parts

Pampanga has but a few monuments that serve as identifying landmarks of our towns and cities. New or old, they commemorate events, mark the achievements of heroes and local icons, and also remind us of the likenesses of figures and personalities they honor. Here are a few of these monuments that stand on the hallowed grounds of our great province.

ANDA MEMORIAL OBELISK
Location: Bacolor, Pampanga
The original 6 meter-high Anda Obelisk was unveiled by town officials in 1853 to honor Gov. Gen. Simon de Anda y Salazar who moved the capital of the Philippines to Bacolor from 1762-64, as the British sacked Manila.  The obelisk stood on a pedestal 1.7 meters high, anchored on a 6 sq. meter base., On the monument’s frontal was a marble plate on which was carved a commander’s cane  and a general’s sword, united by a crown of laurels and palms.  The monument, made of Meycauayan stone, stood in front of the house where Anda lived, across the Bacolor church patio. A similar monument could be found in Intramuros, the centerpiece of the Anda circle, built in 1876. But while the Manila obelisk survived, the memorial in Bacolor was destroyed by revolutionary forces when Spanish forces burned the town in 1899. On 8 October 2012, a replica of the original Anda memorial monument  was inaugurated in front of the town hall, which is across the former site of the Casa Real, the seat of the provincial government.

GEN. MAXIMINO HIZON MONUMENT
Location: Pampanga Capitol Grounds, San Fernando
At the center of the grounds in front of the Capitol Building stands a stately statue of Gen. Maximino Hizon, one of the famous Pampango generals who, during the revolution, distinguished himself in many battles against the Spanish and American armies. Maximino was born on 28 May 1870, of Chinese-Filipino roots, in Mexico. He rose to become the Comandante General of Pampanga and died on 1 Sep. 1901. The monument, which shows the hero wearing a familiar revolucionario hat astride a horse,  was erected on 28 December 1919, by the government and the people of Pampanga.


MACABEBE Á RIZAL MONUMENT
Location: Poblacion, Macabebe
The "Macabebe á Rizal" Monument  manifested the town’s recognition of the making of the Filipino nation during the American period. It was the first act of the Macabebes to honor the icon of the Revolution in 1919 (also the same year the National Flag derived from that of Aguinaldo's was officially instituted as the national colors). The next gesture of Macabebes' participation in the process of nation-building was the erection, in 1934,  of a monument dedicated to their native hero—“To The Brave King of Macabebe",  a symbol of the Macabebes’ bravery and his struggle for freedom from foreign rule. Majority of Macabebes might not have yet developed the concept of a nation in 1898, but they struggled to be Filipinos and underwent the said process.  As Jose Rizal’s 1888 letter to Mariano Ponce declared with longing:   "On the day when all Filipinos should think like us, on that day we shall have fulfilled our arduous mission which is the formation of the Filipino nation”.


JUAN CRISOSTOMO SOTO MEMORIAL BUST
Location: Bacolor
Pampanga’s foremost man of letters--Juan Crisostomo C. Soto (b. 27 Jan. 1867) was known by his pen name Crissot. He was an influential and distinguished poet, playwright, novelist, journalist, publisher and revolutionary who sparked the golden age of Kapampangan literature. His lifeworks works are 49 plays, a novel, a few stories, sketches and a good number of poems and newspaper articles. At the height of his career, Crissot wrote the best-selling novel, Lidia. His zarzuela masterpiece, Alang Dios! (There is no God!) was first performed on 16 November 1902 at Teatro Sabina in Bacolor, Pampanga, and it was reported to have been given a standing ovation once at Teatro Zorilla in Manila. By common consent, Kapampangans immortalized Crissot by naming the popular vernacular poetic jousts Crissotan. The literary giant died on  12 July 1918. On 2 Aug. 1919, the “Aguman 33”, and actor’s club whose members performed in many Crissot zarzuelas, raised funds to build a bust memorial, done by the Quiapo sculptor, Euogio Velarde Garcia. After the town was buried in lahar in 1995, the Crissot Memorial Bust was the first to be unearthed.


AURELIO TOLENTINO MONUMENT
Location: Municipal Hall frontage, Guagua
Pampanga’s most notable revolutionary playwright was born in Sto. Cristo of this town on 13 Oct. 1867. Aurelio Tolentino's law studies in Manila was cut short due to his father’s death, and he returned to Guagua briefly to teach.  He found a job at the Court of the First Instance in Tondo where he met Andres Bonifacio and became a revolucionario. He helped print propaganda materials, was a signatory of the Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit on 12 June 1898. But it was his fiery writings that made Tolentino a force to reckon with. He was charged with sedition for his 1903 verse drama “Napun, Ngeni at Bukas” (Kahapon , Ngayon at Bukas) and was imprisoned for 2 years. Other works include the Kapampangan 6-act drama “Buac ng Ester” , “Daclat Kayanakan” and “Kasulatang Guintu”. Aurelio Tolentino died in 1915 and was buried in the North Cemetery. In 1921, his remains were transferred to Guagua, where they were interred in the base of a memorial monument which is now located at the Plaza Burgos, on the right side of Guagua’s municipal hall.


FELIX GALURA MONUMENT
Location: Bacolor, Pampanga
On 24 December 1924, a monument was put up in front of the Bacolor Elementary School by Aguman 33, a band of grateful citizens and friends, dedicated to the memory of a beloved son of Bacolor--“Caluguran Nang Anac Ning Baculud”Felix Napao Galura. Born on 21 Feb. 1866, Galura became a well-known writer; he assumed the pseudonym “Flauxgalier” (an anagram of his name), and was a regular contributor to the bi-lingual newspaper “E Mangabiran/ El Imparcial” which began publication in 1905. He wrote Kapampangan adaptations of Spanish plays like “O, Kasiran” and “Azucena”. With Juan Crisostomo Soto, he co-wrote “Ing Singsing A Bacal” (The Ring of Steel), a zarzuela based on a Spanish play. ”Ing Cabiguan” (The Misfortune”), a verse narrative published in 1915, is his best-known work. The multi-faceted Galura was not onlya poet, grammarian, revolutionary journalist but also a public servant, serving as  Bacolor’s town head from 1909-18. He passed away on 21 July 1919, at age 53.

KING OF MACABEBE (Nameless Hero)  MONUMENT
Location: Municipal Hall frontage, Macabebe
The young leader of Macabebe led more than 2,000 warriors from Pampanga and Bulacan to expel Spaniards from Luzon on 31 May 1571. He refused the offer of friendship of Gov. Gen. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and instead, challenged him to a battle in Bangkusay, where the nameless hero perished. For centuries, he has been confused with Rajah Soliman, owing to Pedro Paterno’s assigning him the name “Tarik Soliman”. Spaniards called him “Bambalito”, a pejorative term, that does not really identify him. Nonetheless, in 1934, the brave warrior was honored with a monument showing "The King of Macabebe" seated, armed with a spear and shield. Originally located  in the Poblacion in 1934, it was a donation of then municipal presidente M. Bustos  Zabala and members of the Town Fiesta Committee led by its president, Feliciano Pineda,  In 2010, the monument was inscribed with the name ‘Tarik Soliman”, and 3 years later, with the issue still unresolved, a marble marker used both “Tarik Soliman “ and “Bambalito”. Only in 2016 that the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)  corrected the centuries-old error committed by Spanish and Filipino historians, by proclaiming an unnamed leader of Macabebe as the hero and martyr in the Battle of Bangkusay.


GEN. JOSE M. ALEJANDRINO MONUMENT
Location: Municipal Hall Grounds, Arayat
Gen. Jose M. Alejandrino was born to rich parents from Arayat in Tondo on 1 Dec. 1870 and would play many significant roles in our history—as a hero of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and of the Philippine-American War of 1898. Later in life, he was known as an accomplished political leader-- as a senator for Mindanao and Sulu, and as an elected representative to the 1934 Constitutional Convention.  Even as a student in Spain, he was an active member of the Propaganda movement,  helping edit  Dr. Jose Rizal’s  book, “Noli Me Tangere” and in publishing  “El Filibusterismo”. He served in the 1898 Malolos Congress, and when the Philippine-American War erupted, he rose to the position of brigadier general and became the acting secretary of war. He died on 1 June 1951. To honor his memory his monument was unveiled on 20 October 1963 by the Gov. Jose M. Alejandrino Movement, and sponsored by the Arayat Municipal Scouting Committee. The Gen. Jose M. Alejandrino monument was designed by architects Romeo and Felicisimo Vivencio. The monument, showing the general on his war steed,  was installed on the grounds of the Arayat municipal hall.  It was refurbished after the renovation of the plaza and after the reconstruction of the municipal building.


ING TANDA
Location: Town Plaza, Magalang
“Ing Tanda”, or the Magalang town marker, features a book guarded by an eagle. On the pages of the open book is inscribed the history of the town—from its founding by the Augustinians in 1605 to its turnover to the Philippine Republic  in 1946.  A plaque on its pedestal recounts the same, in English. The marker, designed by the Father of Modern Philippine Architecture, Fernando Ocampo y Hizon of San Fernando, was built through funds raised by town committees. It was installed on 13 December 1954.  

TO BE CONTINUED....


SOURCES & REFERENCES
Photo: Bacolor Anda Monument: Francis Musni
HIZON STATUE. Photos: Ivan Henares, Alex R. Castro
Source: Philippine Social Directory 1934
MACABEBE RIZAL MONUMENT. Photo/Source: Ian Alfonso
CRISSOT BUST. Photo: Sapni ng Crissot FB page
FELIX GALURA MONUMENT.
Photo: (old photo) Alex R. Castro Collection;  
Source: www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com (The Fiery Pen of Felix Galura)
KING OF MACABEBE. Photo: Ruston Banal
Source: Ian Christopher Alfonso, “Nameless Hero” book, 2016.
GEN. ALEJANDRINO. Photo: Religion, Revolution and Rice: Rambling through Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga (Part 2, owned by Marco Ph)
ING TANDA. Photos: Magalang Heritage FB page, courtesy of Doris Manlapaz

1 comment:

  1. Salese na, ban canita eta la acalinguan ding quecatamung penibatan at istoria.

    ReplyDelete