Life in Parian Now, published Zee Lifestyle, Nov. 2008

LIFE IN PARIAN NOW
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
First published in Zee Lifestyle, November 2008


The first time I saw the building in Parian, Cebu, which I inherited from my mother, I wept. The three-story building was in terrible condition, just like many of the rundown structures in the old area of Cebu. The building needed a fresh coat of paint; the grounds needed cleaning up. I felt a wave of despair but deep inside I also felt an emotional attachment to this property which had belonged to my mother and to her mother before her. It is not easy to disregard such matters.

Keeping a stiff upper lip, I checked out the neighborhood. Even though I had grown up in Cebu, it was the first time I had walked around the Parian. I noted that my property was half a block from the Heritage Monument of Cebu and the 1730 Jesuit House (Ho Tong Hardware). The historic Yap-Sandiego house, Casa Gorordo and Rafi Building were also nearby. My property was walking distance to the Santo Nino Basilica, the Cathedral, Fort San Pedro, and historic Colon Street. From my building rooftop, I had an excellent view of the Cathedral, Cebu’s hills, city, and port.

It may seem farfetched to compare Cebu to Los Angeles and Paris, but I will mention here that seedy parts of these two great cities underwent gentrification to accommodate the growing population and to address transportation problems. In downtown Los Angeles specifically, many warehouses were turned into artists’ lofts and condominiums, with accompanying development of chic restaurants and shopping centers. I could see that the Parian had the potential of gentrifying as did these two places.

In the 1990s my mother, Concepcion Cuenco Manguerra, had hired Architect Abella to build a Deco style building on her Parian property. I had seen and admired it then. The building was solidly built with handsome details such as wrought iron balconies. The property did not flood, a common problem in the Parian. Recalling the building as it first looked encouraged me to convert the upper units of the building into my Cebu office/residence. I used a Mexican Spanish Colonial theme for colors and furnishings. I had the rooftop painted and decorated with potted plants, bamboo tables and chairs. I was delighted with the Old World effect which was in keeping with the history of the place. The rooftop in particular turned out to be a magical place, especially at night, with its magnificent view of the Cathedral’s steeple lit up in green and the city’s sparkling lights.

My family’s roots in the Parian date back to the late 1800s; documents indicate that my Great-great-grandmother Juana Lopez had bought land in the Parian area. At the turn of the century Juana’s daughter, Remedios Diosomito and her husband Mariano Albao Cuenco lived in a two-story house in then-fashionable Colon Street. There they raised their children and ran the Imprenta Rosario. Their second son, Mariano Jesus married Filomena Alesna from Carcar, and for a few years they lived in the Colon Cuenco house. By this time, Mariano Albao Cuenco had died and Remedios herself ran the Imprenta Rosario, becoming the first woman publisher in the Philippines. She ruled over her children, one of whom became an archbishop, the other a senator, the third a congressman, the fourth (woman), a writer. At some point, Mariano Jesus, Filomena and their family settled in a house in nearby Norte America. It was during this time when my grandmother Filomena bought land in Zulueta Street. It was this land that fell into my hands.

As history buffs know, the Parian is one of the oldest and most historic places in the entire Philippines. In the late 16th century, Chinese traders had settled here; the area developed into the commercial hub; by the early 1900s the Parian was the residential headquarters of Cebu’s wealthiest families, and it also became a publishing center. World War II and the subsequent destruction of Cebu changed the area drastically. Unfortunately, the wealthy families did not rebuild their Parian homes but fled to newer housing developments. The Parian declined, with many buildings turned into warehouses or low cost residences.

As I fixed my building, I developed a better appreciation of the Parian. I could easily walk to the Cathedral, Santo Nino Basilica, City Hall, the Malacanan of Cebu, downtown stores, bank, three internet cafes, LBC, hardware and building supplies stores. Transportation was easy to find. It was convenient to live here. A visiting American Fullbright Scholar, Dr. Michael Cullinane, chose to live in the Parian for the same practical reasons. There is also a Frenchman and his family who reside in the Parian, no doubt for the same reasons.

These are what I find charming about living in the Parian:
- looking out my balcony in the evening when the traffic has died down and the barbecue and food stalls have opened and people promenade up and down the street, talking, laughing, catching the sea breeze;
- seeing the Yap-Sandiego house all dolled up;
- walking down Binacayan street and catching a glimpse of the old Jesuit House’s gate;
- discovering traces of the 1730 Jesuit House in the Ho Tong premises;
- hearing the tooting of ships as they sail past the nearby port;
- sitting in my butaka chair with the windows wide open and enjoying the sea breeze zipping in and out;
- having Old Cebu lovers over for dinner and listening to them talk about Cebu events and personalities who had lived in the Parian a century ago;
- walking around the area and feeling as if I’m back in time, 1908 perhaps when my own grandmother herself walked along Mabini, Colon, Lopez Jaena, Logarta Streets.

It has its charm, the Parian. It is still depressed, but if you look at the Parian with the eyes of a lover, you will find secret gems tucked away. You can still sense its historic past. In fact, I detect a heightened consciousness among Cebuanos to preserve the rich heritage of Parian. Consider these events that are now happening in the area: Misa de Gallo procession in December, Sinulog festivities in January, Gabii Sa Kabilin in May, Independence Day festivities in June, the Parian Fiesta of San Juan Baustita on June 24, ongoing events and exhibits at the Casa Gorordo, the Cathedral Museum, the Santo Nino Museum, and Fort San Pedro. Tourist Police now patrol the area daily.

Who knows, perhaps historic Parian may experience a revival. In the meantime, I pray to the Santo Nino, and afterwards I buy bibingka in front of the basilica, and back home, I make myself chocolate-e and partake of these Cebuano delicacies just as my mother and her mother before her had done. And I thank them, these women ancestors of mine, for this historic gift.
~~~
Read also
Life in Parian Now
Cebu's 1730 Jesuit House 
The Secret Hall of Angels 
A Story of Hope
Finding Jose Rizal in Cebu
Lola Remedios and her Sayas
Lunch with F. Sionil Jose
Pre-Colonial Gold in Cebu
~~~
tags: Cebu, Philippines, Parian, history, Spanish Colonial, travel, tourism

Lola Remedios and Her Sayas, published Zee Lifestyle August-September 2009

LOLA REMEDIOS AND HER SAYAS
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Published in Zee Lifestyle, Aug-Sept 2009

When I was small I used to listen to my mother (Concepcion Cuenco Manguerra) talk about her lola or grandmother, and there was another lola she spoke of, only this one was referred to as “lola sa tuhod.” It took me a long while to figure out that she was talking about her grandmother and great grandmother. The great grandmother she referred to was Juana Lopez who originally came from Naic, Cavite and who did business in Cebu and Leyte. Year ago, when I was gathering genealogical information about my family, an aunt sent me a brief description of Juana Lopez as someone “who loved to dance. “

This surprised me because pictures of her show an oval-faced serious woman with hair severely swept back. In the photos, Juana wears a saya and a camisa, and the black and white photos increase the severity of her looks. She may have been more flirtatious than her pictures suggest because she married a second time, to a Veloso in Leyte. She had children with that second marriage, but I’m guessing that her first child, Remedios, gave her headaches as only firstborns are capable of doing. Consider this: Remedios married my great grandfather when she was only 13. Even though women married early in the olden days, I’m almost certain that Juana was shocked when her daughter announced she’d be quitting her schooling at the Inmaculada to marry the school teacher and poet, Mariano Albao Cuenco. It seemed the marriage was a good one; Remedios bore over a dozen children, although only four survived to adulthood.

Remedios was the grandmother my mother spoke of with great awe. In fact, I believe that Remedios had been her role model, especially when my mother became a young widow. Listen to what my granduncle Archbishop Jose Ma. Cuenco of Jaro, Iloilo said about Remedios as a widow: “My good mother was a woman of strong determination, ready to overcome all obstacles. Besides she was business-minded. With these qualities she was able to relieve our poor condition. Little by little, she bought land on which she built several houses. The high rents of these houses were a great source of income to us.”

Following Remedios’ footsteps, my mother, after my father died, bought properties, built houses on them, and rented them out. She sent all four of us children to college and to graduate schools abroad.

Remedios was widowed at 39, with three sons, a daughter, and the family of her second son staying in her house. She not only invested in real estate, she also ran her husband’s publishing business, Imprenta Rosario, making her the first woman publisher of Cebu. She continued raising her children in the intellectual and religious atmosphere that she and her husband had created. She must have been proud of her children’s accomplishments: the oldest son became an archbishop; the second son became a senator; the third son, a representative; and the daughter a writer.
What astonishes me, is that not only was she excellent at juggling the publishing business, real estate business, and her family, Remedios took meticulous care of her looks. All her pictures show a slender woman, dressed in elaborate and elegant saya, camisa and panuelo.

In a photo taken in 1895, she is wearing an elaborately embroidered panuelo, and a chic black ribbon with a cameo or pendant; she is wearing large earrings. Her hair is pulled back in a bun, and no doubt she had a peineta in her hair, as was the custom of the days.

A photo taken a few years later shows her wearing a printed long skirt and a light colored filmy camisa and panuelo with lace edges. She wears interesting jewelry – necklace, earrings, ring.

In a picture taken around 1909, after she was widowed, we see her wearing an attractive skirt with stripes and the camisa and panuelo pick up the lively pattern.
And in a photo taken when she is an old woman surrounded by her children and one grandson, she is finely dressed in a saya that is richly embroidered. She wears rings, a bracelet and a necklace.
The photos are in black and white but the clothes were no doubt richer in color – indigo blue, emerald green, deep red, glowing yellow perhaps.


In her book, Life in Old Parian, Concepcion G. Briones, has fine descriptions of Remedios from the 1920s:

“I still retain in my mind’s eye the picture of Doña Remedios Lopez Cuenco — the Cuenco matriarch hurrying to her front door to welcome Msgr. Giuguilmo Piani, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, who, at that time, was to confer the Vicar-General title on her erudite son, Msgr. Jose Maria Cuenco, at the nearby Cathedral.
“Nyora Medyos wore a satin merino (navy-blue) saya, wide and bouffant, an elegant camisa, and a panuelo which was pinned on her bosom with a magnificent brooch of gold and pearls. Tucked inside the waist of her saya, on the left side, was the golden-chain or porta-abanico which, as the name implies, held her big silk fan. Jewelry? She had the most gorgeous ones, too. Old gold and pearls, rubies and diamonds worn at her throat, on her fingers or on her wrists…”

In another part of her book, Briones writes: “Nyora Medyos used to come very early, mornings, in sayas and kimono to the printing press — her long black curly hair falling down to her waist, freshly shampooed and fragrant with samuyao…”
This is an interesting and vivid description of Remedios with her flowing long hair. The sensual image belies the fact that she would be typesetting and working huge heavy presses that crashed and clanked — a man’s work, really. (My mother told me that the powerful machines shook their residence above.)

It should be understood that Remedios was an unusual woman — she was strong, intelligent, determined, driven, possessed with a devil-may-care attitude about what people thought of her hands smeared with ink from the printing press. She was the matriarch of a family that was demonstrating its leadership in politics as well as in the church, and she and her family displayed the trappings of importance: a home in fashionable Colon Street furnished with fine things; her sons studied abroad; and family members took the time to clothe themselves in fine silks, satins, piña, with embroidery and lace. Shoes matched. There were different sets of jewelry for daytime, nighttime, casual occasions, as well as rock-size diamonds for important events and for investment.

It was a different era then — a time of gentility, of gallantry, of romance, of elegance, a time when people sat on the azotea to catch the breeze, a time when neighbors dropped by for afternoon visits. We, who are used to our current-date city life, who rush about in our jeans and pants and T-shirts, no longer know this life.
Remedios did not remarry. She was an attractive, good-looking, dynamic woman, and there must have been men who were interested in her. But she devoted her life to her family and her businesses. Remedios died in 1945 at the age of 75.

Curiously, my own mother who was also fond of dancing and beautiful dresses never remarried either. She too devoted her life to her children and businesses. Even when she became old, my mother continued to dress elegantly, copying perhaps her role model, Remedios Lopez Cuenco. ~~~ end (copyright 2009 by Cecilia Brainard)
~~
Read also
Life in Parian Now
Cebu's 1730 Jesuit House 
The Secret Hall of Angels 
A Story of Hope
Finding Jose Rizal in Cebu
Lola Remedios and her Sayas
Lunch with F. Sionil Jose
~~
tags: Cebu, Sugbo, Philippines, travel, tourism, history, women, politics, Cuenco Family