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Strolling Through Time

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

By Danica Eliana Ferino

December 8^th, 2016

Chronesthesia of Old Houses

Last November 17-18, 2016, I attended the ASP Convention held at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan.

I've heard of Las Casas before and I knew it was a heritage park where old houses from different places were relocated, reconstructed and preserved, and is reminiscent of the heritage towns of Vigan and Taal. While I've seen too many beautiful photos over the internet of the place, exploring it for yourself is something else. I love old places, old architecture, and wandering across the 400-hectare grounds of Las Casas is therapeutic for me.

Heritage Day Tours are offered for those who want to visit the place but do not wish to stay overnight. Schedules and rates are listed on their website.

Road to Bagac, Bataan. The Shrine of Valor peeps through the clouds atop Mt. Samat

Hotel de Oriente

ASP Sessions were held at the Hotel de Oriente, a replica of Manila's first premiere hotel and also the venue for the 2015 APEC meetings. The original hotel was built in Binondo but was later destroyed during the Japanese occupation. It was said that the country's national hero also stayed at Hotel de Oriente at some point after his return from Hong Kong. Since no detailed photos of the original interior were found, several local artists were then commissioned by Architect Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar, owner of Las Casas, to beautify the place.

The people who built this building, both the interior and the exterior, really did a superb job. The facade of the building does look like the original architecture as seen on the old photographs. The designs on the interior are so detailed, so intricately done. I felt really proud for our local artists. It is a bit disappointing though on the part of the management that they did not acknowledge the names of those they commissioned.

Shards of wood, with their natural colors preserved, were used to create this replica of the Spolarium.

Different wood carvings deck the ceiling of Hotel de Oriente, with shards of wood intricately crafted by local artists.

Las Casas at Night

The heritage park is built beside the beach. One of the perks of staying overnight is that you witness sunsets like this. The compound also lights up all its houses at night and an evening stroll offers a different feel as compared with just taking a day tour.

Casa Baliuag II

This was our home for two days. There are two fully air-conditioned rooms upstairs, each room may accommodate up to 4 persons. On the left of Casa Baliuag II is Casa Cagayan, a group of four houses built on stilts. The houses may look old on the outside but the rooms are almost modern and quite comfortable. Beside Casa Cagayan is a batis-inspired swimming pool.

First Morning Stroll

I usually start my stroll before 6:00 AM. The sun is not yet harsh and there were fewer people strolling about the park.

The world is mine at dawn. :)

The first morning is spent exploring the heritage sites located along Umagol River and also houses near Casa Baliuag II.

Bridge across Umagol River connecting to the Lubao Church replica

Interior of the Lubao Church replica, still under construction as of November 2016

Casa Maranao from Mindanao (House of the Datu)

Photographing doors is almost addicting.

I don't know the story or the names of most of the houses I explored. Our complimentary heritage tour is only less than half of the actual walking tour. I believe most of the houses were occupied by ASP delegates at that time so we can't visit everything.

Heritage Walking Tour

The first house we visited is a red brick mansion - a replica of old English architecture and is not really a heritage house.

The second house is Casa Hagonoy from Bulacan. The house was originally built by a husband whose wife is too vain. She wished for a garish house and a lavish lifestyle and that eventually drove her descendants to become nuns and priests.

Casa Quiapo, originally from Hidalgo Street in Manila, served as the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. Its owner then was also the director of the school, Don Rafael Enriquez. He installed a small peephole at the ceiling above the gates so he can see who his visitors were. It was said that sometimes he sprays piss on his visitors if he is in a particularly bad mood. After the University of the Philippines transferred to Padre Faura, the house fell in disrepute - it even became a venue for live sex shows and an abortion clinic. As it stands now in Las Casas, it became the park's museum.

Casa Lubao is also one of the houses that have an amazing story. It was previously owned by a rich Filipino family who hired a Japanese as their driver. It turned out that their driver was in fact a colonel. During World War II, the house served as Japanese garrisons. It was customary for the Japanese to burn the house after they finished using it. Because of the kindness of the family to their driver who worked for them for almost a decade, their house was spared.

UP logo at Casa Quiapo

Second Morning Stroll

It was cloudy during my second morning stroll. The park looked a bit gloomy. I decided to explore the area behind Casa Hagonoy where the houses have a bit more of an English architecture.

Dambana ng Kagitingan

On the route back to Manila, one may take a trip to Mt. Samat and see the Shrine of Valor or the Dambana ng Kagitingan. This huge cross was built to commemorate the citizens who died during World War II.