Quezon's merry month of May
If people from Pampanga are called Kapampangans, those from Batangas are Batangueños, and natives of Ilocos are Ilocanos, what do you call those from Quezon province? This trivia question posed by Cristina Decal, tour operator and guide like no other, stumped media practitioners on their first leg of the San Isidro Festivals Cultural Trail.
It used to be a no-brainer, Decal says, when Quezon was still known as Tayabas, because then, anyone who was from the province generally called himself a Tayabasin, while those from its various municipalities went by such terms as Sariayahin (from Sariaya), Lucbanin (from Lucban), or Tiaongin (from Tiaong). Using this as the springboard for her talk, Decal, who is a Sariayahin, went on to share valuable information about the province, the unique traits of its people and what to expect during the three-day tour. The media tour was organized by Governor David “Jayjay” Suarez to show how culture, religious tradition, and creativity come together for an ultimate festival experience in Quezon.
Decal’s engaging style of storytelling had us in rapt attention from Makati all the way to San Pablo City, Laguna. When she concluded her insightful talk, our coaster van was just minutes away from our first stop — Tiaong.
A potter’s haven in Tiaong
Barangay Lusacan in Tiaong has become synonymous with its famous resident — Augusto “Ugu” Bigyan, a landscape and ceramics artist whose creative works have adorned well-known resorts and houses of influential people here and abroad. His Mexican-inspired house and garden invite visitors to take in the cool Tiaong air, relax in one of the quaint huts, or walk around for an up-close look at the decorative tiles, accent pieces and dinnerware displayed all over the place. Leaf and fish patterns are used extensively in his works, giving them a Zen-like feel. Any attempt to describe Ugu’s place and his art pieces might not do them justice, and reading about them can take one only so far. Thus, any nature and art lover’s list of must-see places should include his Tiaong address.
We took a break from our visual trip for our mid-morning minindal (local term for merienda or snacks). Ugu is known not only for his ceramic artistry but also for his innovative ways with Filipino food. Although he was not there to personally meet us, his staff made sure that we got to sample his lumpiang puso ng saging (banana blossoms) na may sotanghon (rice noodles), rootcrop salad with cream and palm sugar syrup, espasol, and a local delicacy called inabayan. We washed down the carb-laden fare with refreshing gulaman and banana juice. Every item on the plate was a winner, but everyone seemed to go for second serving of the lumpia. A merienda spread like that makes one want to go back for Ugu’s famous kulawo and other lunch delights, even if this means gathering and making prior reservations for at least 10 people.
Sariaya, a window to the past
Like Vigan in Ilocos Sur, Taal in Batangas, and Pila in Laguna, the heritage town of Sariaya beckons with its ancestral houses and stories of a glorious era. During the boom of the coconut industry in the pre-war years, the landed gentry in this part of Quezon struck bonanza and used their fortune to turn their colonial stone houses into palatial structures. Designed by foreign-trained Filipino architects like Juan Nakpil, Juan Arellano (who also designed the Manila Post Office and Metropolitan Theater), and Andres Luna de San Pedro (son of the famous artist Juan Luna), the ancestral houses were built by noted carpenters from Batangas and Pampanga. High ceilings, original wall paintings, ornate staircases, opulent furniture and fixtures from Europe and the United States, and the art-deco style feature prominently in the stately mansions.
Unfortunately, the grandeur of Old Sariaya was ravaged by several fires, the most destructive of which were the ones during the war in 1944 and the great fire in the 1960s, which gutted almost 30 blocks of the entire town. A few of the historic structures remain and were recognized by the National Historical Institute as heritage houses in 2008. Our group was privileged to visit the ancestral houses of Don Catalino Rodriguez, Don Isidro Rodriguez (also known as Doña Carmen’s house), and Gov. Natalio Enriquez.
Descendants of the original owners were there not only to welcome us and share stories of their respective families, but also to allow us to experience snippets of Sariaya culture and history. At the Don Catalino Rodriguez mansion, we donned period dresses and posed for posterity; at Doña Carmen’s house, we were treated to a tagayan ritual done in the traditional pandango at awit style. Tagayan, which means to pour a drink, is a ritual done not to promote drinking but to welcome guests to Quezon. It is a showcase for the famous lambanog, or coconut vodka with 90% alcohol that sets one’s throat on fire, but which leaves no hangover. Here, we were also shown an underground cellar where the original residents used to hide their eldest daughter, Doña Carmen, from a lovestruck Japanese official.
That illustrious era is long gone, but the Sariayahins’ reputation for having discriminating taste lives to this day.
More historic landmarks
The Lucena walking tour showed more efforts to preserve traces of history. Caloy Villariba, an avid researcher and son of a noted historian from Quezon, shared many interesting details about important landmarks around the government compound. The Quezon Museum, which used to be the provincial hospital, now houses the memorabilia of important personalities including President Manuel Quezon, former Senator Lorenzo Tañada, and former Congressman Manuel Enverga. The old municipal hall provides a vantage view of the Filemon Perez Park with such interest points as the Quezon Monument, the Governor’s Mansion, a unique Rizal monument and a cave-like band noted for its superior acoustics.
In Tayabas, we saw vestiges of old glory in Casa de Comunidad de Tayabas, the site of many important events in local history. It was in this tribunal where Apolonio de la Cruz, otherwise known as Hermano Pule, was sentenced to death for leading the first major revolt in the country in 1841. Tayabas also boasts of Malagondong bridge, the oldest stone bridge in the province built in 1840 and the Minor Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, which has one of the longest aisles (103 meters) among old churches in the Philippines.
San Isidro Festivals
All roads lead to Lucban where Pahiyas, the most colorful and the most photographed festival in the country happens in mid-May. The festival is to thank Saint Isidore, the patron saint of farmers, for a bountiful harvest. The Pahiyas Festival is also the best venue for sampling food that has put Lucban in the culinary map: the spicy and garlicky longganisang Lucban and the flavorful pancit habhab. It is generally believed that if you have a Lucbanin cook in the house, you’ve got it made.
Three other harvest festivals are held in Quezon, namely, Agawan in Sariaya, Mayohan in Tayabas, and Arana’t Baluarte in Gumaca. The drill is the same: a procession goes through selected roads and as soon as the image of the patron saint passes by, people jump, tug and grab at available goodies. In Sariaya, it’s an assortment of food and non-food items hanging on young bamboo branches called bagacay; in Tayabas, it’s mostly suman and summer fruits; in Gumaca, it’s a wide range of farm produce arranged in chandeliers hanging on beautiful arches. The explosion of colors, the creativity and the happy pandemonium that take place during these events make for an ultimate experience in thanksgiving and sharing one’s blessings that should not be missed. To use a local expression, they’re “yanong ‘rikit, baling ganda” (so unique, so beautiful).
Going back to Decal’s earlier trivia, people commonly use the Americanized “Quezonian,” which of course deviates from the local way of simply adding “in” to the name of a town. The cultural trail gave us a chance to visit six of their 40 towns, and allowed us to discover different reasons for loving Quezon province. The fine taste of Sariayahins, the creativity and culinary artistry of the Lucbanins, and the Tayabasins’ passion for their heritage may be their distinguishing traits; but they all have that warm and welcoming nature, the hospitality and generosity that make them quintessentially Quezonian and fabulously Filipino. And you can only enjoy this feeling of being their much-welcome guest if you visit Quezon. - Article courtesy of Manila Bulletin
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