I Left My Heart in Marinduque(not in San Francisco): Heritage Homes of Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Heritage Homes of Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Today's Blog is about, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines- Location of our former Retirement Home. Boac is where Macrine(RIP)💚 grow up and where we built a beach House💜after my retirement from FDA. Boac is also famous for its Heritage homes.

The Ancestral Home of Macrine (RIP) Parents ( The Nieva-Jambalos Clan)

Marinduque, the island province just south of the Luzon mainland, is best known for its lively Lenten events and traditions like the Moriones, where townsfolk dress up as masked Roman centurions. It is also regarded as the butterfly capital of the country. It’s a favorite Holy Week destination in the Philippines of hundreds of Filipinos and Tourist all over the world.

This was originally the TEOFILO N. ROQUE ANCESTRAL HOUSE- home of the hero of " Battle of Paye" Balimbing, Boac, Marinduque. It was later sold to the 1st wife of Juan Nieva ( mother of Elena Decena) and Bernardo C. Jambalos. Later the heritage house was inherited by the Jambalos Siblings. It is located at the corner of Nepomuceno and Deogracias Sts., San Miguel ,Boac, Marinduque just across the Boac Hotel. This house is currently owned by Siony Jambalos ( Macrine's Sister-in-law) and her children.

There are a handful of heritage sites you can see around town, which is compact enough to be explored on foot. Several bahay na bato, the two-storey townhomes of the middle and upper class during colonial times, can be found in the town center. They’re especially photogenic in the early morning before 9am, when establishments haven’t opened, and parked vehicles do not clog the narrow streets.

*Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built like a fortress to protect the townsfolk during Moro raids.*

BOAC CATHEDRAL

One can start their heritage walk at the Boac Cathedral, formally the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the most imposing heritage structure sitting on a hill overlooking the town and Boac River. Built in 1792, the cathedral compound is surrounded by defensive stone walls, as the structure also served as refuge when the town was attacked by Moro raiders from Mindanao.

Oral tradition has it that during one of these invasions the Virgin Mary suddenly appeared with outstretched hands and drove away the intruders. The miraculous event led to the devotion to the Virgin Mary as Mahal na Birhen ng Biglang Awa (Our Lady of Prompt Succor), whose venerated image is housed in a separate contemporary shrine next to the cathedral.

*The 700-year-old Marinduque Celadon Jar was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2010.*

*Traditional Moryonan costumes decorated with shells.*

WELL-PRESERVED INTERIOR OF CASA DE DON EMILIO RESTAURANT.

*Note the wraparound media aguas (window canopies) of Boac’s old homes like the Navarro Heritage House*.

ANCESTRAL HOUSES

Numerous ancestral houses still stand across the town center of Boac. In 1912, a great fire gutted several homes in poblacion, so most of the old houses we see today were built after that tragic event. More than a century later, history repeated itself when eight heritage houses were completely destroyed by fire in 2018, including Maharlikang Tahanan ni Kapitan Piroco (Don Piroco Mansion), the historic residence where Marinduqueños requested that their island become a separate province from Tayabas (now Quezon Province).

A standout feature of Boac’s old houses are the wraparound media aguasor window canopies, supported by long wooden braces, which reminded me of the wooden sticks used to prop up windows of the bahay kubo, the vernacular stilt house from which bahay na bato evolved from. Nearly all of the heritage houses in town remain as private residences, so tourists can usually only admire them from the outside.

From Metro Manila, take a bus to Dalahican Port in Lucena City, where Starhorse Shipping Lines and Montenegro Shipping Lines runs frequent ro-ro ferries to Balanacan Port on Marinduque island. Travel time takes around three hours. From Balanacan Port, public jeepneys await to take travelers to Boac town, 15 km away.