Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte

meaning 525 kilometers away from Manila, specifically the Rizal Monument

I have always associated Ilocos Norte with large churches and beaches. Since this attitude made me neglect the more mountainous parts of the province, it was quite a pleasure to discover Nueva Era and its atmosphere and sights.

This town on the southeastern side of Ilocos Norte is located at the foothills of the Cordillera Mountain Range. A well paved highway from Nueva Era would bring a person to the neighboring province of Abra.

I have visited the province twice before April 8-10 when majority of the following pictures were taken. In fact, the last four pictures were shots from the last visit prior to this one. However, Nueva Era was merely, for me, a place where distant relatives live. It offered nothing but to trace my personal history and to anchor me to the past. This time, however, I chose to look at the town with new eyes and with a sense of unbiased wonder. With this, I discovered more of the place and its prospects.

The Ilocos Chronicles 2010: Entry #4

Six down.  One more to go.   Here, I list down the churches that I have, so far, visited in fulfillment of one of my to do’s for this visit to Ilocos.

St. William Cathedral, Laoag City.  One might wrongly dismiss this church as negligible in a visit to Ilocos Norte.  A person may conclude that its importance lays solely in the fact that it is the chief edifice of Roman Catholicism in this province.  At least that was how I regarded it in the past.  It looked as if a three year-old child had designed its disproportionate façade.  It appeared small, even squat and thus pales in comparison to its majestic, albeit sinking, bell tower.   This week, however, I get to visit this church two times in as many days not as a tourist but as a pilgrim.  I went to the place as a worshipper.  And because of this, I saw more than a building.  I saw a magnificent monument of faith. 

St. Nicholas Church, San Nicolas, I.N.  I had neglected this church in the past.  Maybe it was a case of “being so near yet so far“ or of anyone of those expressions that I love to use yet fail to fully understand.   It seemed to me that it is a minor church, even ordinary, compared to the other big churches of Ilocos Norte.  It appeared that way every time I would pass it by on my way to Laoag.   Its pragmatic importance lies on the fact that it is near my destination city and thus serves as a mere landmark.

So, this week, I resolved to visit the church. It will be one of the seven churches I will visit this holy week.  And the resolution came to pass last Holy Wednesday.  And what impression do I have of this church now?  Let us just say, “First impressions do last.” The church have been too dolled up.

St. Augustine Church, Paoay, I. N.  Woe it is to anyone who fails to visit this glorious breathtaking testament to Catholic Filipino faith!  I just had to visit it for the nth time.  What is new is that I resolved to relish its beauty.  I will not have companions tugging at my sleeves complaining about the heat of the sun or the many other sites we have yet to visit.  I went to Paoay alone and via public transport.  It’s easy since so many jeepneys are plying the Laoag-Batac-Paoay route. 

This church never fails to amaze me.  It just sits there in the middle of the plain and it appears as if it will do so till eternity ends.  Its interior is a big disappointment though.  It’s ceiling is not that of the Sarrat Church which can be likened to an intricate lattice of giant woods suspended fifty feet from the ground.  Its floor tiles are not as well preserved as that of the Baccarra Church and it does not anymore preserve the sanctity that even the busy St. William has.

St. Roch and St. Gabriel Churches.  In Banna and Nueva Era, respectively.  These churches are not among the major catholic churches in Ilocos Norte.  In other words, they are not tourist sites.  I decided to get out of my way to visit them anyway.  First, I have my planned visit to seven churches; my personal version of the visita iglesia.  I had a mere glance of the Immaculate Concepcion Church in Batac for I was too lazy to get off the jeep.  The Sarratt Church, for its part, I have seen so many times.  So I need two churches to give me the numbers.  Secondly, Banna and Nueva Era are important places to me.  It’s my Uncle Victor who facilitated the completion of the new St. Roch Church when he was yet a young priest.  I spent a summer vacation there when I was in high school and I just have to see how it turned out.  Nueva Era is where the paternal cousins of my mother live.  I have grown up knowing one of them merely by name and that is my Tito Boy.  And they were supposedly six brothers and sisters!  And so I injected into my visit to them a tour of the church.

The two churches are the size of a regular chapel in Central Luzon or Manila.  Seven or eight of them could have fitted easily inside the St. William Cathedral.  Obviously they have not been constructed with an overflow of funds.  Nevertheless, they are beautiful to me.  Like the cathedral, they had people in them. Not tourists, but locals.  Worshipping. To think that I was in Banna on Good Friday night and Nueva Era on Sabado de Gloria afternoon.  People were guarding the Santo Enterio in one and preparing for the Easter Vigil and the Salubong in the other.  They too are testaments of a faith that is pulsing with life.

St. Joseph Church, Dingras, I. N.  This church has made this particular Ilocos visit uniquely special.  It is a newly discovered wonder.

I do not know if I have seen this church in the past but did not pay it too much attention.  Or maybe I have not really seen it though it’s on the road going to Banna given that it is hidden behind gigantic acacia trees.  But what I have seen this week has left me awestruck.  The reason is that the St. Joseph Church is actually a “Rurog.”

My cousin said that it’s Ilocano for “skull”, but, given the church’s context, I surmise that this word can also mean “ruins” for that is how the Dingras Church is and a historical marker from the national government describes it so.  The church has been that way since a 1913 earthquake practically destroyed it save for its walls.  But the people did not give up on the edifice; their dream was and still is to rebuild it.

It is a large church.  Perhaps it is the largest in Northern Luzon and therefore to repair it requires tremendous sacrifice and generosity on the part of the faithful.  The past fifteen years, they have been able to put up a new roof over it, and there were minor repairs performed but there is so much work to be done.  Time seems to be finally catching up on the church since the top of its façade is leaning towards the interior threatening to crumble anytime.  The people of Dingras both here and abroad seem to know this for they are taking action to save the beloved “Rurog.”

My hope and prayer is that they achieve this goal and that other people from other places help them.  For then it shows that this particular church belongs not so much in the past but in the very present; that this structure is not only an expression of their ancestors’ faith but more importantly of theirs.

St. Andrew the Apostle Church, Baccarra, I. N. I hope to visit this church tomorrow, Easter Sunday.

The Ilocos Chronicles 2010: Entry #2

Vigan longganisa and tortang talong for breakfast at a side street diner.  

What a way to start the first day of my Ilocos 2010 visit.  Native food. The Vigan longganisa, that is. My brother Jay and I share this conviction that, when we visit the provinces, we avoid the familiar, aka what can be found in Manila. 

Relish what a place has to offer.  Be it food, sight, sound, and language. There is a 24-hour McDonalds, a Jollibee, and Chowking here.  Heck, I just saw a Robinson's Mall in San Nicolas town in the middle of what is threatening to be an Ortigas Center mini me.  It is tempting to seek these places out.  Maybe to feel safe amidst all the strangeness of a place. But then, what is the point of the whole visit?  What is the point of escaping busy Manila if one will hanker for what it provides so easily?

Anyway, I am here now.  After 9 nine hours of travel on a very comfortable Partas De Luxe bus, I am finally here.  

Speaking of Partas, I don't think I'll advice people taking it on a holiday rush to the north.  Be it the Christmas season, the semestral break or like now, the Holy Week.  I do not know on other days, but at around 10 pm last night, there was a lot of people at their terminal in Cubao. True, they have the De Luxe bus which has three seats in a row compared to the usual four. This particular bus offers enough leg room for a six footer and the seats are fully reclinable, something that I discovered regrettably a few minutes away from Laoag.

But I do not know if they have a regular schedule for the departure of these buses.  Maybe they do, but judging from my experience last night, when the flood of people comes, the alternative is: all hell breaks loose.  

It was not a horror story for me.  Being a bus rider for such a long time, I have developed the tolerance for the long lines, the rush of running after the monsters, and the subtlety of using my size to get inside them.  So last night was the usual for me.  It's part of the whole adventure.  If it is any other person, maybe I would recommend riding on their own vehicle, taking the plane, or trying Maria de Leon out.  There one could reserve his seat ahead of time. 

The Ilocos Chronicles 2010: Entry #1

Cliche title. But that's what's been on my head all day: thinking of posting blog after blog of my trip to and from and, of course, stay in Ilocos Norte and call them with that title.  That's the plan though.  I really do not know if I can muster enough will power to write again after this one.  I am a ningas kugon, that is why.

Going to Ilocos this summer was in my mind long before I verbally uttered it to my dad two weeks ago.  Lots of changing of mind happened since then. I mentioned it to Mommy's cousin, too.  That's Tito Boy Valido, through facebook chat.  Having informed them, there is no backing out since the questions "when are you going to Laoag" by one or "when are you coming to Laoag" by the other would inevitably crop up.

And so that was what happened last Saturday night.  I told my dad, "I'll be home in Cabanatuan by Monday.  I think I am not going to Ilocos anymore. What do you think?" It was really my way of subtly  saying, "I really do not want to go and endure that 8 hour trip inside a close to freezing bus. Two times!"  And he goes, "I really think you should go and visit."  It's no great wonder.  He's from the place.  And so, of course, are my grandparents.  And I haven't visited Lola since I don't remember exactly when. 

Also this morning as I was preparing to finally submit my final paper for my final subject in MA, out came a message from Tito Boy through facebook.  "Are you already here?"  With that question, I just have to go to Ilocos.

So here I am, counting the last few hours before departure to beloved Ilocos.  There is no sarcasm there.  Believe me, I love the place, I adore the place, I long to see the place.  It's just that, for now, what I need is to sit on a rocking chair in front of the cable tv with the laptop to my right and a good book at my left turning on the aircon if the heat gets to me while trying to muster enough will power to review for compre.  In Cabanatuan, of course, my true home. 

Now all that has become, "Maybe next week."  After the demo, after the enrollment, and after I clean my carrell and sort out my reviewers for the comprehensive exams. 

For the Holy Week, I am off to Ilocos Norte.  Perhaps there, I'll join the celebration at my Uncle Vic's parish, go out with my cousins, eat real Ilocano food, and do visita iglesia. Certainly however, I'll be able to see my Lola Betty again.  

Just keep on reading to find out if I did.