This thread will feature some of La Union's historical sites

from a blog by oooneh at http://ooohneh.blogspot.com/2011/06/poro-lighthouse.html

Poro Point lies northwest of Luzon within San Fernando City in the Province of La Union. Approximate travel time from Manila is 5hrs by land travel and less than an hour by plane. A lighthouse was built at Poro Point in 1905 during the American occupation.

The Poro Point Lighthouse is 8 meters (27 ft) high, its tower made up of concrete tower which consists a gallery but it has no lantern. It has a focal plane of 33meters (107ft) and has two white flashes every 10seconds.

The lighthouse is not accessible to tourist because it is inside a military airfield/base. Plans to develop the lighthouse as a tourist destination is being considered. The blogger got a (once in a lifetime) chance to visit the lighthouse, up close and personal.

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Aboard a red plate vehicle and lead by a personnel from our regional office, we went to the entrance of the lighthouse. We stopped by the checkpoint, and courteously asked if we could take photos of the lighthouse. The military guard on duty was a bit hesitant and he radioed someone somewhere inside the base. He asked us of our purpose for trying to enter the military secured area.

I had that scene playing over and over in my mind.
Take 1: We are going to take samples for some baseline study on seawater quality on this side of the gulf.
Take 2: We received a call about unstable ground and earth movement inside.. We are here to investigate.

I grew up in a military base, so I know how it is with these guys. They are strict and they follow protocol. But if they don't see you as a threat and you show them valid proofs of credibility, you'll have no problem asking for a small favor.

So the safest answer, not to mention the one that worked was - "Oh these guys are from Manila and we are touring them. We are from _____. Is it okay if we enter? It wouldn't take long." (Me at the back, flashing my best smile..) He asked for our ID's and gave us the thumbs-up!

And finally my photo at the lighthouse after the military fuzz at the gate...

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Around the lighthouse are abandoned structures. The only wildlife out there are dogs barking at us, and goats happily chewing grass. Several structures can be seen inside the base including these two building with giant golf balls as a roofing.

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Luna Watchtower

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Photo by Carl Emar Carbajal via NATIVES OF LA UNION (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=213370612040668&set=o.36219002972&type=1&theater)

From a blog at langyaw.com http://langyaw.com/2011/07/01/monument-to-a-past-the-pindangan-ruins/

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Side entrance to a once beautiful church

It was a no brainer. The ruins in Pindangan, part of Barangay Parian in San Fernando City, La Union is old judging from the primitive construction technique of mamposteria, stones, placed one on top of the other.

It was how smaller churches of old were used to be built during the middle of the Spanish colonial period or places where evangelization has just started. But for me, I’ve always wanted to visit this ruin, precursor to the present cathedral of San Fernando City, probably constructed in the 1780s by the Augustinians.

I’m not sure if this is the original church as a document is said to list down four structures in different parts of San Fernando built prior to the current one.

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Pindang is an Ilocano term for a fish drying method and this might be the place where the locals used to do it. The sitio of Pindangan was originally formed when the two oldest and important towns of Dalangdalang and Balanac were merged. Later, Pindangan was known as San Fernando, currently the capital of La Union.
The ruins only has its walls and buttresses with parts of the facade. There are interesting bas reliefs at the interior walls that are mostly Augustinian symbols: the miter and the hand ho lding a house. A portion of the facade has interesting animal carvings and some floral designs.

The ruins can be accessed through a small road along the MacArthur Highway, meters from the Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Office and just before entering the city center.

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Bas relief of a symbol of St. Augustine.

from a blog by Estan Cabigas at langyaw.com
source link: http://langyaw.com/2011/07/03/lunas-lonely-sentinel-of-the-sea/

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Broken into two, Luna's sole watchtower is in such a sorry state, an unworthy condition to what it has served its people before.

I was quite excited when our guide told us that we will be visiting the Pindangan Ruins and the Luna watchtower in La Union while staying at the Thunderbird Resorts in Poro Point.

Being a heritage advocate and who has been documenting these kind of structures for some time, my simbahan.net blog is testament to this, I was quite excited as I’ve been wanting to visit this two structures but didn’t just had the time to go there. Until that La Union visit.

But what greeted me was disheartening. It has lost its balance, leaning on the sandy shores of Luna’s beach. Broken and probably left with no more tears as the descendants of the ancestors that this structure protected from the Pintados from the Visayas, Moro marauders looking for slaves, left it under the merciless elements while the area is continuously being quarried for its pebbles and sand.

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Left under the mercy of the elements, it stands as a forgotten reminder to once dangerous times.

Centuries ago, I would surmise that it stood proudly on this very shores, elegant and white washed with paletada. At the sight of the slave raiders, the human sentinel might have set a smoke signal to warn the townsfolk of impending attack while the church bells are rung to call on the people to gather at the church.

It would have been a beautiful structure. A base of mamposteria, stones piled upon one another, and then layered with thousands of bricks as can be seen now. Not sure if it has a second floor but there are slots for wooden beams above the windows.

Unfortunately, this defender of Namacpacan, Luna’s old name, has deteriorated greatly. I just hope that the local government will have rehabilitation plans and make it as part of their tourism sites, a heritage structure worth saving for the memories it served and as part of its historical fabric.

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From a blog by: Lia Cruz

If you've ever driven along the highway through La Union, through San Fernando City, you've most probably spotted a towering temple of worship protruding from behind the downtown structures. That would be Taoist Ma-Cho Temple.

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Mama Ma-Cho (pronounced Ma-Tzoo) is supposed to be a protector of the those who travel the seas. If you're familiar with Batangas' Our Lady of Caysasay (who they say was found in the waters by a fisherman), Mama Ma-Cho is actually one and the same. There is even a whole board inside the temple containing reading material explaining the Our Lady of Caysasay and Mama Ma-Cho are indeed the same.

Here's a look into the very serene and peaceful temple and some of its grounds.

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The kindly old Chinese man inside the temple also taught me how to worship, and how to ask Mama Ma-Cho a question. Worship comes first.

Step One: Light three sticks of incense for either a) God in Heaven, b) Mama Ma Cho, or c) God of Wealth

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Step Two: Get on your knees, face the direction of whichever deity you're worshipping, and bow three times.

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Step Three: Stick the incense into the pot.

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Step Four: Pick up the red wooden halves, hold them in front of Mama Ma-Cho or whichever deity you prefer, ask a question answerable by "yes" or "no."

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Step Five: Encircle the sticks of incense with the wooden halves 24 times, then drop them to the floor. Look at the way they end up, and refer to the legend to interpret the answer.

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Source link: http://liadcruz.blogspot.com/2011/08/ma-cho-temple-san-fernando-la-union.html

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Pindangan Ruins

During the Spanish times, a settlement was a place where there were about 200 families. Around this area, there were two settlements, San Vicente de Balanac and San Guillermo de Dalangdang. San Vicente de Balanac was along the coast and during summer, when the sea was calm and perfect for sailing, pirates would come and plunder settlement, taking along with them the women and children leaving behind them a trail of blood. San Guillermo de Dalangdang, however was at the foot of the Cordillera mountains, and during summer, when the fire trees were in bloom, the populace was attacked by headhunters who saw in the red flowers the fire trees as a sign of the gods asking for human offering.

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union's Photos via Facebook
photo link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&theater#!/photo.php?fbid=259854034040750&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&theater&pid=1142243&id=258965577462929

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Ma-Tzu Temple, Brgy. Ilocanos Norte, San Fernando City, La Union

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union's Photos via Facebook
photo link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&theater#!/photo.php?fbid=259978837361603&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&theater&pid=1142647&id=258965577462929

Luna Watchtower in Acrylic Paint

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Painting by: Marvin Nuto via Luna (La Union) Association Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1068979285952&set=p.1068979285952&type=1&theater)

Thanks at ginawa nyo rin itong sticky thread! There is really a need to restore some of our old structures like the Luna Watchtower and the Pindangan ruins. We also have several old Spanish houses in our province that needs to be restored

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The House of Manuel Arguilla in Nagrebcan, Bauang (photo by me, Hugo Le Roi)

Manuel Estabillo Arguilla (1911 – 1944) was an Ilokano writer in English, patriot, and martyr.

He is known for his widely anthologized short story "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife," the main story in the collection "How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife and Other Short Stories" which won first prize in the Commonwealth Literary Contest in 1940.

His stories "Midsummer" and "Heat" was published in the United States by the Prairie Schooner.

Most of Arguilla's stories depict scenes in Barrio Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union where he was born. His bond with his birthplace, forged by his dealings with the peasant folk of Ilocos, remained strong even after he moved to Manila where he studied at the University of the Philippines where he finished BS Education in 1933 and where he became a member and later the president of the U.P. Writer's Club and editor of the university's Literary Apprentice.

He married Lydia Villanueva, another talented writer in English, and they lived in Ermita, Manila. Here, F. Sionil José, another seminal Filipino writer in English, recalls often seeing him in the National Library, which was then in the basement of what is now the National Museum. "you couldn't miss him", Jose describes Arguilla, "because he had this black patch on his cheek, a birthmark or an overgrown mole. He was writing then those famous short stories and essays which I admired."

He became a creative writing teacher at the University of Manila and later worked at the Bureau of Public Welfare as managing editor of the bureau's publication Welfare Advocate until 1943. He was later appointed to the Board of Censors. He secretly organized a guerrilla intelligence unit against the Japanese.

In October 1944, he was captured, tortured and executed by the Japanese army at Fort Santiago.

- from wikipedia

Aringay Tunnel

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Photo by: Nicky Carreon Gallardo http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=132299&op=22&o=all&view=all&subj=36219002972&aid=-1&oid=36219002972&id=100000509598730&fbid=105009896192663

Poro Point Lighthouse

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Photo by: lexarevalo http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=29089

Tobacco Industry in La Union

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source: Facebook page of Natives of La Union

This might be my second read of How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife but this is definitely the first I’ve tried to digest the beauty of the prose as an experience in itself. However, unlike more fortunate literature buffs who have their own copy of How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife (And Other Stories), I had to rely on Baul to give me a similar fantastic ride to Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union.

Shame! Manuel Viloria says the collection was only twenty pesos.

The story, like most of Arguilla’s prose, transpires in Barrio Nagrebcan in La Union, the birthplace of Manuel E. Arguilla himself. You’ll immediately realize how the writer loves his hometown by the vivid imagery and sensuality that he offers on the plate. From the shapes and the sounds to even the scent of the air, Arguilla spares no detail to prove that beauty exists in Nagrebcan.

From the title, you can surmise what type of story this is and how it could develop as it goes along. Leon is actually the big brother of the main protagonist, the wielder of the mystic point-of-view, but his wife takes to him as Noel as the latter coinage is presumably a modern twist of Leon though obviously it is an inversion of the word. Baldo is the little brother and Maria, Baldo taking traditional names into mind as he hears her name for the first time, is the wife whom Leon/Noel brought back home.

Maria is actually city bred and Leon/Noel and Baldo are blatantly townsfolk. There’s the culture clash that serves to be the conflict, though only between the father and the oblivious Maria. Since Leon/Noel brought Maria to Nagrebcan, it can be presumed that they’ll be staying there. As a precaution, unbeknownst to even Leon/Noel and Baldo, their father have asked the younger son to do certain things out of the norm just to see if the wife can really adjust to her new setting – the barrio and the family.

Certain characters, with depth, to note are their sister Aurelia and the bull Labang.

What I like about the short story is Arguilla’s character development. They seem to just pop out of the text, giving the reader an impression that they could have been, and could very well be, real people. Most writers often base their characters on real life acquaintances. Whether Arquilla went deeper or not, he still pulled it off and impressively, if I may be so bold.

The ending reflected Baldo’s attraction to Maria or, to be more specific, to the notion of finding his own wife someday.

In its entirety, How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife focuses on the aforementioned culture clash or the setting shift when someone from the barrio or the city is transported to the other. The concept is distinctly Filipino but essentially global. People outside of the Metro (Manila, specifically) wish to travel, and to a greater extent, live in the modernist capital because it is widely believed that they’ll find greater pleasures and successes there. In other words, it borders on a “grass is green” idea or immigration issues.

Arguilla makes me want to go visit Nagrebcan and spend one night there.

† Jofer

link: http://joferserapio.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/how-my-brother-leon-brought-home-a-wife-mea/

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my photo

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Photo by: The Point Residencies http://www.flickr.com/photos/thunderbirdresortsphil/3464484787/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Posted at 11:59 am July 08, 2010

Tags: Beverages, Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks

By Anna Valmero

NAGUILIAN, LA UNION— This town has become synonymous to the local brew basi, a local wine from fermented sugarcane that is said to have been popular among Spanish colonizers who even brought it to Europe centuries ago.

Basi is produced using the dadapilan, a local equipment also used in making muscuvado brown sugar. Sugarcane is crushed and the juice is collected, boiled and fermented in earthen jars. Once the boiled sugarcane juice cools down and stored for fermentation, flavor is added using ground malagkit or glutinous rice and duhat bark.

Blogger and college professor Dr. Abercio V. Rotor says the distinct mellow taste of basi- a mix of sweet and a sour flavors – is attributed to storing it in burnay earthen jars. The jars are kept for years in home cellars or buried underground, and sealed hermetically with hard clay.

The unique taste of basi, which is often compared to fruit liqueur from France, was also a hit among the Spaniards when they colonized the country, declaring a wine monopoly. From 1565 to 1815, basi reached Europe via the Galleon Trade plying Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) and Europe through Acapulco, the tip of Mexico.

This caused a short-lived uprising among Ilocanos, dubbed the Basi Revolt in 1807, according to Rotor. The uprising happened in Vigan but the action took place some four kilometers where the industry flourished—on both sides of the Bantaoay River, which runs through the towns of San Ildefonso and San Vicente, the major suppliers of basi in Vigan’s tourist market. The revolt culminated on September 29, 1907 with the public execution of the captured rebels.

Fourteen big oil paintings depicting the Basi Revolt, also known as Ambaristo Revolt (named after its leader) can be seen today at the Vigan Ayala Museum, which is housed in the original residence of Filipino priest martyr, Father Jose Burgos.

The painter Don Esteban Villanueva was an eyewitness of this historic event. Today, the original basi paintings precariously hang on the houses of a few entrepreneurs who are probably descendants of the heroes of the Basi Revolt of 1807, according to Rotor.

Every May 7, La Union celebrates the Basi Festival to celebrate the drink that has been part of their life, sharing it with the Ilocanos, who helped them in the Basi Revolt.

Basi is drank to celebrate special occasions such as pamamanhikan, an age-old custom wherein a guy and his family meets with his girlfriend’s family to ask for her hand in marriage. During weddings, the couple drink basi and pass the glass to their ninongs and ninangs (sponsors). During burials, the family of the deceased performs a rite as a priest or officiator makes a cross on their foreheads with basi.

With or without specials, Ilocanos are known to drink basi everyday.

Here’s a piece of trivia: La Unión was formed in 1850 when the Spanish Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco merged the southern towns of Ilocos Sur, the northern towns of Pangasinan, and the western towns of Benguet to the east.

How to get to Naguilian:

A number of bus lines have daily trips to San Fernando City, La Union including Autobus, Maria de Leon and Farinas in Sampaloc, Manila; and Dominion and Genesis in Cubao, Quezon City. Get down Bauang town (just before San Fernando City) and take a local bus going to Naguilian. If you are coming from Baguio, Naguilian is about 40 kilometers away via the Naguilian Highway.

Photos from blogger Crissy and Flickr

link:http://loqal.ph/food-and-beverage/2010/07/08/this-la-union-town-has-perfected-the-art-of-making-basi/

Photos by: Melo

Source link: http://outoftownblog.com/flow-surfyogasamba-on-november-27-29-2010-in-san-juan-la-union/

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Photo from: Arly Buendia

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Bangar Abel

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"Pagpapanday" (i don't know how to transform the word "Smith" into a process) was a dying industry in Bangar, but today, the demand for swords, knives, other cutting tools became high and this industry is in a boom again. These metal works are again gaining popularity in the Province as well as in the whole Region

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Learn Pottery Making in Taboc, San Juan. Watch the age-old art of blanket weaving in Bangar. Have a taste of Basi, the Ilocano native wine in Lioac, Naguilian. You can learn much about a place’s culture by observing and understanding these industries

from: from: http://enjoythunderbirdresorts.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-10-things-to-do-in-la-union.html

Museo de La Union, which is in the Provincial Capitol in San Fernando, houses archaeological finds in La Union during the pre-Spanish period. On the other hand, Museo de Iloko is the old “presidencia” of Agoo houses artifacts and other pieces of cultural importance to the Ilocanos. Both museums are open to the public from Monday to Friday, from 8AM-5PM

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Pindangan was the original name of San Fernando and in the Ilocano dialect, literally means a place where meat is sun dried with salt for preservation. This was the place where the Spanish built the original church to start the evangelization of the locals. They transferred the church because of constant pirate raids and looting. Today, the ruins’ buttresses and walls are still standing. An old well which supplied the area with cool water through the centuries, can still be found at the side of the church. Made of corals and bricks, the enchanting well is still in good condition.

from: http://enjoythunderbirdresorts.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-10-things-to-do-in-la-union.html

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:05:00 01/09/2011

Filed Under: Tourism, Philippines - Metro, Waterway & Maritime Transport, history, Culture (general), Government Aid

MANILA, Philippines—The future of the “lonely sentinels of the sea”—as architectural historian Manuel Maximo Noche Lopez del Castillo calls the network of 19th-century lighthouses in the Philippines—is looking brighter with the much-improved finances of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

With an increased budget this year, the PCG said it can now intensify its lighthouse repair program and thereby promote the safe navigation of ships and fishing boats in the country’s numerous waterways.

This year, the agency will be upgrading the country’s 513 operating lighthouses and reviving about 43 others that are not operational, said Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, the PCG commandant.

For years, because of the Coast Guard’s perennial lack of funds and personnel, the lighthouses have rapidly deteriorated.

In a report, Tamayo said that with the repairs and upgrades last year, the overall operational efficiency of lighthouses improved—from 85 percent during the first half of the year to 92 percent in the second semester.

This year, he said the Coast Guard aims to improve the overall lighthouse operational efficiency to at least 95 percent and with the agency’s increased 2011 budget, it has every chance of achieving this.

The Coast Guard’s budget was increased from P2 billion in 2010 to P3 billion this year. The agency, however, has many other priorities such as the acquisition of new vessels and aircraft for patrol and rescue missions and the recruitment of 1,000 new personnel in the next two years.

Most of the lighthouses, usually charged by solar power, are not manned 24/7. While many have timers and automatically turn on at night or when the skies turn dark, others have to be manually turned on by a PCG civilian employee.

Tourism potential

These days, the Coast Guard has hit upon another way to keep the lighthouses burning brightly for years to come.

With the increasing recognition of heritage as a solid basis for a tourism industry, a network of restored and preserved historic lighthouses would be sure to bring in the tourists, the PCG argues.

“Several of our lighthouses are centuries-old, dating from the Spanish and American times, and they continue to attract local and foreign tourists. They are considered a national treasure and part of our heritage,” said Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, the PCG spokesperson and deputy chief of staff for community relations.

“Many lighthouses are located in scenic spots. Most are on top of hills and along beaches. They give beautiful views,” Balilo said.

The major ones

One of Balilo’s favorite lighthouses is the Capones Island Lighthouse on Capones Grande Island off the coast of San Antonio, Zambales. The lighthouse, which serves as a beacon to ships entering Subic Bay, was first lit in 1890. The tower has been renovated through the years but the keeper’s house and other buildings in the station have severely deteriorated.

Among the most beautiful lighthouses in northern Luzon are the ones at Cape Bojeador in Burgos, Ilocos Norte and Cape Engaño in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

The lighthouse on Batanes’ Sabtang Island is a popular tourist attraction in a province that has become the latest must-see destination.

The Coast Guard proposes to turn over the administration of lighthouses to local government units and public and private partners, hoping to generate income from tours, film shoots or advertisements featuring the most picturesque of the country’s lighthouses.

“We will still be in charge of the operation of the lighthouse. But we can have an agreement whereby the LGUs and public or private partners may collect fees, part of which will be used in the maintenance and preservation of the lighthouse or even the hiring of a civilian employee to look after it,” Balilo said in an interview.

Stone and brick structures

A typical lighthouse, or light station, in the Philippines is composed of an elevated cylindrical structure, usually made of metal, with a bright lamp on top with mirrors and lenses to magnify illumination.

The older lighthouses are constructed of stone or brick. They usually retain the Spanish word for lighthouse (faro) in their names. An example of this is the Faro de Punta Malabrigo in Lobo, Batangas.

The Malabrigo lighthouse, constructed during the late 1890s in the twilight of the Spanish colonial regime, was used as the locale for an indie film in 2007. Unfortunately, the film crew, who were largely unsupervised, caused some structural damage to the place. The PCG has now cordoned off the lighthouse and visitors are not allowed to see it unless they have prior permits.

Balilo said the location of the lighthouses inadvertently contributes to the destruction, deliberate or otherwise, of the structures.

“Most lighthouses are located along distant shores, on points and capes, and at harbor entrances, far away from communities. They are subject to wear and tear from the elements such as the wind, salt spray and erosion. Their isolated location also makes them vulnerable to vandalism,” he said.

Many of the 43 nonoperational lighthouses have had their equipment stolen, while some have been damaged by natural disasters, according to Balilo.

Inspection teams

The PCG’s Maritime Safety Services Command (MSSC) periodically deploys field maintenance and inspection teams around the country to undertake repairs to the system of lighthouses.

The MSSC itself is a busy Coast Guard division involved in maritime safety and environment regulation enforcement, interisland communications as well as salvage operations, management of buoys, and antioil spill operations.

According to PCG statistics, Central and Eastern Visayas have the most number of lighthouses, with 127, followed by Southern Tagalog, 101; and Northern Mindanao, 56. Western Visayas has the most number of nonoperating lighthouses, with nine, followed by northern Luzon and Palawan, with eight and seven, respectively.

Victorian design

Apart from serving as signal stations and beacons for oceangoing ships through the centuries, a few lighthouses of the Spanish period, particularly those in the Visayas and Mindanao, served as watchtowers against pirates and slave traders.

The Paris-based International Council on Monument and Sites (Icomos) recognizes the heritage value of the Philippines’ Spanish-era lighthouses, which are mainly of Victorian design.

Constructed by Spain’s renowned Inteligencia del Cuerpo de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (or the Corps of Engineers for Roads, Canals and Ports), the lighthouses were built to protect burgeoning maritime trade in late 19th-century Philippines.

“These structures located in the most beautiful and spectacular sites, lonely isolated islets, cliffs, barren rock outcrops, bluffs, capes and points, are testament to the commitment the Spanish colonial government had in the Philippines to modernize it and make it competitive at the dawn of the 20th century,” Noche wrote in an article in the Icomos website.

First lighthouse

According to Noche, the first lighthouse in the country was erected on the mouth of the Pasig River to protect the Mexico-bound galleons.

The Spaniards also made lighthouses of fabricated metal. Called “tourelles,” they were manufactured in France and assembled on site. A few tourelles still stand on the coasts of or isles off Iloilo, Cebu, Sorsogon and La Union.

Major lighthouses have pavilions and verandahs made of wood and metal where lighthouse personnel and visitors can view the surroundings.

It was during the American colonial and Commonwealth periods that permanent quarters for lighthouse personnel were built.

“The Spanish colonial lighthouses built over 100 years ago still serve their master well. Guiding ships to their ports of call, these structures, stripped of their dignity, still stand proud in their lonely windswept locations. Yet even with time and the elements acting against them, the beauty that the Spanish engineers erected on our soil cannot be erased.

Inheritors of patrimony

“It is time that we, the inheritors of this patrimony do what we can to ensure its survival for the next 100 years. For these lights not only lit the souls and imaginations of those who chanced upon them they also guided a nation to progress,” wrote Noche.

Balilo agrees, saying that while the PCG does not have enough funds to convert the country’s lighthouses into sophisticated ones, the lanterns and the towers are still important guideposts for travelers in an archipelago like the Philippines.

In other countries, some lighthouses are virtual robots and have GPS (global positioning satellite), cameras and radio receivers, he noted.

“The lighthouses still serve our local fishermen and boat travelers who do not venture far from the shore. When GPS and radios fail and visibility is poor during storms and rough seas, it is always a comfort to get a view of light coming from a lighthouse, knowing that land and safety are near,” Balilo said.

source link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110109-313339/Sentinels-of-heritage-guide-PHs-progress-light-its-soul

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Poro Point Lighthouse

Photo from: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PfkEWBy3DJzjVvG_CBr8tw

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Built in May 6, 1786, the Pindangan church symbolizes the unity between two villages – the coastal village of San Vicente de Balanac and the foothill village of Guillermo de Dalagdang. Both villages benefitted from the protection of the church under Fr Jose Tores in 1759 from assailants, pirates and headhunters. The churches name came from the Ilocano word “Pindang” which is the local’s method of drying fish.

Photos by: Ferdz Decena
link: http://www.ironwulf.net/2010/10/21/la-union-visiting-pindangan-ruins-and-botanical-garden/

Article by www.GOLFnTours.com

How President Marcos, Christina Kim, Lee Kuan Yew, Dr. Christian Bernard and a resident golf pro with a colourful past got together. Poro Point June 2007: You may be an avid golfer who has travelled around in Southeast Asia and played in most of the known courses on the golf map. However, the chances are you would not have discovered this little course nestled on the coast facing the Luzon Sea, just about an hour or so drive west of Baguio City. To call it a non-descript would unfairly douse the enthusiasm of the many mostly local golfers who gather every late afternoon for the game; nonetheless it could have been passed off as just one of the many courses in the Philippines, built during the time of the American administration and now awaiting either an upgrade, if fortune has it, or a slow death from neglect and then become completely overwhelmed when a new and modern course gets built in the vicinity, except that Wallace Golf Club, the only club in the city of San Fernando, Province of La Union, is unique!

Built in 1975 primarily for the US Airborne Division stationed here, it is the only course with sand-green in the entire Philippines! Not to raise undue expectations, the Wallace course is actually a simple Par 36 2,600-yard course with Hole#1 starting from the thatched-roof club house some 300 yards away from the sea and curving along the coast before turning at the lighthouse back towards the club house. The Signature Hole – one takes the liberty to call it that – is Hole#4 Par 4 307-yard dog-leg right with a 265-yard straight hair-clipped by tall trees at the turn before the straight again to landing. Not exactly a piece of genius in the course design but even if you have the driving prowess you might still be well tested to make the green in two. Period.

Sipping cool lemon tea on a lazy sunny afternoon and looking over the driving range and the tee-off for Hole#1, it is hard to imagine anyone who could be excited over these course technicalities. You either play here or you don’t. There are no other courses in the vicinity. But not so for Sixto Domenden, the 65 year-old grandpa resident pro, one of the two main architects involved in the building of Wallace. The other architect was his American Air Force colonel for whom, he recalled fondly, he often covered during the latter’s secret rendezvous with his girl-friend.

Way back in Baguio City Sixto began his career in the golf course as a caddy. But he was no ordinary one unless you consider caddying for the infamously great President Marcos as an ordinary job on the course. When they first met, Marcos was only a Congressman. By the time he became President of the Philippines, Sixto was already firmly his personal caddy. As he noted, Marcos did not change a bit after becoming the President and that impressed him a lot. It was the great President who made sure that his golden words of ‘always look back to where you came from before embarking further in your life’ were firmly imprinted in the mind of the then young Sixto. For that Sixto remained grateful. Perhaps the saga of the Marcos’ legacy could have become a little clearer and more easily resolved if everyone trusted the integrity of the great President as much as Sixto did: Marcos was a regular mean handicap 8, but his good card scores were never taken seriously by the media.

When the golden moment for the personal caddy to the President finally arrived, perhaps as a sign of him taking the President’s words of wisdom in earnest, he chose to remain in golf instead of accepting a possibly more lucrative job of position or working abroad. Thus he became the Assistant Director of the Wallace Golf Club project with his American colonel as the chief.

Apart from the President, he also caddied for dignitaries. Among them was Singapore’s former Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who, as he vividly recalled, would always characteristically look up at the sun, open-mouthed, as if to draw inspiration from it before proceeding to set-up for the shot. When asked for the reason, the Prime Minister apparently told him that he drew energy from the act. One day according to Sixto, President Marcos confided to him that the Prime Minister was his mentor. However it wasn’t exactly clear that whether such a ritual of Mr. Lee had in any way decidedly influenced the President to regard the latter his mentor, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Lee is now, perhaps coincidentally or as the result of a strange sequence of events or for the diplomatic golfer in the Prime Minister or the other way round, a Minister Mentor in the cabinet of the Singapore Government!

Sixto also caddied for the late Dr. Christian Bernard, the renowned surgeon who performed the first heart implant operation in 1967. He remembered Dr. Bernard as, understandably, being more concerned with his delicate fingers for surgery than for a more robust grip of fellow countryman Ernie Els’. But, if there’s a feather in the cap that old Sixto would gladly anecdote, it would be that he clinic-coached Christina Kim for two months at the Mimosa Club in Clark Field. Then, young Kim was preparing to qualify for the LPGA card. Before going back to South Korea to do her regional qualifying, she gave Sixto his first ever cell phone for them to stay in touch. As it turned out according to Sixto, on at least two occasions, young Kim called him during play to ask for advice. The rest, as they say, is history. Ms Christina Kim duly qualified and is now a big name in LPGA. For Sixto, the same cell phone remains in his possession despite failing batteries and a long expired shelf-life of the phone itself. For him, it just might ring again and when it does, it can only be for the big time!

Meanwhile, the Junior Golfers’ Programme started by Sixto to produce new young talents continues in this most unassuming course of Wallace Golf Club, although as he has often wondered, for how much longer? In retro, it is not as if he hasn’t done enough for golf in the Philippines by first becoming a caddy, then winning the National Caddies’ Tournament of the Philippines and then representing the nation in the Putra Cup (a regional Southeast Asia Inter-national Team Tournament) which his team won with no small contribution of his top 10 finish in the individuals. The pinnacle of his career was being the personal caddy to the great President following which was his illustrious involvement in the building of Wallace. Sixto has in fact come full circle and should be able now to look back with pride and satisfaction at Wallace today.

But, nearby, where the Casino is, the landscape has lately been irreversibly unearthed. In about six months’ time, a modern 18-hole course will be ready to complement the Casino with mod-cons that Wallace can only dream of. What of Wallace after that? The committee has, albeit reluctantly, decided that progress shall be the way to go and the sand-green shall be turfed, just like everywhere else! Deep down, in the fading light of the evening sun there’s sadness evident through the smudged metal-rimmed glasses on the well-weathered face of the creator of the Wallace Golf Club. Looking over the sand-green of the last hole in the direction of the lighthouse, there is no doubt in his mind, when the virgin turf finally surfaces in six months’ time, a piece of the colourful history of golf in the Philippines will not only be silently but surely concealed and lost forever! Will Sixto remain? Why not, even if it is only for the reason that putting will now become less strenuous! There’s so much that he can now look back on and be proud of, and not least to pass on the story of the origin of golf in San Fernando lest it be so easily forgotten beneath the skin-deep turf of the new green. Yes, I shall remain, just like Christina Kim, watch your telly, never fails to aim her put a little beyond the hole, he assured me!

From: http://yesuccess.com/?p=956

La Union entrepreneur makes handicrafts from twigs and leaves of native trees

Posted at 7:16 pm June 09, 2011

Tags: Cottage Industries, Entrepreneurship, Handicrafts

By: KC Santos

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BAUANG, LA UNION – Eden Villa is using her knowledge as a Biology graduate to create unique handicrafts using twigs and leaves of local trees.

Eden, who owns David’s Well Crafts, is a self-taught handicrafts maker. She often uses books her husband gave her to create her unique items.

She started by gathering leaves, twigs, tree barks, and plant fibers to start her initial collection of handicrafts.

“Even back when I still in college, I have always toyed with the idea of making do with what I have in my surroundings. I never imagined that gift would be the key to the prosperity my family is enjoying now,” Eden says.

She says in their farm, there are mulberries and silkworms. Instead of disposing emptied silkworm cocoons, Eden processes these waste products to form native flowers and accent pieces to her wooden items.

Aside from the farm, Eden says she sources other materials, such as pine cones, from Baguio and Ilocos.

Her handicrafts products range include wall clocks, home decors, Christmas decors, refrigerator magnets, and smaller items like pens. Prices are cheap from P25 to P1,000 considering the labor that goes into processing the items.

With a little research, Eden says she found out that the products she creates are staple items in homes from the countryside of the US.

David’s Well Crafts is now a major supplier handicrafts to one of the major malls based in Manila. If not for manpower shortage, Eden says they would’ve committed to even more local business entities.

The former domestic helper says she didn’t succeed overnight. She adds that if there was one thing she learned while she was in a foreign land, it was that Filipinos are not lazy.

“Filipinos are hardworking. What most of us lack is the initiative,” she says. Eden also believes that Filipinos do not need to leave the country to have better lives.

“There is hope in our country. We just have to be really driven and industrious. Dollars don’t amount to the fulfillment we all can achieve if we stick to our guns,” Eden says.

http://loqal.ph/business-and-finance/2011/06/09/la-union-entrepreneur-makes-handicrafts-from-twigs-and-leaves-of-native-trees/



:rock: La Union people are creative!

By Yolanda Sotelo
Inquirer Northern Luzon

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HANDLOOMING survives in Bangar, La Union, courtesy of village women who inherited the craft from their elders. PHOTOS BY YOLANDA SOTELO


SEVERAL years ago, a group of Japanese businessmen arrived in the agricultural town of Bangar in La Union and offered to help mass- produce inabel, the handwoven fabric that the town has been creating for centuries.

There was also a group of foreign businessmen who wanted to computerize the handlooming process and make the fabrication of blankets, bath towels, pillow cases and fabrics for dresses and gowns faster.

The businessmen asked Wildreda Rivera, 59, a known weaver and trainer, to demonstrate the handlooming procedures, then tried to engage her services in computerizing the process.

Both instances showed that modernization is tugging at the seam of the age-old inabel weaving industry of Bangar. Local officials and residents, however, continue to resist these advances.

Far from earning more money, the residents would rather preserve the industry’s cultural practices and the unique appeal of their handwoven textiles, Councilor Irene Valencia-Taguiam says.

“Handlooming is our heritage. We want to preserve the uniqueness of our products which will lose their appeal if [these are] mass produced [and created by] machines. Besides, our townsfolk can produce beautiful designs even if they do not have formal schooling. It is an innate talent. We do not want to lose that identity to machines,” says Taguiam, also the town’s tourism officer.

“Besides, with the use the machines, Bangar residents will lose their chance to earn even if they stay at home, and after harvesting their palay,” she adds.

The town has always been synonymous with inabel. During the Spanish era, residents produced the textile starting from planting cotton, spinning the cotton into thread, dyeing and handweaving them into different materials.

Old women in Barangay Consuegra have only faint memories of the boom in the town’s inabel industry. They say the industry started to wane in the late 1960s.

Consuelo Noto Tan, 77, says her late mother left a spool of thread that was dyed at the village’s timbugan, the brick structure where cotton threads were dyed. But save for a braided strand, she had used all as wick for her oil lamp.

“I did not know they were important, or I would have saved them,” Tan says.

source link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/16925/new-hope-for-bangar%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98inabel%E2%80%99

Backbreaking

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“INABEL” fabric produced through traditional handlooming is turned into hand towels, bedsheets and material for gowns and dresses. PHOTOS BY YOLANDA SOTELO

Producing the fabric was a backbreaking activity in the olden days, Taguiam says.

Residents harvested cotton, which they themselves planted, after harvesting rice. They removed cotton seeds through an improvised equipment called ladditan.

After this process, the fiber would be spread on a bed of bagasse (sugarcane fibers) and the cotton compacted by beating them with sticks. The compacted fiber is rolled in bamboo sticks and spun through a process called panagtibbi. To strengthen the thread, residents would apply cooked starch on these.

The threads, now rolled in balls, were dyed at the timbugan, then handloomed into inabel.

These days, farmers in the town no longer plant cotton, and the industry is down to handweaving with threads, mostly imported, bought in large quantities from Metro Manila suppliers.

Taguiam says the inabel industry gave Bangar something to be proud of and helped its residents earn a living.

“The town was very fortunate to have an inabel industry. No one was idle and even children earned by engaging in the different phases of the industry that became a show window of values like industry, patience, and craftsmanship,” she says.

Sunset

But she admits the industry is nearing its sunset, with only a few families now engaged in handlooming.

One is retired school teacher Benita Castro, 84, who continues to operate a small shop to give livelihood to her village mates and help preserve the inabel industry.

Castro maintains 20 workers, including Rhodora Rivera and her daughter Roxanne. Roxanne, a Grade 4 pupil, can make at least 10 hand towels a day, earning her P40. Rhodora earns bigger by weaving bedsheets and towels.

Taguiam says many Bangar residents earn through subcontracting, with shops providing them with thread that they handloom at home during their free time.

Others can earn by making plecos, a tassel-like design sewed to a bedsheet’s edges. Sewing the plecos to the edges is another job for some women.

Taguiam laments the waning of the industry. “Sometimes, I blame those residents who told their sons and daughters to study hard to enable them to leave and get away from the inabel weaving industry, which they considered to be a very difficult work. What they did not realize was, because of inabel, they were able to produce professionals,” she says. :ohno::ohno::ohno:

source link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/16925/new-hope-for-bangar%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98inabel%E2%80%99

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St. William the Hermit Cathedral

Originally a Chapel made of stone and thatch was erected in 1764 by Fr. Francisco Romero and Santiago Olarte atbarrio San Vicente formerly known as “Pindangan” after which San Fernando was named. It was then moved to barrio Tanqui, then to Cabaroan and afterwards to its present site where it was built of stones and bricks by Fr. Juan Sorolla, Simon Guillermo and Pedro Fernando in 1773-1786. It was destroyed by earthquake in 1892 and occupied by the revolutionists under Col. Blas Villamor in 1898 when they overwhelmed the Spanish forces that sought shelter therein. It was destroyed during the liberation (from the Japanese) on February 26, 1945 and was reconstructed by the residents, thru the effort of Bishop Santiago C. Sancho (1947-1949). It was dedicated on February 10, 1949, and upon the canonical erection of the Diocese of San Fernando of La Union and the solemn installation of the first Bishop Most Rev. Victorino C. Ligot, DD, on April 11, 1970, the St. William Parish Church became the St. William Cathedral.

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1#!/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1)'s Photos via Facebook

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Pindangan Ruins

During the Spanish times, a settlement was a place where there were about 200 families. Around this area, there were two settlements, San Vicente de Balanac and San Guillermo de Dalangdang. San Vicente de Balanac was along the coast and during summer, when the sea was calm and perfect for sailing, pirates would come and plunder settlement, taking along with them the women and children leaving behind them a trail of blood. San Guillermo de Dalangdang, however was at the foot of the Cordillera mountains, and during summer, when the fire trees were in bloom, the populace was attacked by headhunters who saw in the red flowers the fire trees as a sign of the gods asking for human offering.

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union's Photos (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1#!/photo.php?fbid=259854034040750&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1) via Facebook

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Bacsil Ridge Monument

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union's Photos (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1#!/photo.php?fbid=259978837361603&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1) via Facebook

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photo source (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3729743)

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Do you know that there is a Centennial Tunnel in La Union? It is situated in Poblacion, Aringay, La Union, this 500 meter tunnel was made in 1913 during the American regime. Intended for the trains of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) bound for Baguio City, it was later abandoned by the Commonwealth Government because of the then impending Second World War. According to locals, the tunnel already exists during the Spanish era, it was only in the American occupation that it was developed and fortified, thus making it officially more than a century year old.

From: I Love La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=212407705473033&set=a.199682183412252.51962.197149820332155&type=1&theater)

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Pindangan Ruins is located at Brgy. San Vicente, San Fernando City, La Union, about 500 meters from the national highway, near Camp Oscar Florendo, the Regional Headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP). The original name of San Fernando, Pindangan in the Ilocano dialect means a place where meat is sun dried with salt for preservation. Because of the place’s abundant dried meat, the place was called Pindangan.

From: I Love La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=212361072144363&set=a.199682183412252.51962.197149820332155&type=1&theater)

from blog by: Oooneh at http://ooohneh.blogspot.com/2011/06/pindangan.html


Another place to have a look at when in San Fernando City, La Union is the Pindangan Ruins. It is located in Brgy. San Vicente, San Fernando City, La Union, about 500 meters from the national highway.

We had a hard time looking for the road, because even the locals are not quite familiar with the area. With us was a colleague from our regional office, a resident of La Union, and unaware of the existence of my sought-after ruins. We entered a small road at a signage of the Regional Headquarters of the Philippine National Police, got off track a little, backtracked, and it appeared by the left side of the road. If not for the rusty signage, we would not have seen it right away.

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The Pindangan Church was built in 1764. The proximity of the church to the seacoast made it vulnerable to pirate attacks, such that the town's church was transferred to several different location and finally to its present site at the town proper as St. William Cathedral. The old church deteriorated through time to the present Pindangan ruins which composed of solid stone walls and buttresses. Lush vegetation in the area gave the ruins' bulk masonry a calm contrast.

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A monastery run by the Carmelite Sisters at the forefront of the ruins stands as the guardian to the heritage of the Pindangan Church.

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Though the church may be in ruins, an altar of the Mother Mary carrying the child Jesus exists to inspire silent prayers.

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Not much to see here, and visit can take as little as ten minutes. Looking for the road took longer time. But if you have a knack for churches as do I, (though I am not religious) it is worth a visit.

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You may be an avid golfer who has travelled around in Southeast Asia and played in most of the known courses on the golf map. However, the chances are you would not have discovered this little course nestled on the coast facing the Luzon Sea, just about an hour or so drive west of Baguio City. To call it a non-descript would unfairly douse the enthusiasm of the many mostly local golfers who gather every late afternoon for the game; nonetheless it could have been passed off as just one of the many courses in the Philippines, built during the time of the American administration and now awaiting either an upgrade, if fortune has it, or a slow death from neglect and then become completely overwhelmed when a new and modern course gets built in the vicinity, except that Wallace Golf Club, the only club in the city of San Fernando, Province of La Union, is unique!
Built in 1975 primarily for the US Airborne Division stationed here, it is the only course with sand-green in the entire Philippines! Not to raise undue expectations, the Wallace course is actually a simple Par 36 2,600-yard course with Hole#1 starting from the thatched-roof club house some 300 yards away from the sea and curving along the coast before turning at the lighthouse back towards the club house. Ping K15 Fairway Wood The Signature Hole – one takes the liberty to call it that – is Hole#4 Par 4 307-yard dog-leg right with a 265-yard straight hair-clipped by tall trees at the turn before the straight again to landing. Not exactly a piece of genius in the course design but even if you have the driving prowess you might still be well tested to make the green in two. Period.
Way back in Baguio City Sixto began his career in the golf course as a caddy. But he was no ordinary one unless you consider caddying for the infamously great President Marcos as an ordinary job on the course. When they first met, Marcos was only a Congressman. By the time he became President of the Philippines, Sixto was already firmly his personal caddy. As he noted, Marcos did not change a bit after becoming the President and that impressed him a lot. It was the great President who made sure that his golden words of ‘always look back to where you came from before embarking further in your life’ were firmly imprinted in the mind of the then young Sixto. For that Sixto remained grateful. Perhaps the saga of the Marcos’ legacy could have become a little clearer and more easily resolved if everyone trusted the integrity of the great President as much as Sixto did: Marcos was a regular mean handicap 8, but his good card scores were never taken seriously by the media.


source (http://www.yggolf.com/san-fernando-a-clipse-of-golf-history-in-the-philippines/)

Agoo is the home to most Spanish ancestral houses and buildings remaining in the Province of La Union. Here are some of them:

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Museo de Iloko

Municipality of Agoo FAcebook (http://www.facebook.com/agoolaunion?sk=photos)

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race to survive...

Weaving industry of Bangar, La Union, Philippines


Surviving and passing the tradition and culture of weaving from generation to generation

Photos by: Airwind

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photo by: Airwind

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originally posted by sinjin

now

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from: http://www.jennonthego.com/2010/07/san-juan-church-la-union.html

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Photo by: Alex Labastida (http://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion#!/thepointresidences?sk=photos)

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Spanish house ang design , gaya ng Jollibee sa Vigan at Jollibee Sta. Ana sa Manila

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my photos

Naguilian is to Basi while San Fernando City is to Patupat - a rice cake native at this city


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Photo by: Balcita RN

Spanish house ang design , gaya ng Jollibee sa Vigan at Jollibee Sta. Ana sa Manila

Sana same design din ang McDonald's Agoo!

From: Surfing San Juan by CATHERINE CALDERON
Inflight.ph, August-September 2010
source: http://www.inflight.ph/surfing-la-union/


La Union’s history told of Japanese, Chinese and Moro pirates invading its shore and leaving a trail of destruction. Pindangan Church Ruins in the City of San Fernando is testament to this. When the pirates came to Pindangan (Ilocano term that means a place where meats are salted and hung to dry) sometime in the 1800s, they pillaged the place and burned down the church, built in 1764. What remains of the church now are the brick walls, the flying buttresses and an old well made of corals and bricks right by the left wing of the church.

St. Catherine Parish in Luna, built by the Augustinians in the 19th century, is home to the miraculous Our Lady of Namacpacan, which draws devotees from all walks of life.

Capitol Hill and the Freedom Park/Heroes Hill, the seat of the local government, where the governor holds office, has the best view in town. The Romanesque-inspired building sits on top of a hill and from its verandah, which is also a view deck, you can see the city of San Fernando and the China Sea. Just right outside the corner of the building’s east wing is Freedom Park or Heroes Hill. Walk up the hill’s 100 steps to see the busts of Filipino heroes.

Sana same design din ang McDonald's Agoo!

Yup, like what I have just told. Spanish house-inspired naman ang achitecture nito. One of the most beautiful Jollibee store facade for me:cheers:

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my photo

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my photo

Erected 1587

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my photos

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my photo

about Agoo Museum

Museums in the local government levels featuring history and ethnographic collection of the locality multiplied in number. In 1969, the province of Iloilo through Governor Conrado Norada donated a 2,000 square meter lot on the provincial capitol to the Board of Travel and Tourist Industry (BTTI) which eventually housed the Museo Iloilo. In 1970, the Benguet Provincial Board formed a committee on culture headed by Governor Palispis that established the Benguet Museum. The Cagayan Museum, a division under the Governor’s office was conceived by Hon. Teresa Dupaya in 1971 and opened to the public two years later. The Museo de La Union was constructed and completed in 1979 as a repository of the rich cultural and historical artifacts gathered in the province of La Union. The Museo Iloko was the former presidencia of Agoo town, La Union which was restored by the Philippine Tourism Authority in1981.

source: http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=2&i=204

Naguilian is to Basi while San Fernando City is to Patupat - a rice cake native at this city

Photo by: Balcita RN

Patupat, my favorite!

Patupat, my favorite!

naimas! :cheers: :eat:

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From: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook

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swd@joyr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42547718@N03/3982486174/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

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My Aringay Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Aringay/349410921612)

Christ The King College - Elementary Campus, San Fernando City - established: 1931


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Heroes' Hill, San Fernando City

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P
hoto by: Airwind

Photos from: Norberto Ofiana via NATIVES OF LA UNION Facebook

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Photo from: NAtives of La Union Facebook

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photo from: Natives of La Union Facebook

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Photo by: Norberto Ofiana (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150218165377973&type=1)

Bacsil Ridge, San Fernando

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photo by: Norberto Ofiana

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http://www.facebook.com/groups/36219002972/photos/

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Photo by: Monch Barnachea (http://www.facebook.com/groups/36219002972/photos/)

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An old Spanish House at San Juan

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source: http://blog.dhr.com/la-union-philippines/

Churches and Temples – La Union also has churches that you must not miss. Some of the most important ones include Our Lady of Namacpacan and the Ma-Cho Temple. Also don’t miss the Pindangan Ruins, a vestige of a church built in 1786.

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source: kawangakid.blogspot.com

source: http://blog.dhr.com/la-union-philippines/

La Union products – you can also head over to Taboc, San Juan to see a well-preserved culture of pottery. Also don’t miss Bangar to learn a thing or two about blanket weaving. Aside from being great pieces of souvenirs, you will also get an idea of lots of unique Philippine traditions.

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source: jackiwarren.blogspot.com

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Abel or Ilocano weave cloth is still a thriving industry in some Ilocano towns especially in Bangar, La Union which is acknowledged to be the Abel Capital of the Philippines (May 2006).

photo by: ~MVI~ (acquainting with durban) via flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigberto/4909760010/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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photo by: Laps Sile (http://www.facebook.com/sudipen?sk=photos)

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photos by: airwind

By Charles Keith
Inquirer Northern Luzon
10:15 pm | Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

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BOTTLES of Naguilian’s most famous product carry the town’s seal.

Seeing the vineyards on a trip to Napa Valley in California in 2001, Aurelio Flora flirted with the idea of marketing the renowned sugarcane brew of his hometown of Naguilian in La Union, whose production had declined steadily over the years.

Flora knew it had promise. He had tasted imported wines and he knew that all these paled in comparison with Naguilian’s “basi.”

But Flora, the municipal agriculturist, knew only too well that the town lacked financial resources to start such a venture.

Mayor Reynaldo Flores, who saw the California vineyards with Flora, agreed to support his plans to save the industry.

Flora wanted to consolidate the homebased basi and vinegar production to keep the recipe consistent, to make it easy for government inspectors to assess the sanitary conditions of operations (inspectors visit every household selling basi, which means that they must check almost every home in Naguilian) and to present exhibits for tourists. (Flora said local officials had to ask families to clean their surroundings before tourists arrive.)

And then there’s the basi itself. No two people have the same interpretation of a brew and in Naguilian, residents differ in interpreting the perfect brew.
Ludovico Pulmano’s basi has been the face of Naguilian. All others in the Ilocos region take second spot to his brew, a consistent winner in competitions in municipal, provincial and regional trade fairs.


Sublime flavors

Pulmano, the only surviving basi brew master, has been making it for 75 years now. To this day, he continues to do so the way his grandfathers taught him—a natural blend of the sublime flavors of the earth nourished by the sweat from his brow.

He agreed to share his recipe to the local government on the condition that his sons be employed in the agriculture office.

A son, Dominador “Ador” Pulmano, now oversees operations in the processing plant built in Barangay Cabaritan Sur in 2005, where most of the basi and vinegar are made.

In the same year, municipal officials called in inspectors from the Bureau of Food and Drugs (now Food and Drugs Administration) to assess the operation.
The inspectors said the facility needed blinds to keep the dirt out from brewing areas, window screens to prevent birds from leaving droppings, and casings for lights to keep shards from falling into open vats if they break, among other things, Flora said.

On packaging, they said the wine should be in unused bottles, wrapped with a label and sealed with aluminum caps, he said.


Impressed

In 2007, the Department of Trade and Industry sent a Canadian wine connoisseur, Kelly Wilson, to Naguilian. Flora said Wilson was impressed with the wine but like the BFAD inspectors, he was not keen about the facilities and the packaging.

Flora said he could not get enough money to improve the facility because there was too much red tape in the government.

“In a wine facility in Bacnotan, for instance, the decision rests on one person only; hence investments are made quickly. Here, you have to persuade several people and a lot of things have to be considered before they decide,” he said.

The municipal accountant, for one, discourages local officials from investing because it might not yield enough returns, he said. “This has a negative impact on discussion. The industry should be allowed to become self-sufficient first before they bring up the issue on returns,” he said.

But much of the local government’s budget is allocated to barangay development projects and employees’ salaries. “Basi is not really a priority,” Flora said.


Serious problem

As with all agricultural industries, typhoons have also posed a serious problem. In 2009, Typhoon “Pepeng” caused widespread flooding in the town, destroying major sugarcane plantations and almost stopping basi production.
Apparently, sugarcane production had been declining in the years leading to 2009.

read more at: newsinfo.inquirer.net (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/62245/naguilian-struggles-to-save-native-brew)

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The Manila Bulletin
December 17, 2011 issue

Our Lady of Namacpacan in Luna, La Union


Pebble Luna Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003079661150&sk=photos)

Hugo note: Magandang basahin ito. Basahin nyo rin:

(Daytoy man ti basaen ken pagpampanunotantayo maipapan iti sasaaden/kasasaad ti bukodtayo a sao/pagsasao. Anian ta nakasasaem a kinapudno dagitoy a paliiw ken padas ti maysa a ganggannaet a naisar-ong iti pagiliantayo ket nadatnganna ken napadasanna ti maysa a naidumduma a culture shock nga inawaganna iti diversity shock. Nagsaem a panunoten a kastoyen ti adda nga aramid ken panunot ti dadduma no di man kaaduanen nga Ilokano [kitaen ti Part 4]. No adda la koma ngata met pannakaibabawi iti kina-Ilokano wenno panangibabawi iti garit wenno puli, iti Filipinas a kas iti pannakaibabawi no kua ti citizenship, nalabit nagadu nga Ilokano ti mangibabawin iti kina-Ilokanoda ket agpa-convertda a kas “naan-anay” a Tagalog ta kasta la unayen ti panangibainda wenno panangtagibassitda iti kina-Ilokanoda maigapu laeng iti pagsasao wenno nakaiyanakan a lengguahe ti pulida. Manipud daytoy iti maysa a column iti pagiwarnak a Sun.Star ni Firth McEachern, ken kas naiyatats nga articulo iti newsgroup a DILA wenno Defenders of Indigenous Languages of the Archipelago.)

Diversity Shock (Part 1)
By Firth McEachern
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper

WHEN I first arrived in the Philippines and journeyed north to my new home, La Union, the first thing I noticed was how many people inhabited this country. The road north from Manila exhibited a near continuous line of sari-sari stores, food stalls, local government halls, churches, and many other buildings, all overlooking a road teeming with children, animals, trucks, buses, farmers, and people sitting wayside to observe the activity. In Canada, journeys between cities are much more desolate, and the transition between wilderness and settlement is abrupt. Here, the activity and people lent a sensation of being perpetually on the outskirts of Manila, and just as I thought to be leaving civilization, another town plaza would appear. Given that my country has a third the population of the Philippines in 30 times the area, the difference in density is expected. But there was something even more shocking that I was not prepared for. In just 6 hours, my new office friends had noted passing four realms of languages. As we crossed into Pampanga from Bulacan, my escort and soon-to-be officemate mentioned, “Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is from here. They speak Kapampangan.”

“Kampan…Kampandunkin?” I repeated woefully inaccurately, the word having gone by too fast. “Do they actually use it or do you mean historically?”

“No, they actually use it,” he said.

How cool! My eyes drifted to the window, amazed by the fact that the endless line of seemingly identical sari-sari stores and general humanity did in fact harbor great variety. It soon became a game in which, whenever we crossed into a new province, I would ask, “What language do they speak here?” To which my officemates would reply something new. In Pampanga, it was Kapampangan; in Tarlac, mostly Tagalog; in Pangasinan, the Pangasinan language, and finally in La Union, Ilokano. My initial judgement of everything being the same was based—rather naively—on appearance. The Philippines has in fact much greater diversity than the cosmetic differences I was looking for, a fact I have gradually come to appreciate more and more. In Canada, one can travel 1000 km and not even detect a difference in accent. While the scenery is many-hued, people are for the most part talking the same way, eating the same things, and interacting with each other in similarly predictable ways. Of course there are immigrant communities, class differences, and some regional variations, but the country’s young age ensures these differences are small, and further dulled by the overriding imprint of American culture from the south.


continue reading at source (http://dadapilan.com/?p=23&fb_source=message)

Originally Posted at San Fernando City and La Union Province Thread

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1978, December 7. Town of Agoo, La Union - 4th Centenary

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Photos by: Airwind

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http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/380991_343094532375818_204145946270678_1298157_204845626_n.jpg

Previous 3 posts: Bagulin folks and La Union officials transfer the remains of a Bagulin native to Bagulin.


Photo source: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343087172376554.89933.204145946270678&type=1)

From San Fernando City and La Union Province Thread

LUNA
NEW
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/394674_343158839036054_204145946270678_1298598_1366219218_n.jpg

OLD
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/397356_343158882369383_204145946270678_1298599_235998777_n.jpg

SOURCE (https://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion)

From San Fernando City and La Union Province Thread



OLD HOUSE at LUNA
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/391932_343160029035935_204145946270678_1298602_1013147495_n.jpg

SOURCE (https://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion)

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La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343017219050216.89911.204145946270678&type=1)

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/393189_343017752383496_204145946270678_1297633_647145956_n.jpg

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http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/398117_343018322383439_204145946270678_1297643_707313256_n.jpg

La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343017219050216.89911.204145946270678&type=1)

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/377964_343022339049704_204145946270678_1297659_1386379102_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/395553_343022269049711_204145946270678_1297658_2136549902_n.jpg

La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343021889049749.89914.204145946270678&type=1)

From San Fernando City an La Union Province Thread

Burgos, La Union Soft Broom Making

BURGOS SOFT BROOM MAKING

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https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/390446_343156305702974_204145946270678_1298580_170085472_n.jpg

SOURCE (https://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion)

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/395223_343018172383454_204145946270678_1297639_1595502250_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/389429_343018219050116_204145946270678_1297640_144319319_n.jpg http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/383121_343018252383446_204145946270678_1297641_299806302_n.jpg


La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343017219050216.89911.204145946270678&type=1)

Bamboo Organ is with same design as the Bamboo Organ in Las Pinas

Farmer Pastor Flores of Barangay Norte in San Fernando, La Union shows how to make ‘patupat’ – one of the favorite snacks of the Ilocanos. (Photo by ERWIN G. BELEO)

http://www.mb.com.ph/sites/default/files/images/Untitled-5_83.jpg

source (http://www.mb.com.ph/node/255697)

Naguilian Basi

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/27105_118827841460895_100000010406369_311314_4108371_n.jpg

source (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=118827841460895&set=o.108376112523864&type=3&theater)

Sunday, 22 January 2012 18:18 J. Sedfrey S. Santiago

http://businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/daily_images/2012/January/01232012/regions01.jpg


EVEN on a cold December weekday afternoon, San Juan town in the northern half of La Union province teems with young people, eager to learn how to surf. Never mind the chilly air and chilly waters I presume. Some of the surfing wannabes look as young as five years old. Their parents laze on the beach proudly watching. But did you know that there are other things that La Union can offer to travelers?

Loom-weaving called “inabel” in Ilocano is the cottage industry that made Bangar, La Union, famous nationwide. The town is known for its exquisite hand-woven blankets, pillow cases, placemats, hand towels, bathrobes, handbags and textiles crafted by both men and women, who weave individually, by pairs or even in threes, depending on the size of what is being created. Names can be incorporated in the design at no extra cost, and no minimum orders are required.

Until the 1970s, almost every home had at least a loom where blankets-—in pinillan, wasig and brocade designs—were made for the family, as gifts for visiting friends and relatives from out of town, or sold to traveling merchants.

The cottage industry almost died 20 years ago when the high cost of thread shot up and only half a dozen hardy entrepreneurs resolutely kept loom-weaving alive in the town. The Department of Trade and Industry’s “One Town, One Product” program launched in 2004 gave the industry a shot in the arm. Today, scores of local entrepreneurs have revived loom-weaving in Bangar and are once again proudly creating a variety of loom-woven products.


read more (http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/22273-uncovering-the-treasures-of-la-union)

going historical...

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ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 01/26/2012 11:19 PM | Updated as of 01/26/2012 11:19 PM

MANILA, Philippines -- A textile gallery, which will showcase various Philippine fabrics woven mostly by indigenous weavers, is set to open at the National Museum next month.

Senator Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, is spearheading the creation of the new gallery.

"The textile gallery that we are setting up in the National Museum is part of our initiative to celebrate the richness and distinctiveness of our indigenous textiles, to encourage Filipinos to patronize its use, and to strengthen the tropical fabrics industry, which is attuned to our advocacy of promoting sustainable development and preserving our nation's rich heritage," Legarda said in a statement released on Thursday.

The gallery will primarily showcase fabrics such as the Tinguian cloth from Northern Luzon, Ifugao cloth from Mountain Province, Bilaan textile from Southern Mindanao, Mandaya textile from Davao Oriental, Bagobo textile from Davao del Sur, and the Banton Burial Cloth from Romblon, to name a few; and weaving looms from Vigan, La Union, and Mountain Province, among many others.

source (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/26/12/textile-gallery-open-national-museum)

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Photos from La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.353089178043020.91869.204145946270678&type=1)


Bangar Abel is one of the La Union's Ressurected industries. With the support of the Local government of La Union, Bangar Abel has been again a thriving industry in Bangar

Kung nirerestore ng NHI (National Historical Institute)ang Luna Municipal Hall, ang Luna Watchtower kaya?

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/405858_353096941375577_204145946270678_1326356_342967488_n.jpg

Photo from: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook

Basi Festival of Naguilian during Rimat ti Amianan at San Fernando City, December 2011

Saving the tradition of Basi Making

Naguilian - Home of the Original Basi

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http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/423253_353100594708545_204145946270678_1326398_1731294547_n.jpg

From: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.353098101375461.91878.204145946270678&type=3)

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/404930_353103291374942_204145946270678_1326420_1808804556_n.jpg

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By Monette H. Herrera
Wednesday 1st of February 2012

Christian devotees from the neighboring towns and provinces of Luna, La Union flock to Our Lady of Namacpacan hoping to experience a miracle like some of the townspeople here.


One of them is Rosa Roldan who was born lame. She claimed that Our Lady came to her home and made her walk. She was then 13 years old.


Also, according to stories among townfolks, a group of indigenous people came down from the highlands in response to a request from a beautiful “Seniora” who appeared to them to go to Luna. She asked them to be baptized and to kiss the sacred image of Our Lady.


In the year 1950, the townspeople were surprised by the radiance of a light emanating from the statue of Our Lady, filling the whole church with its brilliance.


Since then the devotion to Our Lady grew such that it was not uncommon to see the town plaza full of wooden ‘carousa’ or float every 24th day of November--the feast day, which marks the arrival of Our Lady in the town. She was canonized by Pope John XXIII’s in November 24, 1959.


The statue of Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Namacpacan is situated at the Northern portion side of the Church so that devotees may easily view it upon entering the church, Rev. Father Manuel Rahil of Our Lady of Namacpacan Church said.


Today, the Spanish period church has become a popular pilgrimage destination. (ANL/MHH PIA1 La Union)


source (http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R01&article=1901328068627)

gagawin daw Mcdo ang Museo de Iloko :(

Confirmed by Agoonians. Mcdo Agoo will be at Museo de Iloko :(

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ngeeeeeee! hehehehe

La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357593807592557.92661.204145946270678&type=3)

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http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/430912_357443010940970_204145946270678_1338057_239477659_n.jpg

La Union Information and Tourism (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357442620941009.92614.204145946270678&type=3)

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/396203_2404199677047_1612790914_31732005_1071460532_n.jpg

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http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/418192_357450627606875_204145946270678_1338075_933874752_n.jpg

La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357450420940229.92618.204145946270678&type=3)

McDonalds Agoo soon at Museo de Iloko

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my photos

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my photos

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Is this an old structure?


There's also one in naga
Abella Building now being occupied by jollibee

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/4707/dsc02567i.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/850/dsc02567i.jpg/)



It's quite sad seeing such structures being occupied by profit-oriented companies instead of museums etc. I just hope they take good care of them as well.

Is Hugodiekonig a Tourism representative of La Union Province? or just a way to become

Is this an old structure?


There's also one in naga


It's quite sad seeing such structures being occupied by profit-oriented companies instead of museums etc. I just hope they take good care of them as well.

Museo de Iloko was built during Marcos time.

Jollibee Agoo was built in 2003 and recently renovated for expansion

Sadly, the 1F of Museo de Iloko has been demolished for Mcdo store in the town. Mcdo could have searched a vacant lot and built their store there. The 2F will still be the museum

where is abella building?

It's not only a different case in Agoo, but a SHOCKING case. Mcdo really paid the sanctions to TIEZA because what will they be demolishing is a part of the museum. A museum for the people and now what will be left is the 2F of the building

Is Hugodiekonig a Tourism representative of La Union Province? or just a way to become

to tell you straight, nope. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Thanks for visiting pala guys! Welcome to the thread :hi:

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Photo from: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion)

What can you say about this? This is related to Mc Donalds Agoo

TIEZA(Former PTA[Philippine Tourism Authority])
GUIDELINES IN THE SELECTION OF TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

III. INDISPENSABLE REQUIREMENTS
A. Tourism-Related. It is vital that projects be in accord with the tourism vision to develop existing tourist zones and promote the potential touristic areas and activities that would display the Filipino people’s rich heritage and culture. To achieve these goals to the fullest, all TIEZA-fundedinfrastructure projects shouldbe in harmony with the National Tourism Master Plan promulgated by the Department of Tourism (DOT).


IV. SPECIFIC CRITERIA
G. Cultural (10%).The proposed project must be such that respects the local culture and boosts the people’s sense of cultural and national pride.

source (http://www.tieza.com.ph/pages-guidelines-in-the-selection-of-tourism-infrastructure-projects.php)

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:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

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my photo

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my photos

The Rizal Statue has been removed, and more parts of the ground floor of the museum have been demolished

Originally Posted at the San Fernando City and La Union Province Thread


hey guys, here's a "statement" from a profile/user named Bibong Agooenio from the Proud Agooenios group in Facebook re the Museo de McDo in Agoo. im curious to hear your take on this issue:

Gud morning guyz! I have read your recent posts. It seems that there is a rebuttal. For the benefit of the doubt, I wish to clarify things out in the so-called "Museo de McDo." This seems the hottest issue in our group. I conducted my own research, investigated the concerned individuals and agencies and came up with a convincing result.

TRANSFORMING "SLEEPING" ASSET INTO A MORE USEFUL ENTERPRISE

Our local leaders noticed that there are government-owned assets in Agoo that has been of no use and not fully operational. One of it is the Museo De Iloko. So, the local government unit requested the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) to grant them the authority to manage and operate the said structure to make it useful and functional.

Three (3) years ago, the PTA has bestowed the management and operation of the Museo de Iloko to the Municipal Government of Agoo. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed for said purpose.

The PTA and the Municipality of Agoo spend more or less than half million every year in the maintenance, operating cost, taxes, salaries and other expenses of the Museo De Iloko. The PTA and local authorities noted that they are spending much without any gain/income. So, the two agencies decided to come up with something worthy to invest in the said edifice.

That’s actually the story. This would suffice your question “WHY AT MUSEO?”

With sense of deep patriotism and gratitude to our rich cultural heritage, I also worried over the museum’s artifacts. On where to store it. Accordingly, it will remain properly kept in the second floor. It still functions as a museum. Only the first floor will be utilized. Well, that’s good! A picture of antiquated foundation over the modern time.

But where to put the GOLDEN GUY standing in front of the museum? “Crispin… Basilio… SAAN AKO TATAYO?”

Well, Dr. Jose Rizal is already erected in front of the Municipal Hall Building. No one can disturb him now in his blissful state.

Thanks everyone and join me to see the clown RONALD soon!

I hope McDo Agoo can help bring back patrons to visit the museum

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Photo by: Jongjong Espanto

By Edmaration etc on Saturday, March 3, 2012

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The word Pindangan is an Ilocano term for "a place where meat is sun-dried with salt for preservation." Because this place is abundant with this Pindang, the place was called Pindangan.

Pindangan Ruins is the remnant of an old church built in May 6, 1786. That old church was the symbol of the union of 2 (two) sitios called San Vicente de Balanac, a coastal village and San Guillermo de Dalangdang, a village at the foothills of the mountain.

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continue reading at http://edmarationetc.blogspot.com/2012/03/pindangan-ruins.html

Posted by killerfillers
blog link: http://www.travelfillers.com/2011/11/helloagoo.html

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Agoo is said to be the oldest town in the province of La Union. You might remember Agoo as the site of the much publicized apparition of the Virgin Mary dating way back 1993

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This imposing Mexican-Baroque architecture is the
venue of religious rites, especially during the Holy Week.

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Early exercise around Agoo Town Square (formerly known as Imelda Garden)

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he Jose D. Aspiras Civic Center built in memory of the late
Congressman Jose D. Aspiras, an Agoeño. Started his public life as
Press Secretary of the late Ilocano President Marcos in the year
1965,then as Secretary of Tourism

1. Drop by Basilica of Agoo, La Union.

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2. Check-in at San Juan Surf Resort.

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3. Bodyboard if you can't surf.

continue reading at the blog written by Sexy Nomad at link: http://www.sexynomad.com/2012/03/la-union-things-to-do.html

note: Isdaan is not in La Union, rather it is in Gerona, Tarlac

2. San Juan, La Union
In 1582, San Juan was proclaimed a mission station under the authority of the Augustian Order, as recorded by the Nueva Segovia Bi-centennial souvenir booklet dated April 25, 1587. By 1586 the town had become the center of the parish, and was renamed San Juan by the Augustian Fathers after the Catholic Patron Saint of San Juan Bautista. The town boasted an Augustinian convent and a population of 6,000. Its first priest was Friar Agustin Niño. The center of the parish was subsequently transferred to Bauang, with San Juan sometimes being an out-station (visita) of Bauang and sometimes of Bacnotan. In 1707 the Church of St. John the Baptist was constructed at San Juan. In 1772, the mission station was placed under the authority of the Dominican Order. In 1807, San Juan was established as a parish in its own right.

Pindangan Ruins this is the home of the headless stabbed priest whose sole ghost prowls at night, either carrying his severed head or searching for his head. Some report hearing his head calling out for his body to find it. Many say EVP's happen here all the time and the wind is known to whisper strange malediction to those that disrespect the location.

Pasatsat is word rooted on the Pangasinense word satsat, meaning "to stab". Pasatsats are ghosts of people who died or were killed in the Second World War. Coffins during the time were so expensive, so the families of the dead wrapped the corpses in reed mats or icamen. The dead were buried in places other than cemeteries because tomb robberies were rampant during that era of extreme poverty. These ghosts usually show up in solitary paths and block passersby. To get rid of such a ghost, one needs to stab (hence pasatsat) the reed mat and unravel it, but doing so will show no presence of a corpse, although the mat will emit a noxious odor, much like that of putrid flesh.


continue reading at source (http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/ghosthunting/phillipines.php)
:devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::cripes::cripes::cripes::cripes::cripes::cripes:

The new Textile Galleries at the National Museum were opened on March 13 for preview and made the setting of the Inaugural Lecture on Philippine Traditional Textiles and Indigenous Knowledge, Senator Loren Legarda announced.

The creation of the Textile Galleries was a brainchild of Senator Legarda and emanated from her initial fondness of tropical fabrics, which later on became part of her advocacy to preserve indigenous culture.

"I have long dreamed of seeing a textile museum in my own country. With more than a hundred indigenous cultural communities in our country, we should showcase our rich culture and the distinctiveness of our own habi," she explained.

The galleries house the National Museum's extensive textile collection, such as the Abel Iloko from Vigan, Tinguian blanket from Abra, Gaddang garments from Ifugao, Textiles from Polomok, South Cotabato and Maranao garments from Southern Mindanao, to name a few.

The UP Asian Center, the Fiber Industry Development Authority, Congressman Victor Ortega of the First District of La Union, Ilocos Sur Vice Governor Deogracias Victor Savellano and Councilor Edmund Gavina of Bangar, La Union also contributed items to the museum.

"Our pride in being Filipinos fundamentally begins with the awareness of the beauty of the Philippines--the land and its people--our heritage, and this textile museum will be a testament to the greatness and richness of the Filipino culture," Legarda concluded.


source: senate.gov.ph (http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2012/0314_legarda1.asp)

dOnzlKl0rzY

video uploaded on youtube by: SiTamboleroAko (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOnzlKl0rzY)

Finally nakapunta narin ako rito. pero hanggang sa may fence lang. Located siya sa pinakadulo ng kalsada na papasok sa PRO1

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my photos

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Photo from: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=108209295944772&set=a.108206225945079.11480.100002671062665&type=3&theater)

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Photos from: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=105781016187600&set=a.105780009521034.7652.100002671062665&type=3&theater)

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Photo from: Luna, La Union Facebook

Preserving the damaged Luna Watchtower


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From: Luna, La Union Facebook

Luna Watchtower Cartoon

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source: http://www.launionbusinessclub.com/#fp-prev

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The Luna Baluarte featured on TFC (The Filipino Channel ~ ABS-CBN) - part of "Ilocos Pinoy Destinations" Tourism Ad.

Photo from: Luna, La Union Facebook

Inquirer Northern Luzon (September 7, 2011)


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source: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=130379647061070&set=a.127929997306035.22862.100002671062665&type=3&theater)

The following photos are sourced from La Union Information and Tourism (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=392064694145468&set=a.392063954145542.99933.204145946270678&type=3&theater)Facebook

Officials of the National Museum also visited the place to gather samples for the study the age of the artifacts


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Photos from: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.392063954145542.99933.204145946270678&type=1)

dp

a source said that the burial cave dates back from 1977, and the full details and write-up of the visit (local officials of Bagulin, La Union Government and National Museum Officials) are on progress


source: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pitolaunion?ref=ts)

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source: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook

Extension Block plus columns for the entrance under construction. Construction site has been fenced

February 10
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April 4
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April 4


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Agoo as the Pilgrimage center of La Union


Soaking under the "Heritage Feeling" at Agoo

Jollibee Agoo

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jollibee Agoo - an example of mixture of Spanish and Minimalist (Modern) architecture

Windows

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at second floor

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Agoo is known as the Pilgrimage Center of La Union. Every Holy Week, Catholics flock to Agoo Basilica and nearby for religious activities and devotion. Together with the feeling of "religiosity" of Agoo are the Spanish-inspired architecture of the establishments. Agoo is the home to most of the Spanish-inspired houses in La Union. Here's some of my photos of my tour around Agoo , April 4, 2012

Agoo Maundy Thursday Mass Procession

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TBai5KSQG4k&feature=youtu.be

video uploaded on youtube by: Hugo Le Roi du Ottawa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBai5KSQG4k&feature=youtu.be)(me)

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Around the Basilica

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more

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Carosas of the 14 Stations of the Cross inside Agoo Civic Center

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Agoo Civic Center's Interiors - beautiful and Classy!

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This section of the civic center under renovation

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Back at the Basilica

Pope John Paul II's Statue
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- It was during his time when the Agoo Basilica was finally renovated to what it looks like now. The statue is to commemorate his contribution to the Basilica Minore

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Renovated in 2009 - San Juan, La Union Municipal Hall


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source (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/47369945)

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my photo taken last night

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By Jennilyne C. Role
Monday 23rd of April 2012

The Poro Point Lighthouse in La Union was built in 1885 during the Spanish colonial era to serve as beacon for ships and boats plying the sea at night. Bounded on the west by the west Philippine sea and on the east by the San Fernando bay, its apex is the highest elevation of the peninsula, and allows an unobstructed view of the panoramic landscape.

At the lighthouse, one can experience the beautiful sunrises and sunsets La Union is known for, while overlooking the undulating greens of the beautiful ‘The Cliffs Golf Course’ of Thunderbird Resorts and a coastline of pristine white sand. Atop the Poro Point Lighthouse, a tourist gets a glimpse of the best that Poto Point can offer.

Thus, the Poro Point Lighthouse is the perfect symbolism of the Poro Point Freeport Zone (PPFZ).

Featuring the Poro Point Lighthouse, a festival was conceptualized, in comparison with the ‘Panagbenga’ or the Flower Festival of Baguio City and the ‘Hot Air Balloon Festival’ of Clark. Dubbed as “SILLAG – The Poro Point Festival of Lights”, the festival, which will be launched on April 28, aims to boost the economic activities of the province and the whole region as a whole.

‘Sillag’ is an Iloco word which means moonbeam or illumination from the moon, and is similarly compared to the region’s booming business climate.

It is initiated by the Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC), a member of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority Group which aims to promote the 6-hectare lighthouse property as a vital component of an Integrated Tourism Complex and attract domestic and tourists to create a mass market to encourage business and commerce in the PPFZ.

source (http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=301335087265)

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here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=298944253455111

The Following places were featured:

San Juan
Luna - Our Lady of Namacpacan Church, Baluarte Watchtower
Halo Halo de Iloko in San Fernando City

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Photograph by: Airwind

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Photograph by: Airwind

Finally The Poro Point lighthouse will soon be renovated and be promoted as a tourist spot. It has become an active lighthouse again

Poro Point Lighthouse was built in 1885

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St. William the Hermit Cathedral

Originally a Chapel made of stone and thatch was erected in 1764 by Fr. Francisco Romero and Santiago Olarte at barrio San Vicente formerly known as “Pindangan” after which San Fernando was named. It was then moved to barrio Tanqui, then to Cabaroan and afterwards to its present site where it was built of stones and bricks by Fr. Juan Sorolla, Simon Guillermo and Pedro Fernando in 1773-1786. It was destroyed by earthquake in 1892 and occupied by the revolutionists under Col. Blas Villamor in 1898 when they overwhelmed the Spanish forces that sought shelter therein. It was destroyed during the liberation (from the Japanese) on February 26, 1945 and was reconstructed by the residents, thru the effort of Bishop Santiago C. Sancho (1947-1949). It was dedicated on February 10, 1949, and upon the canonical erection of the Diocese of San Fernando of La Union and the solemn installation of the first Bishop Most Rev. Victorino C. Ligot, DD, on April 11, 1970, the St. William Parish Church became the St. William Cathedral.

From: Tourism Office of San Fernando City La Union (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1#!/photo.php?fbid=259854127374074&set=a.259853414040812.87134.258965577462929&type=1&permPage=1)'s Photos via Facebook
I got married in this cathedral in 1991...

from a editorial published at http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/column-of-the-day/2300-how-we-will-beat-china
Written by DUCKY PAREDES

re: Mc Donalds Agoo

From Frankie Gonzales, who I have not seen for some 50 years sent me this letter: “Drove by Agoo, La Union today and was surprised that they are demolishing the Agoo Museum, the only building holding to the hundred years of the history of the town, the only building which once stood as monument of the Old Ilocanos .

“In its place will soon be a Mcdonald’s Restaurant. I see people march in Baguio to protect its trees. But I do not see any reactions from the people of Agoo. I am not a resident of Agoo but I cannot stomach the fact of the museum being demolished. Perhaps, you will feel the same and try to save it.”

***

Heck, if the people of Agoo don’t give a damn about their own history, why should this Ilokano from Bangued, Abra care? It saddens me that their own history is lost on those who are from Agoo; but what can we outsiders do? Perhaps, the family that started that private museum has given up. Or, the older ones who thought about putting up the museum have passed on.

Signing of Memorandum of Agreement between Philippine Coastguard and PPMC, Launching of the Proposed Development at the Poro Point Lighthouse

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Source: Photograhy by Jun Reynales

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Source: Photograhy by Jun Reynales (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.449267831755633.125969.100000172601686&type=3)

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Source: Photograhy by Jun Reynales (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.449267831755633.125969.100000172601686&type=3)

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/522009_449281668420916_100000172601686_2046313_1564992933_n.jpg

Source: Photograhy by Jun Reynales (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=449281668420916&set=a.449267831755633.125969.100000172601686&type=3&theater)

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Source: Photograhy by Jun Reynales

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Photography by: Jun Reynales

Author: PPMC, BCDA

osted: May 03, 2012 | Category: Freeport And Ecozones

SAN FERNANDO CITY, LA UNION – The Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC), a subsidiary of the state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) signs today a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that would allow the PPMC to repair and rehabilitate Poro Point’s iconic Lighthouse.

The rehabilitation and repair of the Poro Point Lighthouse by the PPMC is part of the PCG’s “Adopt-a-Lighthouse” program that encourages third party participation in the preservation and maintenance of culturally valuable lighthouses.

The lighthouse to be rehabilitated was erected way back in the 1970’s. It is one of the oldest yet still functional lighthouses in the country. It is solar powered and its lights can reach as far as 10 nautical miles. Its apex allows clear view of the surrounding panoramic landscapes and seascapes of La Union.

more at source: http://www.bcda.gov.ph/news_articles/show/214

Friday 4th of May 2012

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, May 4 (PIA) -- The Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC) inked on Saturday, April 28, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to repair and rehabilitate the Poro Point’s iconic lighthouse and ensure economic and tourism development where the lighthouse stands in the Poro Point Freeport Zone (PPFZ).

The MOA allows the PPMC to make vital development efforts of the Poro Point Lighthouse which is part of the PCG’s ‘Adopt-a-Lighthouse’ program that encourages third party participation in the preservation and maintenance of culturally valuable lighthouses in the country.

The agreement stated that PPMC will not only make necessary repairs and rehabilitation of the said lighthouse, but rather, it has to prepare a program of work for the project, and also rehabilitate the shotgun house used by the keeper of the lighthouse turning it into a museum. As planned, the works should be completed in time for the next ‘Sillag Festival’ in 2013.

read more (http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=301335905301)

An article about Heritage Sites at the Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Photo from: Luna, La Union Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=355835477807853&set=a.355835354474532.84440.193113360746733&type=1&theater)

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/574896_358560360868698_193113360746733_1073995_2086980370_n.jpg

From: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=358560360868698&set=a.358422374215830.84860.193113360746733&type=1&theater)

Another watchtower found at Luna, La Union. Hope the officials will revive this structure

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/531304_357514037639997_193113360746733_1071425_160741119_n.jpg

photos from: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357504840974250.84741.193113360746733&type=1)

By Frank Cimatu
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11:42 pm | Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

SAN FERNANDO CITY—While going up the steps of the Poro Point lighthouse, former Mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando City in La Union was loudly saying, “Oro. Plata. Mata.” (Gold. Silver. Death.). It is an old Spanish superstition that if one’s last step falls on either gold, silver or death, it will mean the fate of the house or its occupants.

Having negotiated 96 steps, Ortega was aghast that it ended at “mata.”

“So the first step of the rehabilitation is to put an extra step,” she said while atop the 76-foot lighthouse built in 1970.

Poro Point Management Corp. (PPMC) signed a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Coast Guard to repair and rehabilitate the lighthouse as well as the much older Spanish lighthouse a few meters away.

Ortega said the older lighthouse, built on Nov. 28, 1885, and enshrined by the National Historical Institute as a historical structure, would be rebuilt using old drawings.

read more at source (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/190047/lighthouse-rehab-seen-to-ignite-tourism-boom)

reposted from San Fernando City and La Union Province Thread 14

Posted May 12th, 2012 by Dexter A. See & filed under Nation.

SAN FERNANDO CITY—-Fishermen lost in the West Philippine Sea who can paddle toward the shore can count on Poro Point’s powerful signal to keep them on course.

To Mayor Pablo Ortega, the same aid for navigation attracts foreign and local visitors to the Northern Luzon growth quadrangle formed by the Ilocos, La Union Cordilleras and Pangasinan.

“We are happy about the declaration of the Poro Point lighthouse as a national historical landmark since La Union province will now be in the list of places that hosting heritage sites,” he told Manila Standard.

Poro Point Management Corp., a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, will undertake rehabilitation work under a memorandum of agreement of the Coast Guard.

“The lighthouse is a celebrated historical landmark,” BCDA chairman Felicito Payumo said in a statement. “Just as the lighthouse serves as a beacon to guide boats safely to shore, the Poro Point Special Economic Zone serves as a beacon for development, a guiding light that brings increased tourism and investment to the shores of North Luzon.”

read more at source (http://news.manilastandardtoday.com/2012/05/12/homing-in-on-poro-point/)

mc donalds agoo nears completion

http://www.launion.gov.ph/e107_images/newspost_images/04-04-2012_alabok.jpg

By: Israel O. Rudio PITO,LU

National Museum officials led by Directors Jeremy R. Barns and Ana M.T. Labrador, visited the Allabok Cave in Bagulin, La Union on the morning of March 28, 2012 after 35 years when it was declared as a National Cultural Treasure.

After negotiating a 20-minute ride from the Municipal Hall of Bagulin up to the upland Barangay of Cambaly, the team reached the entrance of the pathway leading to the cave together with La Union’s foremost historian, former San Fernando City Mayor Mary Jane C. Ortega, representatives from the Provincial Information and Tourism Office (PITO), Local Government Unit of Bagulin and the local police. They were briefed by a Kankanaey elderly by the name of Marcelino “Balanse” Lictao and led the way through the 200-meter trail which is about 700 feet above sea level. The hike challenged the visitors as they walked through the narrow edge of a cliff. Wood boards and a rope were also used to cross an eroded portion. Vines and roots of trees from atop the cliff proved useful, as they were held by the hikers along the ascending parts of the path. Visitors were amazed by the thick and lush forests of the mountains as well as the green rice terraces below.

continue reading at source (http://www.launion.gov.ph/news.php?item.288.2)

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Photo uloaded on flickr by: noreenpot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/noreen-chan/2067778507/sizes/z/in/photostream/)

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Artworks by: Julian Almirol


By Liza C. Estrella

May is celebrated as National Heritage Month, bringing consciousness to the immensity of Philippine art and culture. The Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU)headed by Governor Manuel C. Ortega supports and commits to this worthy endeavor by holding an Art Exhibit depicting the legacies of the past and the different aspects of our National Cultural Heritage.

For this year, the PGLU has invited local artists from La Union and Baguio City for the exhibit adopting the national theme: “ TAOID: Crossing, Caring, Carrying on…”. Visual artists from the University of the Philippines, Czarina A. Calinawagan, Julian Almirol and Edmund Andrada will share their artworks on acrylic on canvass such as “Kinnirit” (Hide and Seek), oil on canvass like “Kawes ko Gaddang” (I wear Gaddang), 3D rice husks sculpture like the “Alingawngaw sa Kabukiran”, art on Sungka and Turumpo (Traditional Filipino Games), among others that depict the Filipino culture.

The opening reception of the exhibit will be on Monday, May 21, 2012, 3:00 PM at the Governor’s Gallery, 1st Floor of the Provincial Capitol Building in the City of San Fernando and will be graced by LUVWI President Ms. Geraldine R. Ortega, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee Chair on Education and Culture Hon. Jose Ma. ‘Pepe’ C. Ortega, Department of Tourism Regional Director Martin S. Valera and DILG Provincial Director Trigida Colisao. The exhibition will be on display at the same venue from May 21-31.

Featuring the works of these young artists shall be a fascinating review of the practices of Filipino artists who continue to define the legacy of Philippine art and culture.

source: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=432692626749341&set=a.208595342492405.55111.204145946270678&type=1&theater)

By Esteleta M. Rafanan
Wednesday 23rd of May 2012

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, May 23 (PIA) -- In recognition of the legacy of the past and the different aspects of our National Cultural Heritage and how culture continuous to shape the present and the future, the provincial government of La Union launched an art exhibit at the Governor’s Gallery situated at the Provincial Capitol, this city, Monday, May 21.

Headed by Governor Manuel C. Ortega, the launching was participated by various local artists from Baguio City, Isabela, and La Union presenting their masterpieces to include acrylic on canvass such as “Kinnirit” (Hide and Seek), oil on canvass like “Kawes ko Gaddang” (I wear Gaddang), 3D rice husks sculpture like the “Alingawngaw sa Kabukiran”, art on Sungka and Turumpo (Traditional Filipino Games), and others that depict the Filipino culture.

read more (http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=321337668524)

Mc Donalds Agoo

ayan at wala na ang fence at natigil ang construction

construction has been stopped by the power of an court order

Photo taken, 7:45 AM, May 26, 2012

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By Julius A. Manabat

As part of the Provincial Government of La Union’s celebration of the National Heritage Month, an Art exhibit was arranged at the first floor lobby of the Provincial Capitol building it featured the works of Czarina A. Calinawagan, a native of San Fernando City, La Union; Julian Almirol; and Edmund Andrada- local visual artists from the University of the Philippines- Baguio City.

The event aims to bring consciousness and appreciation to the immensity of the Philippine art and culture in connection to the theme “TAOID: Crossing, Caring, Carrying on…”. The theme depicts the different facets of Filipino culture and reminds all Filipinos to preserve time-treasured culture and traditions which were deemed very vital in the formation of our society.

The opening of the art exhibit was spearheaded by Gov. Manuel C. Ortega and his better-half, Madamme Geraldine R. Ortega assisted by Board Member Francisco “Kit” Oretga, Jr. representatives from the Philippine Information Agency-Region I and Department of Tourism Region-I and DILG-La Union Office and members of the Governor’s Cabinet.

read more of the article at source: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=435788226439781&set=a.208595342492405.55111.204145946270678&type=1&theater)

The traditional pottery making at Luna


Photos are from: Luna, La Union Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=373256962732371&set=a.373214939403240.87270.193113360746733&type=3&theater)

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More of Barrientos Pottery

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:omg: I never knew this place until now

This must be the ruins of an old church in Luna, ala Pindangan Ruins in San Fernando City, La Union

The details of the church are still intact

Photos are from: Luna, La Union Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=373316512726416&set=a.373214939403240.87270.193113360746733&type=3&theater)
Sana gawing parang sa Intramuros na may cafeteria and be preserved. i-promote na heritage site uli ito sa La Union

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More of Ermita Magallanes in Luna

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By Miriaflor Rimando

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, May 28 -- The theme of National Heritage Month, which is celebrated in May, is “Taoid: Crossing, Caring, Carrying on…” The event is aimed at providing each one a glimpse of the past, and how this shapes the present and the future. It is also a recognition and celebration of the different aspects of our national cultural heritage–our traditional art forms and practices, important cultural structures both movable and immovable.

The National Heritage Month was first observed in 2004, and is mandated under Proclamation No. 439 on August 11, 2003. This is in recognition of the need to create among the people a consciousness, respect, and pride for the legacies of Filipino cultural history, and love of country.

In La Union, the Provincial Capitol launched a simple art gallery participated in by various local artists from Isabela, Baguio City and La Union. Some of the artists’ masterpieces include acrylic on canvass such as “Kinnirit” (Hide and Seek), oil on canvass like “Kawes ko Gaddang” (I wear Gaddang), 3D rice husks sculpture like the “Alingawngaw sa Kabukiran”, art on Sungka and Turumpo (Traditional Filipino Games), and others that depict the Filipino culture.

In La Union, we see the Pindangan Ruins, a remnant of the oldest church, symbolizes the union of two sitios here in San Fernando City: San Vicente de Balanac, a coastal village, and San Guillermo de Dalangdang. Although the church was damaged due to earthquake, it is still indeed a place of serenity.

Another historical vestige here is the Bacsil Ridge which was the battleground of defending Filipino soldiers against the invading Japanese soldiers in 1945. This always reminds us of the heroes of the past who fought for our freedom. (ANL/MBR-PIA 1 La Union)

source (http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?searchID=U&article=2091338177724)

San Juan National High School - from an old, Spanish-era building revived and integrated into a school building

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I am impressed with the changes in this town. Ang dami nang ipinagbago. Ang linis din :okay: Here's some of my photos

Mueo de San Juan

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The Basilica of Our Lady of Charity, better known as the Agoo Basilica, was constructed only in 1976–78. The original church built by the Spanish was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1892.

one of the two bell towers of the Agoo Basilica The church was designed by Architect Ignacio Palma Bautista. The architecture is unusual because of its two bell towers. The left bell tower is hexagonal and has four layers, though the actual belfry seems to be only the top two layers, and I'm not really sure about the top layer. The second layer from the bottom seems to hold only horn loudspeakers.

one of the two bell towers of the Agoo Basilica The right bell tower is designed after an espadaña or bell-gable, which is less expensive than full towers and is more often used for smaller churches and parishes.

Photo source: manila-photos.blogspot.com (http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/2012/06/agog-in-agoo.html)
read the whole of the blog at the same link

Museo de Iloko was left in its bad state after a court order halted the construction of Mc Donalds store in its first floor

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Photos were taken yesterday, June 1, 2012 10:45am

Litonjua House Ruins in Bacnotan

see first photo here (http://www.google.com.ph/search?q=litonjua+house+bacnotan&hl=tl&client=firefox-a&hs=7l&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=wInMT9n9MOXEmAXziNT5Dg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CEUQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=629)

http://multiply.com/mu/higante/image/1/photos/122/600x600/3/Bacnotan-church.jpg?et=4jNZxQF7P7iVgDVtRSpDUQ&nmid=484327966

Photo source (http://higante.multiply.com/photos/album/122/St._Michael_the_Archangel_Bacnotan_La_Union?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Fphotos%2Falbum#photo=3)

The Catholic parish of Bacnotan has existed since 1787, but the original church constructed by the Spanish was completely destroyed in a fire in 1877. The church was rebuilt in 1888–91 and, according to the plaque at the church entrance, was repaired in 1937. For that information to be included in the plaque, I assume that the damage was quite heavy; the plaque, however, does not state why the church needed major repairs. But Bacnotan was a setting for one of the many battles of the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th century, so it may be correct to guess that the church was damaged then.

Museo de Iloko was left in its bad state after a court order halted the construction of Mc Donalds store in its first floor

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http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/577734_3151508319296_1567563297_n.jpg

Photos were taken yesterday, June 1, 2012 10:45am

this is disheartening... Anu ba nangyari? Sana, pinabayaan na lang kasi ang museo as is at sa ibang lugar na lang itinayo ang McDonald's...

this is disheartening... Anu ba nangyari? Sana, pinabayaan na lang kasi ang museo as is at sa ibang lugar na lang itinayo ang McDonald's...

exactly librero! :cheers: According to a source, napatigil ang ongoing construction ng Mc Donalds dahil sa isang court order. Ang sa akin lang, kung ano man ang dahilan, sana itinuloy nalang na tapusin iyang McDonalds.

Ang dark side din nito, bigla namang nagulat ang mga tao nang ginigiba na ang 1st floor ng museo saka may tarp na inilagay "Soon to Open, Mc Donalds Agoo" so meaning walang public consultation na nangyari bago pa man mapagiba iyan ng lahat ng mga involved rito (TIEZA, franchisee or Golden Arches corporation mismo, also government officials for giving the building permit)

exactly librero! :cheers: According to a source, napatigil ang ongoing construction ng Mc Donalds dahil sa isang court order. Ang sa akin lang, kung ano man ang dahilan, sana itinuloy nalang na tapusin iyang McDonalds.

Ang dark side din nito, bigla namang nagulat ang mga tao nang ginigiba na ang 1st floor ng museo saka may tarp na inilagay "Soon to Open, Mc Donalds Agoo" so meaning walang public consultation na nangyari bago pa man mapagiba iyan ng lahat ng mga involved rito (TIEZA, franchisee or Golden Arches corporation mismo, also government officials for giving the building permit)

Ibig sabihin, may manipulation na nangyarai OR mahina pa ang local law ng Agoo regarding preservation of cultural heritage...

Ibig sabihin, may manipulation na nangyarai OR mahina pa ang local law ng Agoo regarding preservation of cultural heritage...

hindi ko lang alam. pero i'll stick with sa first na speculation mo

Naku ipinatayo paman din iyan noong Marcos time :ohno:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KJudv2ak0LI/T83OU7FU0pI/AAAAAAAAErc/EEgZgVBECmY/s800/san-juan01-town-hall.jpg

My husband and I had no plans of stopping in the town of San Juan while we were in the province of La Union, but a small cluster of brick buildings along the highway caught my eye on our way to Bacnotan and I requested that we stop for a few minutes. The cluster turned out to be the town center of San Juan, which, like many Spanish-era towns in the Philippines, are laid out with the town hall and church around a central plaza and park. "Presidencia" seems to be used quite commonly to refer to the town hall, though I have to admit that this is the first time this city-bred girl learned that tidbit. I find San Juan's wood and brick presidencia lovely.

Read the whole of blog at source (http://manila-photos.blogspot.com/2012/06/brick-beauty.html)

Keeping with the Tradition - Making Bangar's Abel Cloth the Old way

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photos from: Airwind

Basket Weaving Industry of Sudipen, La Union

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photos from: Airwind

PPMC and BCDA launch an annual festival in La Union and commit to repairing the Poro Point Lighthouse to boost tourism and business in the area

By Em P. Guevara
June 11, 2012, 2:40pm

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MANILA, Philippines --- In a major effort to push tourism and lure more businesses to Poro Point, La Union, the Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC) launched last April the Sillag Festival of Lights, from here on to be celebrated every year, and has taken charge as well of repairing and rehabilitating Poro Point’s iconic Lighthouse, which is set to become the center of tourism activity in the area.

Lighthouse Rehab

The Poro Point Lighthouse to be rehabilitated was erected in the 1970s, and is one of the oldest yet still functional lighthouses in the country. It is solar-powered and its lights can reach as far as 10 nautical miles. Its apex allows a clear view of the surrounding panoramic landscapes and seascapes of La Union.

Aside from the lighthouse, the PPMC will also rehabilitate the shotgun house used by the keeper of the lighthouse, and will turn it into a museum. The entire project is expected to be completed in time for the next Sillag in 2013.

Casanova said the adoption of the lighthouse is part of the BCDA group’s efforts to preserve the country’s national heritage while pursuing development in the regions. He said that while BCDA seeks to develop economic hubs that bring employment to thousands of Filipinos, “We also seek to enhance the Filipino’s character and sense of history.”

Nisce said that the rehabilitation of the lighthouse is but a first step in future efforts to highlight the province of La Union as a tourism and investment area. “We are confident other groups will follow our lead and replicate our rehabilitation and development efforts in their side of La Union,” he said.

PPMC President Florante Gerdan added, “We hope that other entities from the private sector will emulate our efforts to preserve history while promoting tourism. Preserving our heritage sites would contribute to increase in tourist arrivals, and eventually increase in investments as well as business opportunities for local entrepreneurs.”




source (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/361671/lights-festival-and-a-lighthouse)

San Juan Presidencia - the town's municipal hall
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Beautiful Old house along National Highway
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Ruins of an old house
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The following photos are from: Luna, La Union Philippines LGU Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.383097095081691.88923.193113360746733&type=1)

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Rizal Monument

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Old Antonio Luna Monument

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Antonio Luna Monument

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Summary:

Heritage/Historical Sites being restored/undergoing restoration/planned to be restored:

Luna Watchtower (Baluarte)
Poro Point Lighthouse
Luna, Bangar municipal offices




Heritage/Historical Sites being demolished/has been demolished/has not undergone restoration/being neglected

Museo de Iloko in Agoo - 1F converted to McDonalds

Very few or none of buildings or houses like this can be seen in San Fernando's west and along the whole stretch of the national highway. This is located at Brgy. Saoay at the eastern part of the city

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Photo by: Jongjong Espanto

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Photo by: Mhaylani Otanes (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=218918251480588&set=t.100001885935532&type=3&theater)

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Photo by: Mhaylani Otanes (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=218918251480588&set=t.100001885935532&type=3&theater)

Wow! This is TREASURE!

I hope, mailagay sa tama nitong dapat kalagayan ang mga artifacts at remains na yan pagkatapos mapag-aralan...

^^ Mukhang mapupuno na ang Science museum ng La Union dahil sa mga artifacts na ito


Sa Bagulin town rin ay may artifacts rin na natagpuan

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Allabok Cave at Bagulin, La Union
Photo from: La Union Information and Tourism Facebook


How much more nalang kaya sa Benguet at sa Mountain province, haay kay yaman ng history ng Pilipinas

featuring Pindangan Ruins

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video uploaded on youtube by: itsociety (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifSZPS8akR4&feature=related)

Museo de Iloko, July 1, 2012

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An old house in Agoo


around Agoo, there are still many Spanish-American period houses that are left standing

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Bangar Municipal Hall

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Bangar Town Proper

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The town of Luna

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The town of Luna was originally named as "Namacpacan", an Ilocano word meaning "to feed". The town was dedicated to Our Lady of Namacpacan which appeared to the people in around 1800s. The town was then renamed after the Antonio and Juan Luna brothers.

The whole town proper of Luna is historical. Most buildings and structures, if not originally dating back to the Spanish era, were ruins revived for a new structure with a new look

Luna Plaza

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