Going Back To Our Heroic Roots - The Malolos Heritage Tour

One of the greatest thing that I am missing as a student is having the learning outside the four corners of my classroom... I was so happy... actually jumping for joy when when my mom told me that we are going on the Heritage TOUR IN MALOLOS, BULACAN... She has been telling me about the Women of Malolos all this time when they had their research in college...

We were very fortunate to be invited by Ms. Charmaine through Ms. Cindy to come and visit the roots of our freedom and heroic tales and our first stop was the Clinic of Dr. Luis D. Santos. Our tour guide had our toured inside the house so interesting through casual story telling of the Roots of Our Heritage.
The house of Dr. Luis Santos proves that Filipinos are very rich in existence where such lovely elaborated designs of furnitures and and interior and exterior designs were craftily justified

One of the earliest work of Anastascio Caedo, the renowned sculptor/maker of University of the Philippines' Oblation. The dramatic and well detailed craftsmanship of such famous Caedo can been easily be identified in this fountain. 

Tourist getting ready for the group photo under the mango tree

Gathering around for the story telling in the first floor of Dr. Luis Santos's house. Notice how many tables are available. They are meant for the social gathering, huge meeting and dining experiences for colleagues and patients as well. 

I removed my clogs because the floor is so polished and clean. The antique mirror dressers in these area puzzled me for its purpose. My mom said Filipinos during the old times were fond of looking themselves in the mirrors and they also used them to see others inside the room with being rude of glaring of staring at the person.

And the story telling took me back to the past making me realized I missed this kind of learning. Casual no pressure learning is more of a fun and relaxing thing to do for me as a student.

The ceiling speaks a thousand words... It is very beautiful... more of majestic in every details...

Even the walls and the floor speak how well off Dr.Luis Santos. See how amazing are the details... Well kept smooth and shiny floor...

and the social gathering will never be completed without a musical instrument such as a piano like this. (oh I wished I have one of this at home. 

Amazingly, the house have this huge room for praying. 

My mom loves bathrooms and this one amazed her that much she wanted to have the same elegant features at home. They have bathtubs during the old times... What i was thinking before was they take thier soaking in a huge round wooden tubs.

Old clinic beds no longer in use.... I wonder how many patients of Dr. Santos died in this room. I hope only a few then.

The round table with such simple but simple but well kept wooden chair with rattan woven back rest 

The symmetrical design really shows how we should pay attention to details. It is like my doodle:)

This part I think is where the food that will be served were being put for standby... 

The whole clan of the Santos' in one picture. They are all lovely people

The Dr. Luis Santos...

Looking upward as you go up and down the stairs, you would see this... both sharp and soft edges in one picture...

Flowers and birds sculpted in wood... What a huge labor of love!

The dramatic playful thing of my mom contrasting the color of the walls and chair. The smell of the well polished wooden planks of the floor and walls lingered everywhere which became her subject of this pose.  

Lovely ORO PLATA MATA stair is wide enough for ten persons would go up and down. This stair was especially designed for the ballgown like skirts of the well-off women of Malolos, Bulacan and their guest.

My mom, Tita Cherry and Tita Cindy posed looking at the sun. Even the exterior design of the house tells how laborious the craftsmanship of the people behind this beautiful house and how rich the family of Dr. Santos... really beautiful indeed.

The fences and the front view of the house are work of art.

The word MEDICO means medical practitioner

Next stop is the house of Alberta Santos, who  was one of the Malolos Women who fought their rights of learning how to speak and right Spanish language. Mr. Vicente Santiago Enriquez gave us such insightful knowledge about the 21 Women of Malolos. Women during the Spanish times in the Philippines were deprived such education. The Women of Malolos unbelievable demand their rights and they won. How? better come here an learn for Mr. Enriquez. Everything seemed so new to hear and listened when he does the story telling like a grandfather to his grandchildren...

The Home of Alberta Santos, wh is one of the 21 Women of Malolos is also the home of The Knights of Columbus here in Malolos.

There is a well besides the house, which of course gave me a good laugh because it reminds me of Sadako.

Farmacia means "drug store". The home across Dr. Santos' house served as a drug store which is a good thing so that sick people won't go further and farther seeking for drugs they need for the patients.

This post reminds us how the Women of Malolos should be remember all the times even outside the house.

And Mr. Enriquez gladly had us that afternoon for such wonderful time knowing the Women of Malolos... Because of his talk I had bought a book from him to learn more of our heritage. 

The list of sponsors who help to preserve the legacy of the house of Alberta U. Santos

Immortalized through pictures...

The fine antique furniture which are hands;off to the public 

The Women of Malolos also were known for their culinary expertise...

This is what my mom told me before... Pastillas wrapped with very meticulous paper art. They don't know what kind of pair of scissor was used for making this kind of works of art.

The detials that you will never get enough... priceless piece of our history...

The face of Alberta U. Santos... a very lovely smile indeed

The glamour never faded as the ballgown downsized... The vintage luggage is a must... 

Women of Malolos were also famous through their choice fashion. 

A powder container and a vial of oil perfume... Women of Malolos were fond of these tings too...

My mom together with the rest of the Heritage Tour. On their background are the 21 Women of Malolos... Each were identified and painted accordingly to their real image except for the 5 women who were not identified in spite of the meticulous searching...

Our third stop was the Bahay na Bato of the forefathers of Efipanio Delos Santos. Unlike the two previous houses, this was made of solid stone with of course elaborated yet majestic indeed for me to be fascinated with...

The gate of the Bahay na Bato is very high and had sharp edges

Books in the glass cabinet and a round table with white lace table cover upon entering the house is a great sign that the people who had lived here loves education and learning...

This long table is a must have in any huge family gathering. I totally love this because it matches my mom's eyelet dress

Art on a solid wall... an over looking window through the other room...

Seems to be comfortable twin beds with woven rattan... it must be cold yet comfy to sleep in these beds.

Like their famous dishes Bistro Maloleno is an event place and restaurant with a twist
of something new and old... modern and traditional

Although our minds were still hungry for such wonderful architectural and historical viewing, we needed to stop for a while a replenished a bit. and so we stopped by Bistro Maloleno Event Place and Restaurant. They had prepared a huge feast! Everything with the twisted of what I know. Like the Hamon na Pinaso, Tinola with Kalabasa, Rebosadong Hipon and more... All named after our heroes because they had loved these dishes... And here some pictures of what I had on my plate. :)

Bistro Maloleno gave us a feast of unforgettable heroes's favorites..
with some twist...

You must try everything on this feast... Promise!They are all worth the travel... 

And then we continued our tour to the Town City Museum or well known as The Bulacan Musuem. The following picture will much more than I can say. This is one pace in Malolos you should not miss because the whole tour will tell what leis beneath the impossible in Filipinos... in Our Heritage...

The entrance to the museum 

As the lights lits and fades our authentic stories come alive...

and the congress is in session...

You could imagine how our forefathers brought our freedom today...

Our museum tour guide had us all amazed of what inside Malolos' well kept musuem

The corridors with the original antique seats

My mom found this awesome!

We should also have this in our school...

And this part of the museum  tells me to stop and appreciate what was left for us to know.

They are like tarot cards... only bigger...

Original hand writings can be hard to read... but they are very interesting!

And this section shows the true images of our heroes. 

The Exit 

This is what is inside the famous Barasiain Church. My mom said that this is the church which graced the 10 peso paper we used to have. Built in 1888, this Roman Catholic Church in Malolos, Bulacan cradled the loveof freedom and patriotism of the ancestors... You better visit this solemn church our better have you wedding here... Can you imagine that this has been here for more than a century built and made of some egg white...

This is one huge elaborately designed church!

This such art would give you the wow!

The famous door with the carved images of our culture.

The church stand like an emperor against the son.

Our whole Heritage Tour would never be completed without meeting the man behind the strongest town I ever visited -- Mayor Chirstian Natividad..  He had us in his yard full of rescued dogs. He had prepared a very simple yet satisfying meryeinda of our traditional kakanin and pansit. Then later part... He allowed us to ask questions and give suggestions... He is one cool guy to meet in person... I would loved to see him someday in the our senate to fight for the importance of our traditions and heritage...

The whole yard is full of rescued dogs, which can roam freely around. With that slides on the other hand tells me that this is a  child friend yard for everyone... I would loved to ran with these dogs next time.

They were very accommodating indeed. 

Our dear Mayor Chirstian Natividad in a very simple and casual attire made us relax that we are part of the Malolos Family indeed...

The feast and the interview time done at the same time... 

Our beloved mayor had everything covered and he said that he would loved to have us again soon... I would always say yes to Malolos, Bulacan!

--Justin