As we moved further north,
another well-known story from my youth is the famous church at Sta. Maria,
Ilocos Sur. Built on top of a steep hill, it was in honor of the Virgin Mary
who appeared on top of a guava tree at the same site. One of the UNESCO
heritage sites of Ilocos, much of its red brick and original limestone are
still intact although I noticed that the original marker has been replaced. I
was told that a new parish priest removed that image of Mama Mary on a guava
tree. After that, the town of Sta. Maria
experienced a succession of calamities - typhoons, floods and earthquakes.
Finally some old folk persuaded the parish priest to re-install the marker, albeit
a different one. And they even put the same image on the side wall of the
church which was already cemented thereby marring the original façade. It has
become partly unrecognizable from back when UP Los Banos Humanities class field
trips used to make the annual trek to Ilocandia.
A bit of good news greeted
me however, when I was informed that the current mayor has developed a decent footpath
and staircase going up to the famous site of “Paddak ni Angalo”. To see this so-called footprint of the giant
Angalo, one had to hike up a slippery dirt trail up the mountains. Nowadays,
cemented stone steps facilitate the long climb up where one can also glimpse
some waterfalls and mountain springs. But I am not sure if they have developed
the spot enough to encourage swimming.
Speaking of the giant
Angalo, legend also says he had a wife. The giantess, Ara was said to be buried
near the coastlines of Ilocos Sur, and “Suso Beach” was named after her because
from afar, the mountains form the figure of a woman with the mounds of her
breasts forming the rolling hills. Sadly, the view I saw during my latest visit
to Ilocos looks like a woman who just had a mastectomy. Extensive quarrying
activities allowed by the local officials have destroyed this legendary image.
No longer can parents regale their kids with stories and folklore that one can
point out in the landscape during their long drives up.
That wasn’t the only change
in the Ilocos Sur coastline that caught my eye. During the Marcos era, Imelda
wanted to make local tourism as a means of self-sufficiency for each
municipality. In the towns of San Esteban and Narvacan, tourist rest stops and
mini-parks were established. Even if the powerful waves and rocky beach didn’t
make them ideal swimming areas, picnic tables and swimming pools were available
at these facilities. But I was told that these were allowed to slowly rot away
– unused and unmaintained with no hope of being revived.
Coming up the great Abra
river, the famous Banawang bridge comes into view. A perennial feature in
various 1980s Filipino movies, this bridge has endured numerous typhoons and
floods. But several reconstructions over the years can no longer sustain or
ensure its safety feature and a newer bridge had to be built alongside it.
Appearing as sturdy as it used to, it can only be used by light vehicles now
and the buses and trucks that regularly traverse this route are compelled to
use the other bridge. Still it remains a majestic structure against the
backdrop of the ancient mountains and mighty river. It’s no surprise many still
stop by for a foto-op or two.
In Vigan and Bantay, many of
the ancestral homes I took for granted in my youth have disappeared. The very
few which remained have fortunately been salvaged to serve as part of the
Heritage Village. The plazas I used to play in and ride my bike have become
cramped with stage platforms, basketball courts and commercial establishments.
Even the church compounds now seemed smaller – with the Easter Sunday “salubong” scaffolding made of cement and
metal now permanently standing in its grounds. It used to be made of bamboo and
plywood. Hence every year, you never know which street corner it would be
constructed on and every other barangay can have the chance to play host.
Although my sisters had
visited Ilocos too at one time or another, I wondered if they saw it as I did.
Did they also feel a sense of nostalgia like me? Did they even notice the big
changes in these old places, or were their memories of our childhood too foggy
already to remember any of the things we saw then as kids.
I hope that someday we can
take this trip down memory lane again together.
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