The Tayabas Chronicles: The Early Years (1886-1907)

By Karen Berthelsen Cardenas

In the rural southern Tagalog towns of Sariaya and Tiaong in Quezon province, late nineteenth-century Philippines comes to life in this densely detailed and richly layered book of the recollections of Doña Conchita. A useful reference for students and teachers of Philippine history as it provides flesh and character to the endless dates and names found in most textbooks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9786214200047

Book preview

JULIANA

JULIANA WAS THE THIRD AND YOUNGEST CHILD of Jose Lopez y Zaballa and Maria Lopez Basa, both of Binondo, Manila. It appears that the couple were cousins of the first degree. Their children called them Pepeng and Gola.

Gola was a frail, delicate woman who was unable to suckle her newly born infant Juliana. Pepeng appealed to his only sister Mariquita, then also nursing her newborn Joaquinito.

The brother had not expected denial, which his sister explained was inevitable because of her position as wife of a highly placed Spanish government official. All her spare energies had to be dedicated to activities within that exclusive society of Manila in which she circulated. But she had a suggestion: find a sisiwa, a wetnurse for his baby.

Pepeng would probably have done that, except that their mother, Doña Leonor Zaballa y Cuejilo, entering the room where brother and sister talked, overheard her daughter’s suggestion, which to her was both shocking and unacceptable.

You have the effrontery to suggest such a thing to your brother? she spoke sharply, then took matters into her own hands.

The infant and her baggage were fetched immediately, to move into the house with Mariquita and Doña Leonor. The latter was secure in the kindness of Mariquita’s husband, Don Joaquin Garcia Guerrero. Mariquita would have to nurse Juliana, Doña Leonor would supervise with the help of young Marta, an orphaned relative of her husband.

Soon Gola died of a hemorrhage. At the time, Juliana was three years old. For Juliana, life continued as before, living with her Lola Leonor and Lolo Ignacio.

But for Pepeng, the bereaved husband, it was to be a different matter. Unmoored, he turned to gambling to an extent that soon he was called ‘Pepeng Lupa’, because he never bothered to count his bets. His children were victims of his profligacy. His parents’ advice fell on deaf ears. Finally, Doña Leonor, again, took the matter into her hands.

Their property in Marinduque, consisting of coconut plantations and a small cattle ranch had so far been managed solely by Don Ignacio. It was time, Doña Leonor told her son, that he took over the work. His three motherless children would stay in Manila for their education.

Juliana finished her Clase Media and Nieng (Maria Concepcion) the Clase Superior in their Aunt Margarita’s school. Moy, in the meanwhile, always found time to run off to his cousins’ house and play with the boys, Ignacio and Joaquinito, sons of his aunt Mariquita.

Eventually, the time for tops and kites would end. Once again a son had to take on the father’s responsibilities, and as Pepeng had once learned the management of the property in Marinduque from his father, now it was Moy’s turn. Nieng and Juliana were ready for more advanced studies at Colegio de Sta. Rosa, managed by nuns of the order of St. Vincent de Paul. They were enrolled as half-boarders.

Life settled to routine. On weekdays, the family carriage brought the girls to school, after which it proceeded to drop off Don Ignacio at his office. Doña Leonor, who always went along, would then do her various errands, usually including visits to their properties in Tondo, Binondo, and Quiapo. Before lunch, she returned to her husband’s office to fetch him. They had lunch alone together at home.

Lunch was followed by a brief nap, which for Doña Leonor lasted until two o’clock, at which time a light tap on the door would wake her – Marta announcing that Doña Leonor’s fellow pangguinge players had arrived. The game lasted to six o’ clock, when the bells for Angelus rang.

In all households, it was time for prayers.

Every day, Don Ignacio and Doña Leonor’s grandchildren gathered at their house to pray. Sometimes their parents accompanied them. The cousins, who had grown up like brothers and sisters, usually gathered in the prayer room, playing quietly or talking until the elders arrived.

Doña Leonor led the prayers for Angelus and a part of the Rosary in Spanish. She knew that had the prayers been longer, it would be too much for the children. At prayers’ end, they exchanged the usual greetings, the young ones kissing the elders on brow or cheek. Depending on the day, the time before dinner was spent at play.

The peaceful life was unbroken, until Christmas time when Don Ignacio passed away.

Pepeng and Moy had arrived from Marinduque a few days before Christmas. As was usual, everyone gathered in the dining room waiting for the old man, without whom no one sat down to eat. But, on this day, the minutes passed and still he did not appear. Pepeng went to see what delayed his father. With some foreboding, Marta followed.

They found Don Ignacio unconscious. Mariquita, who had joined them, immediately sent for a doctor. An agitated Doña Leonor instructed the young people to have their breakfast, while she went to the prayer room.

For five days, Don Ignacio was unconscious. The doctor and the specialists suspected a heart attack. Prayers were recited incessantly, and an unhappy Leonor watched and waited.

Don Ignacio never recovered consciousness.

The children and grandchildren provided comfort to Doña Leonor, but they could not fill the void. To keep busy and perhaps feel closer to her deceased husband, she went through his papers and documents to which she had not given much attention in the past. What started as emotional solace ended in her increased interest.

In an ebony box inside their antique commode, she found the documents pertaining to their properties in Manila and in Gasan, Marinduque.

The estate had to be settled. The agricultural property, as well as the commercial agency in Gasan, were to go to Pepeng. The lots in Manila and the house where Don Joaquin and Mariquita’s family lived were to go to Mariquita. A business establishment in Manila was to be divided between Pepeng and Mariquita, with Doña Leonor having the rights of usufruct equal to one third.

Life went on. Pepeng was back in Marinduque. Doña Leonor was happy to see her granddaughters grown up, about to complete their studies. She was not able to attend the graduation exercises at Sta. Rosa College, but the girls brought her prizes received for outstanding work: Nieng’s, a prayer book bound in mother-of-pearl, carved with a holy image, and Juliana’s, a prayer book bound in red velvet, embellished with gold metal. With affectionate hugs, they handed the prayer books to their grandmother.

Another year of practicum followed. Both grandmother and father attended the finishing ceremonies. At home, Marta prepared a feast for the occasion, exhibiting her own talent.

When it was time for Pepeng to return to Marinduque, Doña Leonor instructed her son to find work for the two girls in the province, where they could be near him. Pepeng protested. It was good for her to have the company of her grandchildren, he said. But Leonor had made her plans. Sooner or later, she explained, they would have to be separated. It was time they lived their own lives.

Still, as Doña Leonor and Pepeng parted, their separation was shadowed by anxiety.

Months passed.

By the beach at Gasan, one could spot the approaching vessels at a distance. It was not an unusual sight, yet always exciting. It was one such vessel, which unloaded and loaded commercial products, that brought a letter from Mariquita to Pepeng. Their mother was very ill and was asking for him. When the ship that brought the letter sailed, Pepeng was on board.

The trip took thirty hours, but he arrived in time for mother and son to say their good-byes, and for Doña Leonor to make known her last wishes. She asked Pepeng to marry off Marta before he returned to Marinduque with his two daughters. The documents for her marriage were all in order. Also, she advised him to sell his share in the Manila business and convert it to cash.

Her wishes made clear, she asked for the Last Rites and died before the end of the day.

Nieng and Juliana sailed back to Gasan, Marinduque with their father. A week before the opening of the school in Boac, the two girls took up residence in the house of a family friend, whose daughter was connected with the school.

In Boac, Juliana met Isidro Herrera.

ISIDRO

ISIDRO HERRERA Y CERRADA, Filipino, was born in the town of Tiaong, province of Tayabas. On his seventh birthday, his father Julio, with a cartilla in one hand, and a stick in the other, woke him. The education of the boy was about to begin.

Over the next six years, his education, which took place in the home, covered more than was usual for many his age. Julio, a strict disciplinarian, allotted Isidro a limited time to learn the Spanish alphabet and the numerals, which the boy wrote down in capital and small letters, honing him in lithography and orthography. The boy labored with his penmanship until his father was satisfied of its excellence.

He was now ready to learn prayers and hymns from the Spanish Trisagio and the Tagalog Catechism. Again he had to write these over and over, at the same time memorizing the text. Julio demanded much, but was successful.

Isidro’s mother Paula, born in Binangonan, was a simple countrywoman, unassuming and unlettered. But she did her part, passing on to Isidro her expertise in manual labor and her respect of traditional Filipino virtues. Trusting and loyal, she went by the tenet that what her husband did for their son was correct and laudable.

Then, as now, the age of thirteen could mean a change in the course of a boy’s life. From his home’s familiar surroundings, Isidro moved to the convent of the Tiaong parish. An arrangement had been made with the parish priest that Isidro was to be his subaltern and sacristan, while at the same time increasing Isidro’s learning of religion and government.

Thirteen was an impressionable age. In the new environment, he nurtured dreams, even while adjusting to strangers who soon became friends. Among these were his work companions in the parish.

The laborious hours spent on his penmanship would be rewarded. It became Isidro’s task to keep the parish books and records in order and write reports for the provincial parish. Each month, the priest went to the head parish to present these reports. In time, Isidro was brought along to assist him.

On one occasion, the visit coincided with the arrival of the Spanish Government’s Administrador General. Señor Piraces was a person of great influence and rank in the higher echelons. The four great religious orders that supervised the islands’ population were always more than willing to accede to his wishes. During this particular visit to the head parish of Tayabas, Señor Piraces noted and praised the monthly reports from Tiaong, admiring both script and writing style. He was told about Isidro.

Shortly after, having observed the young man, Señor Piraces expressed a wish of having one like him to assist with his bookkeeping and to accompany him in his travels around the archipelago. Isidro describes the event, Without losing time, my patron, (the Tiaong parish priest) behind whom I stood, pulled me to his side and asked me in a kind tone if I would accept Señor Piraces’ offer. Isidro stammered his answer in Spanish, the language of the company and the one in which he was addressed. Yes, he would, But I must ask for my parents’ consent.

Early next morning, he was on his way to Tiaong accompanied by a representative of the Provincial Parish. "I carried a letter and a bundle of silver coins for my mother from the Father Provincial, and as usual, an obolo. My own patron, the parish priest of Tiaong, also gave several ounces of gold for my mother and some silver for my expenses." They arrived in Tiaong at noon, after a five-hour carromata ride. I kissed the hand of my surprised father, embraced my mother, gave the letter to him, and the coins to her, Isidro recounts.

Five days later, Isidro and his companion were on their way back to the cabecera with his father’s blessings and repeated words of counsel: loyalty, diligence, honesty, honorable behavior - the words were said over and over. Despite the joys of good fortune, there was some sadness as he departed, a feeling that it would take time before they would be together again.

There was to be no respite after the tiring trip. In Isidro’s absence, Señor Piraces had received an urgent notice to return to Manila. He had merely waited for his new companion before leaving. Isidro notes down: "I packed what little baggage I had and we left immediately. After an exhausting ride on a horse drawn vehicle, we came to the town of Bae, Laguna. In the tiny port, we boarded a small vessel, sailed over the lake until finally we came to the mouth of the Pasig. We coursed its length up to the Muelle de la Industria. From the distance, I could see the Piraces’ rock-a-bye waiting to transport us home."

Señor Piraces’ wife welcomed her husband’s companion warmly, and promised to instruct him in the combined role of personal and official assistant to her husband.

Once again they had to leave, this time accompanied by the Señora Piraces and the Captain’s wife. For comfort and to save time, the journey was made by ship, taking advantage of the calm sea, the surface of which at the time appeared as smooth as oil. From Manila they went to Vigan, stayed a couple of days, time enough for Señor Piraces to review the books of the region.

They proceeded to other places. The ladies chose to stay on board while the pair took a launch over the Gulf of Lingayen, stopping in various towns and capitals, the last being Zambales. By the time they returned to the ship, the vessel had been advised to be ready to sail on to Batangas, from where they would proceed to the island of Marinduque. Plans had been made for the group to spend Easter in Boac, the capital of Marinduque.

The island’s great and unique attraction was not just its breathtaking scenery, but the quality of its population. The majority were of the middle-class, kind and simple in conduct, but exceptionally well-educated, both old and young.

At the time, the teaching of the Spanish language in schools had been forbidden by the Spanish friars, who allowed only instruction of Catechism and the four rules of arithmetic. Boac had the good fortune of having a liberal and progressive parish priest who took on the teaching of the Spanish language in the schools. In Boac, Spanish was widely spoken, thanks to this friend of the people.

The priest, known familiarly as Padre Mena, directed the Escuela Pia, assisted by two female teachers, one for the Escuela Superior, another for the Escuela Elemental. Both teachers had diplomas from the Colegio de Santa Rosa, a government-approved educational institution in Intramuros, Manila.

Señor Piraces took great pleasure in the attractions of Boac, its scenic beauty, the clean sandy beaches on one side of the town, and on the other, the mountains covered with great trees. During that extended holiday, Isidro took the chance to make a brief visit to his parents in Tiaong. But the greater part of the days he spent in Boac, enjoying a vacation which, at the same time, provided him leisurely opportunity to receive further instructions from the Piraces; the Señora teaching him the refinements of the Spanish language until he could handle it with facility. He also extended his learning to advanced arithmetic and grammar.

But beyond the book learning was what he gained by merely being exposed to the influence of the couple’s good manners and kind hearts.

For eight years Isidro stayed with the Piraces. He would later recall those days as pleasant and productive.

One sorrowful event did, however, occur in that period. While accompanying the Señor Piraces to Iligan, Mindanao, a messenger had arrived from Tiaong carrying an urgent message from his mother. His father was gravely ill. Isidro’s presence was required. It was not until twenty days later that Isidro received the message, on his return from Mindanao. By the time he arrived in Tiaong, Julio had been buried, his mother gone from the house, which was left to the care of his Tia Tinang. His twenty-year-old brother took him to the barrio where his mother had retired after the funeral.

This was Tagbakin where an extensive piece of land had been purchased from the amounts brought by Isidro each time he visited them. Tagbakin had become her retreat. Grieving, but resigned, Paula occupied her days cultivating the land with the help of Isidro’s brother and hired laborers. In the tranquil pastoral area, she assuaged her loss, diligently directing her mind and efforts to developing the farm.

After returning from the visit to his mother, Isidro immediately left Manila with Señor Piraces for lengthy trips to the Visayas, Legaspi, and Sorsogon. It was a period of much work and travel. It was during this period when Señor Piraces came upon a pensive, even glum Isidro. By then, they were less the employer and employee and more like father and son. The older man wondering what was the matter, was able to draw Isidro into his confidence.

He had met a young schoolteacher in Boac with whom he shared mutual affections.

For that you have a face like Good Friday! Piraces laughed. Once we get to the town, we shall arrange everything. You are not to worry. It will be all right. As soon as you finish the Nueva Caceres books, we catch a boat to Mauban and Tayabas, and we will remove that shadow from your face and banish your anxiety with the help of the parish priest and the Parish Provincial.

Isidro hesitated and asked timorously, "Señor, are you not being precipitate?"

Piraces embraced him, and without a word, went to his room.

On reaching the capital of Tayabas, he gave Isidro a letter and instructions. Transportation was waiting. In Tiaong, the parish priest already knew what was afoot. Isidro was to give him the letter from Señor Piraces. Then he was to go to his mother Paula, and tell her of his plans. Ask for her permission and abide by her decision, the Señor instructed.

Paula Cerrada had only one question. From what kind of family does this girl come?

Isidro described her, a teacher in Boac, Marinduque, born in Manila of a middle-class family and with an exceptional education.

I do not oppose your marriage. You are of age, Paula said. But the position she and her family has is not like ours. I am a simple woman.

Nevertheless, when Isidro left, he had her blessing. With a kiss and touch of hand on his head, she wished him well.

Two days later, from Laguingmanok (now Padre Burgos) Isidro and Señor Piraces crossed the China Sea, the wind in their favor. They arrived in Boac in six hours.

The next day, Señor Piraces hurried to the Escuela before classes were to start for the Clase Superior. After greetings and acceptance of a proffered seat, the messenger of love embarked on his mission with enthusiasm. Courteous but direct, he asked, would she allow him to call on her father, Don Jose Lopez Basa, to ask for her hand in marriage to his ward, Isidro Herrera y Cerrada?

Her response was unexpected. It was not her Isidro loved. But, yes, she favored Isidro’s suit of her younger sister and would certainly not oppose it.

Later, chiding Isidro for not being more specific, an amused Isidro would tell Piraces that he had not expected his patron to attempt to resolve everything by himself. Nevertheless, he was grateful.

This all transpired before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It would be a few days before Don Jose was to arrive in Gasan, where the Lopez-Basa property was located.

On that day, Señor Piraces, Don Vicente Morente and his wife, Marinduque’s Vice-Governor and a few others took three carromatas to Gasan on a mission that to Isidro was of utmost importance. Having been advised by his elder daughter, Don Jose was waiting for them. The matter was quickly settled. Don Jose would go to Boac and talk to his young daughter, then apprise Señor Herrera of whatever transpired.

Two days later, relates Isidro, a messenger brought an invitation from Don Jose for me to go to his residence immediately. With indescribable hesitation, I climbed the stairs. Don Jose received me in the living room, invited me to sit on the chair facing him. Then, came the most critical moment ever in my life.

Isidro spoke almost inaudibly to the older man, I am at your disposal.

Don Jose’s clear, specious words came. I discussed your relations with my daughter who acknowledged it. In view of this, I do not oppose it. She is of an age to direct the course of her own life. However, I advise you that due to her delicate health, she is not used to doing heavy housework. I entreat you to supply her with househelp. I have to return to Manila in the middle of January and would prefer that the wedding be held on the Feast of the Three Kings.

For Isidro, who repeated every word to Señor Piraces, heaven had opened. His patron in turn, with great energy, made plans with Padre Mena and other friends. Isidro was advised by the elder sister not to prepare a wedding dress since her sister would use their mother’s. Señor Piraces, meanwhile, sent a telegram to his wife to take the next ship as she and the Vice-Governor would be godparents.

A happy Isidro counted the hours. But, two days later, at the break of dawn, Isidro’s heart sank when looking out the window he espied a flagship sailing into view, its prow pointed towards Boac. Presentiments increased as a launch carrying some men was lowered from the ship.

There was a message for Piraces from the Intendente General de Filipinas brought by the disembarked men. After the routine salutations, Piraces read the order coming from the governing authorities. Señor Piraces and his secretary were to accompany the Intendente and his group to the Diocese of Vigan, where the people they had to see were known to Señor Piraces and Isidro. Departure from Marinduque would be in thirty-six hours, at which time they could settle pending matters. They should be eating their lunch on board the next day, the Intendente’s message concluded.

The newly arrived group then left to spend the hours in Marinduque.

As for Isidro, there was nothing to do but change plans. A way would have to be found to hold the wedding on the date required by Don Jose, even while Piraces and Isidro would be somewhere on the high seas. A proxy wedding would be held on January 6, with Don Vicente Morente, a wedding sponsor, standing in for Isidro, and Morente’s wife in place of the godmother, Señora Piraces. Don Jose was informed of these matters that same afternoon. He agreed with their decisions.

At the designated hour, Isidro and the Piraces sailed for Ilocandia with the Intendente’s party.

1886: A NEW LIFE

THE WEDDING OF JULIANA AND ISIDRO was held through proxies, on January 6, 1886.

Four days later, a ship with Piraces and other officials on board stopped offshore. Isidro descended into a boat which ferried him to land, and the ship continued on its way. The boatman immediately recognizing Isidro, informed him that his wife, Juliana waited for him in Boac. She was residing temporarily in the house of one of the proxies.

Arrivals in a small town could never go unnoticed or unheralded. By the time Isidro approached his padrino’s residence, the entire household was alive with excitement. Juliana, quietly waiting on one side, was the most impatient.

A stream of friends and well-wishers arrived. Don Vicente Morente and his wife arrived in the afternoon bearing a gift. Juliana protested. During the January 6 ceremonies they had already given her something.

That was for you, Don Vicente explained.

This is for Isidro. He handed Isidro a roll of paper.

Surprise and pleasure were clear in Isidro’s beaming face as he read the appointment to the position of Desk Officer in the Notarial of Boac, Marinduque. The document bore the seal of approval of the Provincial Court, and was issued on application made by Don Vicente Morente, with recommendations from Señor Piraces, Padre Mena, and the Father Provincial of Tayabas.

The very next day, the couple went to Gasan to join Pepeng’s household. This had grown, with Moy, Nieng, and Jedes. (Jedes appears to have been a member of the household, but whether she was a blood relative was not clear.)

Jedes and her sister ran a business, with a stall owner in the Boac market, which involved sending supplies from Gasan to the capital. The day Juliana and Isidro arrived, Jedes was busy loading a horse-drawn vehicle leaving for the capital the next morning.

Nieng had rearranged the house. The room she had shared with Juliana would now be for Isidro and Juliana. Nieng would move into Moy’s small room, while Moy would occupy a portion of the large living room, where a perezosa would serve as his bed.

Isidro and Juliana spent happy, lazy days, often outdoors, in the quiet woods bordering town. Soon they would have to leave for Boac, Isidro to begin working and Juliana to fulfill the rest of her teaching contract with the Escuela Pia.

Time flew. In three months, the school term was over. Isidro, Juliana, and Nieng went to Gasan for the summer holiday. When classes reopened in June, Nieng would continue teaching, but Juliana, already experiencing the first signs of pregnancy, had regretfully resigned her post.

The management of property and business took up much of Pepeng’s time, not the least was the keeping of books of accounts. From the day they arrived, Juliana noticed how he labored at the desk. She watched him work, then later offered to do the accounts.

One evening, Pepeng gathered his children to discuss the future. This was not unusual, in fact, it was typical of the man whose decisions of any importance were always made in conference with his family. In jest he had once said he did this because he did not want to be thought of as a despot.

The period of prodigality after his wife died was brief, and he had quickly reverted to the affectionate well-loved father he truly was. At his wish, the children addressed him fondly as Pepeng. He was, above all, their friend.

That evening, they mapped out their plans. Nieng would continue teaching in Boac; Juliana could remain in Gasan. Isidro would walk daily to Boac, six kilometers away, during the dry season. At the onset of the rainy season, he would take the calesa with Jedes, if she was willing to have his company. Pepeng reminded Isidro that in his present position it might not be quite proper for him to ride a calesa filled with market goods. But Isidro saw nothing wrong with that, and so transport to town was settled. Jedes would see to it that there was space in the vehicle.

In later years, Isidro was to recollect in writing, the life in Marinduque as "…delicious, the breeze filled with the fragrance of flowers and forests, mixed with the fresh smell of the sea. The air was pure. There was food in abundance. Fish, crabs, oysters, shrimps - all were easily available and inexpensive. There were plenty of fruits and vegetables brought by neighboring farmers who bartered these with town dwellers in exchange for rice, cloth, old garments, petroleum, and small merchandise coming from the neighboring peninsula of