Did you know Malabon and Navotas used to be one town?

If you you knew that Malabon and Navotas used to be one town, then I salute you!

I didn't, until last week when I began reading an interesting paper on the "History of Malabon-Navotas" by Salvador Sevilla, Santos Tiangco published in 1976.

According to this paper, Malabon and Navotas were part of the settlements or district ruled by Rajah Lakandula.  Included in Lakandula's district were Tundo, Caloocan, Longos, Tonsuya, Catmon, Tenejeros, Maysilo, Dampalit, Malabon, Bangkulasi, Bagong Bayan, Navotas, Cotcot, Quebasco, Estanza, Wawa, Baesa and others. 

On the other hand, Rajah Matanda's settlements or district were at the mouth of the Pasig River and along its north bank Maalat (now Malate, Paranaque, Pasig, Taguig, Las Pinas, San Felipe Neri and as far as Muntinlupa, and the present area of Intramuros and Parian which was the present China town in Binondo and San Nicolas, Manila).

In 1570, fifty years after Spain conquered the Philippines, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Andres de Urdaneta, an Augustinian father, with the help of Legaspi's grandson Juan de Salcedo, befriended Rajah Lakandula and Rajah Matanda. 

The two agreed that their respective districts would be under the authority of Spain.

Tondo, the home settlement of Lakandula, was made into a "parroquia" or parish in 1599.  In 1670 these settlements were converted into the town of Tambobong for civil administration under the leadership of the Captain Municipal.  At the same time the parish or parroquia de San Bartolome was established in Tambobong.

Malabon and Navotas remained as settlements of the town of Tambobong until 1859 when it was split into two towns - the town of Malabon and the town of Navotas.

Navotas as created included all the land west of the Navotas River and the island barrio Tanza.  The rest of Tambobong became the present town of Malabon.

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Sweet Memories at Betsy's Cake Center

Before Goldilocks and Red Ribbon bakeshops, there was BETSY'S CAKE CENTER in Malabon.

Presently located on Rizal Avenue between Chow King and Baker's Fair, BETSY'S has been giving Malabon residents the sweetest memories with its pastries and cakes since 1962.

 
I remember when my Mom used to buy their bestselling jelly rolls in the original location across the Municipio.  Soon enough BETSY'S became our neighborhood bakeshop selling comfort-food pastries like ensaymada, mamon, brownies, egg pie, cream puffs and many more in addition to special-order cakes.

I don't remember when they moved to their present location where they now also serve fastfood dishes; I just know that to this day, BETSY'S broas - soft and airy ladyfingers with light buttercream filling - are the best I've tasted.  (Read what well-known cake designer and pastry chef Heny Sison said about BETSY'S broas: click on Heny Sison on Betsy's.

I like their meat rolls as well.  The meat filling is just right in terms of taste and quantity - no "hello-where-are-you" which is what my sister and I joke whenever we buy meat rolls, empanadas or siopao that are mostly bread and you have trouble finding the filling.  And the bread is really good, it's not commercial in quality.  Light and tasty just like home-baked bread, you could eat the bread by itself without need for filling or spread.

Thanks to BETSY'S, Malabon food-lovers can continue to have sweet memories right in our own neighborhood!




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More Links on Malabon

Friends, check out the links I've added for more pictures and information about Malabon.

The articles from the Inquirer and Malaya and the blog posting by Ivan Henares are about the first heritage tour of Malabon that was conducted in May 2007.

The site of Arch. Richard Bautista contains many pictures of Malabon. He organized that heritage tour along with Atty. Monchet Lucas, Leona Nepomuceno and Terry de Jesus.

A Bird's-Eye View

There's something about being on a high place and having a sweeping view of the landscape below.  It gives you a momentary sense of being above it all, and of literally seeing your horizons expand.  This was our experience the other day when my son and I went up to the 11th floor roof deck of the Malabon City Hall.

We went there with a mission.  I wanted to have an updated version of this old photo of Rizal Avenue Malabon as seen from the second floor of the old Municipio:

Circa 1962 (photo from Arch. Richard Bautista)

We succeeded not only in updating that 1962 street scene photo, we were able to take great pictures of the other vistas of Malabon as well.



RIZAL AVENUE MALABON TODAY. On the right side are two places I remember fondly from my St. James days:  Betsy's Cake Center (with the red roof) and Nels-Ofel School Supplies (now Nels-Ofel Building with the red stripes).  It just doesn't show up too well on this photo, but when we were up there, looking straight on Rizal Avenue, we were able to make out the building of Puregold in Monumento in the horizon. And on clearer days, our guide told us you could even see the condominium buildings being constructed by SM at North EDSA (Quezon City) as well as the SM Valenzuela mall.

The TANONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL building on Leono Street is dwarfed by the Star J Mall beside it.

SAN BARTOLOME CHURCH with the Parish Office and Multipurpose buildings to its right, and ST. JAMES ACADEMY to its left -- two places that occupy a special corner in my heart for starting me on the road to learning and spirituality.  In the distance you can also see the IGLESIA NI KRISTO Lokal ng Malabon located on General Luna Street.

The SAN BARTOLOME PARISH CEMETERY looks quite crowded already.  I didn't know that one half of the cemetery is also allocated for the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH.

The newly constructed ORETA SPORTS CENTER at PLAZA RODRIGUEZ behind the City Hall. The Malabon Public Library is no longer located at the Plaza; it has transferred to the Barangay Catmon area.  We heard that a general hospital will soon be constructed where the Puericulture Center was located.  Across the river, you can also see the Navotas City Hall.

A close-up of the familiar arch of PLAZA RODRIGUEZ.  This appears to be the only original structure and the only patch of green left in the Plaza.

SHIPYARDS across the river create an interesting tableau.

The MALABON-NAVOTAS BRIDGE.  It's amazing to see that after you cross the river there's just a sliver of land and it's the Manila Bay already beyond it. 

The MALABON PUBLIC MARKET.  I have not been to this market in nearly two decades since we transferred residence from Bayan to Barangay Potrero.  I should come back one of these days and find out how it has changed in 20 years.

At the MALABON CITY HALL ROOF DECK. 

Thanks to Mr. Bong Padua, Chief of the Public Information Office of Malabon, and Mr. Ronnie Gumatay who accompanied us to the roof deck, we were able to experience seeing Malabon from a great vantage point.

I have to admit -- being up there and seeing a grand panorama of Malabon made me feel even more that, inspite of everything, this is the town my heart will always call "home."

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The Municipio

I still like to think of Malabon as a town, maybe because I'm sentimental but also because a town always feels cozier, where people know each other and do things with a sense of community.  And I want Malabon to always be that way.  Cities seem so crowded and impersonal. 

And yet, looking around, I know that my wish may be next to impossible.  Malabon is now a city.

For starters, our Municipio (municipal hall) of old has entered into the 21st century.

THE MUNICIPIO - CIRCA 1963 (photo from Arch. Richard Bautista)

This photo circa 1962 was obviously taken from the bell tower or kampanarya of San Bartolome Church.  Note the original brick and adobe walls of the kampanarya. (Photo from Arch. Richard Bautista)

The Municipio - now the MALABON CITY HALL - today is a far cry from the two-storey building constructed in 1939.  Inaugurated in 2008, the new City Hall is a modern, 11-storey building with state-of-the-art facilities, and is the highest building in the city. 

I have been inside the Malabon City Hall many times before on various errands.  The first time I went inside, I made sure to take the scenic elevator just so I could have a good view of the street scene on Rizal Avenue.  I must say that with more floors to accommodate all the offices of the local government, it is so much more convenient now to  transact business at the City Hall unlike before when everything was crammed into two or three floors (as a third floor was also added to the 1939 structure at some point).


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Would you like to have an overview of Malabon?

Friends, now you can have an overview of Malabon through Wikimapia. Check out my LINKS at the sidebar. Many places are already marked on the map so it's easier for you to find your bearings.  I'll be providing more links on Malabon shortly.

San Bartolome Church - Seeking to Restore its Glory

The SAN BARTOLOME CHURCH - circa 1910 (photo from Arch. Richard Bautista):

SAN BARTOLOME CHURCH - circa Pre-war     (photo from Old Philippines):

SAN BARTOLOME CHURCH today:

If there was one structure from the Malabon of old that never failed to take my breath away, it used to be the SAN BARTOLOME CHURCH in Bayan, in the heart of town.

The church was first built by the Spaniards in 1621 and finished in 1854.  In 1861 the facade and its twin towers were constructed.  The architecture of San Bartolome Church was simple and elegant but imposing.  With its portico of Ionic columns reminiscent of a Greek temple, it was said to be "one of the most beautiful examples of ecclesiastical architecture that Spain has left the country." 1/

My husband, whose family lived in the area, remembers the church with its thick adobe walls in the 1950s.  Around the 60s, the adobe walls were plastered with cement and painted a uniform color.  The interior was mostly untouched, though, keeping its simple and dignified design with a few flourishes from the era.  This was the church I became familiar with when I began studying at St. James Academy next-door up to the time when we lived in my husband's family home in Barangay Tanong from 1983 to 1991.

In the years that followed after we left Bayan, I had been hearing a lot about the renovations being undertaken in San Bartolome church, but I never paid much attention.

Well, today I decided to see for myself.

The sight of the familiar facade was comforting; the fake adobe drawings on the walls were not.  Uh-oh, I said to myself.  This is not very reassuring.

I stepped inside.  I should have braced myself.  I thought I had entered a different church.

Countless paintings and fluorishes have been added on walls, ceilings and arches where there used to be none. The traditional pulpit on the right side when you are facing the altar is no longer there.  So with the crystal chandeliers of old; in their place are wrought iron lighting fixtures.  Gold leaf touches and trimmings abound at every opportunity.

The walls that were previously being restored to bring out the original adobe have been plastered instead and fake adobe lines painted on them.

The original four evangelists paintings on the dome ceiling are no longer there;  more vividly painted versions have taken their place.  Even the dome architecture itself appears to have been  changed.

So much has been re-done, removed, added, plastered, varnished, wallpapered, painted and repainted.  Having known the church in its original state - simple and dignified - it now felt like a sensory overload, like it had become too dazzling and too opulent, when San Bartolome Church had never been that. I thought, "Are we in Rome or the Vatican?" and quickly realized that this was not a restoration I had just seen; this was an alteration - an extreme make-over, even.

And the alterations are still on-going, obviously, because the ceiling is still open and refinishing touches are still being done.

I don't recognize you anymore, my dear San Bartolome Church, I said to myself. What is left of you now, what vestiges of your centuries-old existence are left to tell us that you were once this serene and dignified sanctuary we knew and loved? 

It felt like a part of me had been rudely snatched away.  Dejected, I started to walk out and was consoled to find three things yet untouched --

The statue of San Bartolome on the main altar (at least I think it's still the original one):

The machuca tiles on the main aisle:

and the tombstones on the church columns:

But for how long?


As you enter the church, you will find the following sign on your left, which I didn't notice at once because I was drawn to the altar when I first entered:

I couldn't help asking myself, how do you define "glory," anyway?  And how do you really restore it?

Certainly not by making something shiny and new and masking it with a gaudy veneer, but by reconstructing or rehabilitating it as faithfully as possible to the original.  Old churches, especially, provide a valuable linkage into our own history as a people of faith.  We should value and preserve them; to alter them is to deny future generations a precious legacy: a faithful glimpse into the past and an opportunity to be proud of ourselves as a people.

The renovation of San Bartolome Church has sought to restore its "glory."

And it has succeeded --  in a way that makes me profoundly sad for future generations...

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1/   en.wikipilipinas.org

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This Used to be My Neighborhood - 2

Walking a little further up General Luna Street, we were able to take photos of three more houses and the Tropicana Studio.


VILLONGCO HOUSE
The VILLONGCO HOUSE is made up entirely of concrete, unlike most heritage houses that have wooden upper floors.

The Art Deco details add interest to the house.

 The house is currently for rent.  I hope that the prospective lessee of the house will not try to change or obstruct its nice facade.

Addendum on July 23, 2010:   I have just been told that the VILLONGCO HOUSE will no longer be rented out. Instead it will be made into a venue place for special events.




NEPOMUCENO HOUSE
A study in contrast is found in the NEPOMUCENO HOUSE, with the commercial establishments on its ground floor presenting a modern, utilitarian look, and its second floor mostly keeping its original design and details.  (Mostly - because I don't think the jalousies were a part of the original design.)  Perhaps the house could be repainted in one color to bring out the charm of the original design and unify the look of the house a bit.

MAGNO HOUSE
The MAGNO HOUSE around 2007 (photo by Arch. Richard Tuason Bautista):

The MAGNO HOUSE in June 2010:

I have to say that the owner has shown an adventurous streak in his/her choice of color for the house exterior.  Here, even though the ground floor is being occupied by a commercial establishment, the accordion doors have been painted the same color so that when they are closed, the house has a unified look.  Practical considerations appear to have necessitated the installation of a canopy in front.  But I wonder if the canopy -- and the signage -- could be placed a bit lower so that onlookers could appreciate the original second floor design better.


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This Used to be My Neighborhood

To start off my rediscovery experience of Malabon, my son and I took a quick walk around our old neighborhood in Barangay Concepcion one Sunday last month before going to a family gathering at my Dad's house.  We retraced the path I used to take from our house near the corner of General Luna Street and Governor Pascual Avenue, going through Paez Street to C. Arellano, where I used to take a jeepney going to Bayan.



BORJA HOUSE
Built in 1923, the BORJA HOUSE boasts of many architectural details that was characteristic of houses during that time.  I think it is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved houses in Malabon.  I've always loved passing by this house and I hope that the present owners will continue to preserve it as a legacy for future generations.  It is such a heritage gem that I feel so proud of because it is right there in my neighborhood.  It's too bad that an unsightly barangay hall and covered basketball court were built right beside it, thus blocking the magnificent sweeping side view of the house from what used to be an open-air plaza.

GONZALES HOUSE (also known as the PAEZ HOUSE)
Built in 1877, the GONZALES HOUSE is simple compared to the Borja House; nevertheless I'm glad that the owners seem to be maintaining it because they've fixed and repainted the exterior. As you can see from the picture below, the new level of Paez Street is already half the height of its ground floor. This is the familiar fate of many houses in Malabon -- it seems that the only response to the city's perennial flooding problem is to keep on raising the level of our streets. In some instances street levels have been raised twice or thrice. Perhaps in another five years this house will just be a bungalow!

MARIO LUNA HOUSE
On C. Arellano Street are two heritage houses that stand proudly side by side. One is the MARIO LUNA HOUSE which was built in the 1890s. Just like the Gonzales House, its ground floor has become much lower than street level. But again, I am grateful that the owners are trying to preserve it because the once-peeling-off exterior has been given a fresh coat of paint. The embellishments painted white against the brown background can also be better seen now and makes the facade look charming.

TEODORO (formerly JOSE LUNA) HOUSE
The TEODORO (LUNA) HOUSE has been more fortunate than its neighbor because its ground floor is higher -- still three steps up from the street. I remember, though, back when the level of C. Arellano had not yet been raised, how this house used to look even more imposing in height. Unlike the Mario Luna and the Gonzales Houses which have changed the color of their exteriors, the Teodoro (Luna) House has always been an elegant white with dark trimmings from as far back as I can remember. During those days, I never minded being out in the sun while waiting for a jeepney ride because I could always distract myself appreciating these two houses.

BENEDICTO LUNA HOUSE
The unique feature of the BENEDICTO LUNA HOUSE is that it has three floors, unlike most heritage houses I've seen. Even in its present state of disrepair, you can still see its elegant design. How beautiful it must have looked during its glory days. With some repair work and a fresh coat of paint, it can still outclass the modern-design building beside it!