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Vega Ancestral House | |
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General information | |
Type | Heritage House |
Architectural style | 1st Transition Bahay na Bato |
Location | Poblacion, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao (Region X), Philippines |
Coordinates | 8°44′36″N124°46′37″E / 8.7433°N 124.7769°E |
Completed | 1800s |
Technical details | |
Material | "Molave", "Balayong" and "Tugas" (Visayan) |
Website | |
Vega Ancestral House |
The Vega Ancestral House is one of the first Transition bahay na bato-inspired houses still standing after witnessing different colonial periods of the Philippines through its estimated 200 years of existence. The house is located in Poblacion, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental.
Its sculpted wooden atlases, known as "otí-ot" in the Visayan language, support the second floor protrusion of the house. The house is an important structure among the locality's tourism spots. [1] Notable personalities including Emilio Aguinaldo and Sergio Osmeña are reported to have stayed in the house.[ citation needed ]
In the 1800s, a young merchant from San Nicolas in Cebu named Ignacio Juan Vega settled in Northern Mindanao at a small town now called Balingasag, then named Galas. Vega introduced the Cebuano devotion to the Sto. Niño to the townsfolk of Balingasag. Aside from this cultural practice, he also left behind a heritage house that is considered these days as a landmark in Misamis Oriental. [2]
The house also witnessed the political endeavors of its owners. The first town executive came from the Vega Clan, Faustino Vega. He was known as presidente local under the short-lived First Philippine Republic (1898-1903). Melquiades Vega, Faustino Vega's son, served as the first presidente local under the American Regime (1903-1928).
Though no existing documents pinpoint the exact year of construction, several attempts by heritage advocates to document this house, as well as bloggers and local townsfolk, suggest that the house was built in the 1800s.
The house is designed with sculpted wooden figures that act as support structures to the protruding second floor. There are three wooden figures, with one corner lacking such a structure.
There are varying interpretations regarding the three sculpted wooden figures. Some suggest they represent slavery, while others believe they are inspired by the atlas icon symbolizing a man carrying the world. According to Dr. Antonio J. Montalvan II, referencing the Vega Clan genealogy, the three sculptures represent the three sons of Ignacio Juan Vega: Santos (married to Valentina Roa, Juana Valmores), Pedro (married to Benita Salvacion), and Gregorio.
The house primarily uses "molave" and "balayong" wood. Large beams or pillars support the overall stability of the house structure, placed at the corners, between corners, and along the center. The walls resemble woven abaca, called "Uway" (English: rattan) in Visayan, and are colored yellow. The house still utilizes the traditional banggera (kitchen dishwashing area) as an air-drying shelf for kitchen wares and utensils.
The uppermost portion of the house features a classical cogon roof. This, along with the emerging stone works at the bottom part of the house, classifies the house under the 1st Transition of Bahay na bato. The support beams are decorated with the chambered nautilus motif. [2]
The high quality of materials used in construction is evidenced by the house's resilience through the centuries. This heritage structure is one of the primary attractions for tourists visiting the historical center (Poblacion) of Balingasag.
Coffee table books and glossy calendars (such as the 2006 Shell calendar ["Homes of our Heritage"]) contribute to the house's visibility and the municipality's tourism.
According to Ms. Nanette Vega, the local tourism authority has expressed interest in acquiring the house to preserve and open it as a tourism hotspot. The Vega clan has declined the proposal for sentimental reasons, preferring to maintain the house themselves despite the costs. The house remains open for walk-in tourists and visits by appointment.
The house's association with Maria Clara Vega Jimenez—mother of television personality Inday Badiday and Philippine Daily Inquirer editor-in-chief Letty Jimenez Magsanoc—adds to its fame. It is locally known as the "Vega House," not the "Jimenez House." [3] Some mistakenly associate the house with the late child star Julie Vega due to her stage surname. However, her real name was Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo. [4]
The first floor of the house currently operates as a restaurant/carinderia, open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Part of the income contributes to the house's maintenance.
Misamis Oriental, officially the Province of Misamis Oriental, is a province located in the region of Northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Its capital, largest city and provincial center is the city of Cagayan de Oro, which is governed independently from the province and also the regional center of Northern Mindanao.
Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin, is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) off the northern coast of mainland Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region X, the Northern Mindanao Region of the country and formerly a part of Misamis Oriental province.
Jimenez, officially the Municipality of Jimenez, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Misamis Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,909 people.
Balingasag, officially the Municipality of Balingasag, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 74,385 people.
Claveria, officially the Municipality of Claveria, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,478 people.
El Salvador, officially the City of El Salvador, is a 6th class component city in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 58,771 people.
Jasaan, officially the Municipality of Jasaan, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 57,055 people.
Laguindingan, officially the Municipality of Laguindingan, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,363 people.
Medina, officially the Municipality of Medina, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,612 people.
Opol, officially the Municipality of Opol, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,327 people.
The báhay kúbo, kubo, or payág, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. Often serving as an icon of Philippine culture, its design heavily influenced the Spanish colonial-era bahay na bato architecture.
The architecture of the Philippines reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian and American architectures.
Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro, also known as Metro Cagayan de Oro, is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Philippines. It is located on the northern coast of Mindanao, and comprises the two chartered cities of Cagayan de Oro and El Salvador and the fourteen municipalities of Misamis Oriental which are Alubijid, Balingasag, Claveria, Gitagum, Initao, Jasaan, Laguindingan, Libertad, Lugait, Manticao, Naawan, Opol, Tagoloan, and Villanueva and the six municipalities of Bukidnon which are Manolo Fortich, Baungon, Libona, Malitbog, Sumilao and Talakag. According to the 2015 Philippine census, Metro Cagayan de Oro has a population of 1,687,159 people.
Cagayan de Oro (CDO), officially the City of Cagayan de Oro, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Northern Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 728,402 people, making it the 10th most populous city in the Philippines and the most populous in Northern Mindanao.
Ancestral houses of the Philippines or Heritage Houses are homes owned and preserved by the same family for several generations as part of the Filipino family culture. It corresponds to long tradition by Filipino people of giving reverence for ancestors and elders. Houses could be a simple house to a mansion. The most common ones are the "Bahay na Bato". Some houses of prominent families had become points of interest or museums in their community because of its cultural, architectural or historical significance. These houses that are deemed of significant importance to the Filipino culture are declared Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), previously known as the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines. Preservation is of utmost importance as some ancestral houses have come into danger due to business people who buy old houses in the provinces, dismantle them then sell the parts as ancestral building materials for homeowners wishing to have the ancestral ambiance on their houses. These ancestral houses provide the current generation a look back of the country's colonial past through these old houses.
Located in the eastern portion of Misamis Oriental and roughly a 2-hour drive from Cagayan de Oro is the historical haven of North Poblacion in the Municipality of Medina where the Pelaez Ancestral House can be found standing still. This house had stood witness to the diverse political and historical lives of two of the famous bygone personalities in the politics arena in the locality and in the country as well – Don Gregorio A. Pelaez, Sr. and his son, Emmanuel N. Pelaez, Sr.. When people ask for direction, the local townsfolk refer to the house as the "Pelaez White House" because of the walls that are washed in white.
Santa Ana is the only district in Manila which was spared from destruction during World War II. Civilians fleeing other parts of Manila sought refuge in this district during the war. Thus, many ancestral houses are still standing up to the present time. Dubbed as the "Forbes Park of Manila", some houses were owned by prominent personalities and wealthy families. The following is a list of historic houses in Santa Ana.
The Clarin Ancestral House is the residence of the Clarin family, a prominent family of politicians from Loay, Bohol, Philippines. It is arguably the most visited of all ancestral houses in Bohol, along with the President Carlos P. Garcia Heritage House in Tagbilaran.
Báhay na bató, also known in Visayan languages as baláy na bató or balay nga bato, and in Spanish language as Casa de Filipina is a type of building originating during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It is an updated version of the traditional bahay kubo of the Christianized lowlanders, known for its use of masonry in its construction. It uses stone and brick materials, and later synthetic concrete, rather than just organic materials of the former style. Its design has evolved, but still maintains the bahay kubo's architectural principle, which is adapted to the tropical climate, stormy season, and earthquake-prone environment of the whole archipelago of the Philippines. It fuses bahay kubo's archetecture with the influence of Spanish colonizers. It is one of the many architecture styles throughout the Spanish Empire known as Arquitectura mestiza. The style is a hybrid of Austronesian and Spanish architecture; and later, with early 20th-century American architecture, supporting the fact that the Philippines is a result of these cultures mixing. Its most common appearance features an elevated, overhanging, wooden upper story standing on wooden posts suported by a rectangular foundation. The posts are placed behind Spanish-style solid stone blocks or bricks, giving the impression of a first floor. The ground level contains storage rooms, cellars, shops, or other business-related functions. The second floor contains the living areas as it is with the bahay kubo. The roof materials are either Spanish-style curving clay tiles or thatched with leaves. Later 19th-century designs feature galvanization. Roof designs are traditionally high pitched and include gable, hip, or a traditional combination of both. Horses for carriages are housed in stables called caballerizas.
Camiña Balay Nga Bato, formerly known as Avanceña House, is a 159-year-old bahay na bato in the Arevalo district, Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avanceña, for Don Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja. It was then passed on from one family to another until it came under the Camiñas family.[1] It is now owned by the fourth generation of the original owners, Gerard Camiña, former director of the Land Transportation Office in Western Visayas, and his wife, Luth Camiña. The ancestral house was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) in 2015.