Historic City of Vigan
Last month, I went to Vigan City in the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur. I witnessed the many great sites there. The range of structures along the plazas and streets is distinct in architecture. There are large and imposing buildings, having their own color, that evoke political or religious power. Grand homes speak of wealth, while others speak of more modest means. They sell a lot of Filipino made products e.g. rattan baskets, bags in every size, bracelets, dreamcatchers, and satchels . Lots of horse carriages on every road. There are even a lot of ice cream flavors by the locals there.
During the height of the Spanish colonial era in the 18th and 19th centuries, Vigan or Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan was the third most important city after Manila and Cebu. It was the center of Spanish colonial power in northern Luzon. The town is a living testament to the Spanish colonial era, a place that exerts a strong cultural influence to the modern Philippine nation (WORLD HERITAGE, n.d.). The architectural ensemble shows that Vigan was the political, economic, religious, and artistic center of the region.
The architecture of Vigan relates the story of the Filipino, of how his constant exposure to foreign influences endowed him with the ability to adapt foreign ideas and combine them into a style that is uniquely his own. Notable Vigan urban spaces and architecture includes its town plaza, Plaza Salcedo; Saint Paul’s Cathedral; The Arzopispado, an excellent example of a priest’s residence in an urban area; Saint Paul’s College; the Provincial Capitol Building; Simbaan a Bassit (Catholic Cemetery Chapel); Calle Crisologo, an impressive row of houses lining each side of a cobbled stone street; Burgos Museum; and the numerous Vigan Houses, undoubtedly Vigan’s treasures (WORLD HERITAGE, n.d.).
Vigan is an island, which used to be detached from the mainland by three rivers — the great Abra River, the Mestizo River and the Govantes River. Historically Vigan was an important coastal trading post in pre-colonial times. Long before the Spanish galleons, Chinese junks sailing from the South China Sea came to Isla de Bigan through the Mestizo River that surrounded the island (The City, n.d.). On board were sea-faring merchants that came to barter exotic goods from Asian kingdoms in exchange for gold, beeswax and other mountain products brought down by natives from the Cordilleras. Immigrants, mostly Chinese, settled in Vigan, intermarried with the natives and started the multi-cultural bloodline of the Bigueños.
How Vigan got its name is told from an anecdote carried by the tongue of generations, which tells of a Spaniard walking along the banks of the Mestizo River. There, he met a native of the place and stopped to inquire: “Como se Ilama usted de esta lugar?” (The City, n.d.).
Not understanding a word of Spanish, the native scratched his head and upon seeing that the Spaniard was pointing to a plant, exclaimed in Ilocano: “Bigaa Apo”. Bigaa being Alcasia Macroniza, a giant Taro plant belonging to the Gabi family which used to thrive at the bank of the Mestizo River. From the name of the plant — Bigaa, whence Vigan derived its name (The City, n.d.).
Sources:
- WORLD HERITAGE. (n.d.). Republic of the Philippines Department of Tourism. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from http://web.tourism.gov.ph/top_heritage.aspx
- The City. (n.d.). Vigan City Goverment. Retrieved December 11, 2022, from http://vigancity.gov.ph/city/
