Chapter X: Cobblestone
As I finish my hot choco, I'm actually bored and I needed something to get my boredom off. Some people just scroll down Facebook. Others would just binge-watch something on their Netflix and or other viewing platforms. Others would go to an arcade or amuse themselves. But for me, I would do differently. That is, I would go explore heritage. Heritage doesn't just mean Calle Crisologo, but it's a complex word. I would define heritage as the sum of history and preservation of culture throughout generations. Artifacts that has been passed down, heirlooms that have been in the care of a family despite age. Heritage in Ilocos Sur is rich, thus the Ilocano term for heritage, "Kannawidan".
I go down the southeastern steps of Plaza Burgos, and cross the street going to Tongson's. Then, I pass by Café Leona. I have never been or may have forgotten if possibly I tried something here when I was a child. I look to my right, and it's the seated statue of the famed Ilocano poetess, Leona Florentino. I gaze on the statue overlooking the busy Plaza.
I continue my way down Calle Crisologo. The cobblestoned street, with the authentic old houses that stood for ages. Calesas, the horse-drawn carriages pass through the streets as the clickety-clack of hooves over the sett pavement. Calle Crisologo remains the symbol of Vigan, as well as being the best preserved Hispanic town in Asia. One might ask, what about Intramuros? Intramuros was old but during WWII, it was bombed and was in a state of ruins. It was soon rebuilt to preserve and bring back Intramuros as the heritage district of Manila. Vigan on the other hand, wasn't destroyed during WWII, and its urban layout stayed intact. However, even fires were almost frequent around the Poblacion Area, there was just a bit change but the urban grid and layout didn't.
As I come around the intersection between Calle Bonifacio, I see a house in ruins. I remember that this house was one of the checkpoints of The Amazing Race Asia back then, and housed a souvenir shop in it. However, as time passed, I couldn't help but wonder, why and how did something grandeur became a ruin? This is also the case for other structures not just in Vigan. In Isabela, there's a ruined church of San Pablo. Instead of assuming the original structure, they established a smaller church inside of it.
I walk to the center of the street, yet nothing beats the heat. I have an umbrella to shelter me, but it can also be called a parasol. As I see the houses lining up the street, something makes me drift back into my mind. What is this so-called "Heritage"? I remember back then that someone posted that Vigan Heritage is fake. I wanted to speak out to that since it's a threat to our tourism and heritage. However, knowing my nature on social media, and it is Facebook, I shan't. The Heritage of Vigan is unique, and well-defined. Heritage is not only seen on buildings, but can also be seen in the tradition and culture of the people. It is a treasure that makes a community stand out underlying its historical significance.
I walk on the cobblestones, looking at the exposed bricks of the walls. I can't help but ask, "How old are these houses?". These houses are actually really, really old that started from the 18th century. When Vigan was founded in 1572, it became the third oldest Spanish Colonial settlement and troops were deployed from here to Manila and back, when revolts would break out. Merchants from places like China, Mexico, and Spain went to Vigan and settle here. As they settled here, they begin to have families and the houses are preserved and passed down from generations to generations. Some expanded, some were annexed. Some were sold off, and transformed the interior, yet the exterior is still the same. Old but gold. Conservation of these structures within are the very core of heritage, and the symbol of identity.
As I see the bricks, Capiz shell windows, and wood that holds up the houses, I reflect to my own past. The past that I almost forgot.
Past is the foundation. We often learn something from the past. Have one ever reevaluated it? Why do we reevaluate our past? It is to dig up more, and to learn more about yourself. It might be cringe, but it is you, and to understand you, is to accept who you were and are.
I remember when I visited again my old alma matter, and the plant box of the auditorium was damaged. I saw that there were bricks appearing from the damaged plastered area. These bricks scattered at the foot of it. These were due to the Northern Luzon Earthquake 2022. This would make me look at the Old Administration building which was affected by the earthquake. It had an impact to its structural integrity. That's why the building isn't in use and the administration was transferred just in front of the building. From the scattered debris, I picked up one of the pieces and kept it ever since in my artifacts tray.
Bricks were made of clay, they get molded into its shape. Its mother material, the clay as part of the soil, is compacted. From it, it forms into shapes, and it is used in the construction of buildings. Either it is a church, house, tabacalera (warehouse), Baluarte (watchtower), or anything, it shows how ancient construction material were.
A quote flashes into my mind, and it was first introduced to me back then in Grade 11 Career Day.
"Mar!", a voice was in the distance and approaches me. It's Rhiz, one of my classmates.
"You'll be the one introducing our career when the parade will be done", she continues.
The parade was going around inside the campus. We were representing our chosen career, which were engineering and architecture. We were all dressed up completely in our attire with hardhats, though some weren't aware of the dress code.
Rhiz was one of the engineering and architects, but the following year, she changed to nursing. I on the other hand, maintained it. And actually, it somehow makes me doubt the filed sometimes. The lessons are unpredictably hard, and the college is sometimes not transparent and bright.
The others choose wisely, and affected by peers. It's like Personal Development. Career Path is affected by peers, family, and community. Although for me, I reflect that it can pressure yet influenced by knowledge and desire to learn and due to the issues of the country.
But now that there's no wall in my path, I remember the quote that lead me back to that day.
"We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us."
This is a quote attributed to UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One might think that it's about changes in buildings by technology however, it has a deeper meaning.
We are like buildings. Imagine your life is like a building. We are sometimes affected by the earthquake and tremors of yesterday's past. What we learn, what we obtain, acts as our foundation that builds on top, age after age. As your life progresses, we see some cracks along the way, but we can patch it and put some plaster on it.
If we tumble down due to the flow of the wind, a strong storm of a typhoon, we something build up once again, again, and again.
Back to the present, these structures still stand strong from calamities. The earthquake may have shaken the place, and affected the structures, yet it showed resiliency like how we live today. Whatever it is, the past serves as the heavy foundation, as it became the pavement and the anchor or footing to build up. Build, build, build, at least with the right materials, it will be sturdier than ever. Do not build with chunks of junk that corrupt the columns of that building, because with the right tools, and knowledge applied, it is at stake for our own life and this shows progression not just engineering, but also life itself.
As I walk past Starbucks, and La Casa Blanca, I go back and walk through the cobblestoned street again, going back to Plaza Burgos to get a ride going back home.
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