Ilocos Norte & Ilocos Sur: Book now for the Ultimate Ilocos Culinary, Heritage & Beach Tour!

It's about time you experience the ABCs of the Ilocandia: antiques, bagnet and churches! In Ilocos, nature and history is intertwined. But at Ultimate Philippines, we think this is combo best savored with bagnet and beer so we're exploring this provincial belle... our style!

Let's journey up to the north and take a time-warp through the colonial city of Vigan. We'll walk through cobbles, munching our way through the town's traditional street fare and home-cooked feasts, from yummy empanadas to tasty longganisas.

More historical bites and pinakbet pizza as we take a peek at the life of ex-strongman Ferdinand Marcos in the town of Batac and admire two masterpieces of Ilocos' unique Earthquake Baroque architecture: Paoay and Santa Maria Church.

Capping off, we'll surf through the waves of Mairaira Beach in Pagudpud ending our journey in time to join the revelries of the annual Tres de Mayo fiesta in Vigan.

Tour Route will include the Sabangan Cove Weaving Village, Santa Maria Church and Paoay Church (UNESCO World Heritage Sites), Herencia Cafe, Marcos Mausoleum, Glory's Empanada, Cape Bojeador Lighthouse, Bangui Windmills, Blue Lagoon (Pagudpud), Saramsam Cafe, and Vigan (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and its Tres de Mayo Fiesta where we'll have feasts at an old house and garden restaurant and savor its street food in style!

Tour fee is Php15,000 per person inclusive of van transportation, overnight accommodation at the best resort in Pagudpud (Kapuluan Vista Resort) and at a very-private hotel at the heart of the heritage town of Vigan (My Vigan Home) and full board and all meals. We're only accepting a maximum of 20 people for this May 1 to May 3, 2010 tour. So book now!

For bookings e-mail reservations@ultimatephilippines.com or contact my tokayo, Ivan ManDy at (0917) 3291622. For posts about last year's tour, check out: Ilocos road trip, Mairaira Cove (Blue Lagoon), Ilocos culinary adventure and Tres de Mayo Festival.

Laguna: Heritage town of Pila, Laguna

Pila is the heritage town of Laguna. The historic center of the town was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute in 2000. It was known as La Noble Villa de Pila, one of the few towns in the country which was elevated to villa during the Spanish colonial period.


The center of town is an elegant collection of colorful colonial period structures located around a spacious plaza. The layout out of the town is very typical of most Spanish colonial towns. On one side of the plaza is the Pila Church dedicated to San Antonio de Padua. On the opposite end of the plaza is the charming Pila Municipal Hall dating back to the American colonial period and painted in brick red. And on the west and east sides are the elegant homes of the town's principalia.

Pila's house colors come in shades of brown, pastels and white. This was how houses were painted during the Spanish and American colonial periods. It was not all white.



The town has a very active heritage conservation group, the Pila Historical Society Foundation, Inc. which has continuously led efforts to preserve the heritage of this genteel town. Here's a map of historic structures in Pila, Laguna if you want a guide while you do a walking tour.

Pampanga: Easter Sunday salubong, pusu-puso and sagalas of Santo Tomas

On Easter Sunday, the neighboring towns of Santo Tomas and Minalin are the center of activities in Pampanga. Aside from being Easter Sunday, it's also the town fiesta of Santo Tomas. The town celebrates its fiesta on Easter Sunday rather than on the July 3 feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle.

The night before, a rigodon de honor used to be performed at the Sabado de Gloria Ball called the Thomasian. I remember dancing the rigodon in the 2002 Sabado de Gloria Ball. Sadly, they stopped doing it about two years ago because no one was willing to be hermano and hermana mayor due to the costs that accompany it. While it was still being held, Thomasian was the longest continuously organized rigodon de honor in Pampanga. The oldest surviving rigodon tradition in Pampanga, the El Circulo Fernandino, was not held from 1987 to 1996.


According to Robby Tantingco of the Center for Kapampangan Studies, "The most elaborate salubong are held in front of the churches of Sto. Tomas and Minalin. Shortly before the break of dawn, the brass band plays and an all-girls' choir sing Alleluia as the two santos are positioned face to face. The angel does not immediately appear; instead, she is hidden inside a pusu-pusu (heart-shaped giant banana flower) which opens in five stages, one layer of petals at a time. Each opening is accompanied by the band playing and choir singing which prolongs the whole ceremony. After the salubung (also called pusu-pusuan in these parts), the people go inside the church for the Easter Mass.

"In Sto. Tomas, another quaint tradition follows after the Mass: a group of well-dressed girls and the partners dance and sing, and throw petals on the path of the carroza bearing the statue of the Risen Christ accompanied by a violin. This ritual is called Sagalas."


Later at noon, the Pakbung Hudas festivities are held at the church patio. I missed the Salubong or Pusu-pusuan, as well as the Sagalas. But I just had to write about it to complete this series on Pampanga Holy Week practices. Thank you to the Center for Kapampangan Studies for the video screencaps.