Pampanga has but a
few monuments that serve as identifying landmarks of our towns and cities. New
or old, they commemorate events, mark the achievements of heroes and local
icons, and also remind us of the likenesses of figures and personalities they honor. Here are a few of these monuments
that stand on the hallowed grounds of our great province.
ANDA MEMORIAL
OBELISK
Location: Bacolor,
Pampanga
The original 6 meter-high Anda Obelisk was unveiled by
town officials in 1853 to honor Gov. Gen. Simon de Anda y Salazar who moved the
capital of the Philippines to Bacolor from 1762-64, as the British sacked
Manila. The obelisk stood on a pedestal
1.7 meters high, anchored on a 6 sq. meter base., On the monument’s frontal was
a marble plate on which was carved a commander’s cane and a general’s sword, united by a crown of
laurels and palms. The monument, made of
Meycauayan stone, stood in front of the house where Anda lived, across the
Bacolor church patio. A similar monument could be found in Intramuros, the
centerpiece of the Anda circle, built in 1876. But while the Manila obelisk
survived, the memorial in Bacolor was destroyed by revolutionary forces when
Spanish forces burned the town in 1899. On 8 October 2012, a replica of the
original Anda memorial monument was
inaugurated in front of the town hall, which is across the former site of the
Casa Real, the seat of the provincial government.
GEN. MAXIMINO
HIZON MONUMENT
Location: Pampanga
Capitol Grounds, San Fernando
At the center of the grounds in front of the Capitol
Building stands a stately statue of Gen. Maximino Hizon, one of the famous
Pampango generals who, during the revolution, distinguished himself in many
battles against the Spanish and American armies. Maximino was born on 28 May 1870, of
Chinese-Filipino roots, in Mexico. He rose to become the Comandante General of
Pampanga and died on 1 Sep. 1901. The monument, which shows the hero wearing a familiar revolucionario
hat astride a horse, was erected on 28
December 1919, by the government and the people of Pampanga.
MACABEBE Á RIZAL
MONUMENT
Location:
Poblacion, Macabebe
The "Macabebe á Rizal" Monument manifested the town’s recognition of the
making of the Filipino nation during the American period. It was the first act
of the Macabebes to honor the icon of the Revolution in 1919 (also the same
year the National Flag derived from that of Aguinaldo's was officially
instituted as the national colors). The next gesture of Macabebes'
participation in the process of nation-building was the erection, in 1934, of a monument dedicated to their native hero—“To
The Brave King of Macabebe", a symbol of the Macabebes’ bravery and his struggle
for freedom from foreign rule. Majority of Macabebes might not have yet
developed the concept of a nation in 1898, but they struggled to be Filipinos and
underwent the said process. As Jose
Rizal’s 1888 letter to Mariano Ponce declared with longing: "On the day when all Filipinos should
think like us, on that day we shall have fulfilled our arduous mission which is
the formation of the Filipino nation”.
JUAN CRISOSTOMO
SOTO MEMORIAL BUST
Location: Bacolor
Pampanga’s foremost man of letters--Juan Crisostomo C.
Soto (b. 27 Jan. 1867) was known by his pen name Crissot. He was an influential
and distinguished poet, playwright, novelist, journalist, publisher and
revolutionary who sparked the golden age of Kapampangan literature. His lifeworks works are 49 plays, a
novel, a few stories, sketches and a good number of poems and newspaper
articles. At the height of his
career, Crissot wrote the best-selling novel, Lidia. His zarzuela masterpiece, Alang
Dios! (There is no God!) was first performed on 16 November 1902 at Teatro
Sabina in Bacolor, Pampanga, and it was reported to have been given a standing
ovation once at Teatro Zorilla in Manila. By common consent, Kapampangans
immortalized Crissot by naming the popular vernacular poetic jousts Crissotan.
The literary giant died on 12 July 1918.
On 2 Aug. 1919, the “Aguman 33”, and actor’s club whose members performed in
many Crissot zarzuelas, raised funds to build a bust memorial, done by the
Quiapo sculptor, Euogio Velarde Garcia. After the town was buried in lahar in
1995, the Crissot Memorial Bust was the first to be unearthed.
AURELIO TOLENTINO
MONUMENT
Location:
Municipal Hall frontage, Guagua
Pampanga’s most notable revolutionary playwright was born
in Sto. Cristo of this town on 13 Oct. 1867. Aurelio Tolentino's law studies in Manila was cut
short due to his father’s death, and he returned to Guagua briefly to
teach. He found a job at the Court of
the First Instance in Tondo where he met Andres Bonifacio and became a
revolucionario. He helped print propaganda materials, was a signatory of the
Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit on 12 June 1898. But it was his
fiery writings that made Tolentino a force to reckon with. He was charged with
sedition for his 1903 verse drama “Napun, Ngeni at Bukas” (Kahapon , Ngayon at
Bukas) and was imprisoned for 2 years. Other works include the Kapampangan
6-act drama “Buac ng Ester” , “Daclat Kayanakan” and “Kasulatang Guintu”. Aurelio Tolentino died in 1915 and was buried in the North Cemetery. In 1921, his remains were
transferred to Guagua, where they were interred in the base of a memorial
monument which is now located at the Plaza Burgos, on the right side of
Guagua’s municipal hall.
FELIX GALURA
MONUMENT
Location: Bacolor,
Pampanga
On 24 December 1924, a monument was put up in front of
the Bacolor Elementary School by Aguman 33, a band of grateful citizens and
friends, dedicated to the memory of a beloved son of Bacolor--“Caluguran Nang
Anac Ning Baculud”—Felix Napao Galura. Born on 21 Feb. 1866, Galura became a
well-known writer; he assumed the pseudonym “Flauxgalier” (an anagram of his
name), and was a regular contributor to the bi-lingual newspaper “E Mangabiran/
El Imparcial” which began publication in 1905. He wrote Kapampangan adaptations
of Spanish plays like “O, Kasiran” and “Azucena”. With Juan Crisostomo Soto, he
co-wrote “Ing Singsing A Bacal” (The Ring of Steel), a zarzuela based on a
Spanish play. ”Ing Cabiguan” (The Misfortune”), a verse narrative published in
1915, is his best-known work. The multi-faceted Galura was not onlya poet,
grammarian, revolutionary journalist but also a public servant, serving as Bacolor’s town head from 1909-18. He passed
away on 21 July 1919, at age 53.
KING OF MACABEBE (Nameless
Hero) MONUMENT
Location:
Municipal Hall frontage, Macabebe
The young leader of Macabebe led more than 2,000 warriors
from Pampanga and Bulacan to expel Spaniards from Luzon on 31 May 1571. He
refused the offer of friendship of Gov. Gen. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and
instead, challenged him to a battle in Bangkusay, where the nameless hero
perished. For centuries, he has been confused with Rajah Soliman, owing to
Pedro Paterno’s assigning him the name “Tarik Soliman”. Spaniards called him “Bambalito”,
a pejorative term, that does not really identify him. Nonetheless, in 1934, the
brave warrior was honored with a monument showing "The King of Macabebe" seated, armed with a
spear and shield. Originally located in
the Poblacion in 1934, it was a donation of then municipal presidente M. Bustos Zabala and members of the Town Fiesta
Committee led by its president, Feliciano Pineda, In 2010, the monument was inscribed with the
name ‘Tarik Soliman”, and 3 years later, with the issue still unresolved, a
marble marker used both “Tarik Soliman “ and “Bambalito”. Only in 2016 that the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) corrected the centuries-old error committed
by Spanish and Filipino historians, by proclaiming an unnamed leader of
Macabebe as the hero and martyr in the Battle of Bangkusay.
GEN. JOSE M.
ALEJANDRINO MONUMENT
Location:
Municipal Hall Grounds, Arayat
Gen. Jose M. Alejandrino was born to rich parents from
Arayat in Tondo on 1 Dec. 1870 and would play many significant roles in our
history—as a hero of the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and of the
Philippine-American War of 1898. Later in life, he was known as an accomplished
political leader-- as a senator for Mindanao and Sulu, and as an elected
representative to the 1934 Constitutional Convention. Even as a student in Spain, he was an active
member of the Propaganda movement,
helping edit Dr. Jose Rizal’s book, “Noli Me Tangere” and in
publishing “El Filibusterismo”. He
served in the 1898 Malolos Congress, and when the Philippine-American War
erupted, he rose to the position of brigadier general and became the acting
secretary of war. He died on 1 June 1951. To honor his memory his monument was
unveiled on 20 October 1963 by the Gov. Jose M. Alejandrino Movement, and
sponsored by the Arayat Municipal Scouting Committee. The Gen. Jose M.
Alejandrino monument was designed by architects Romeo and Felicisimo Vivencio.
The monument, showing the general on his war steed, was installed on the grounds of the Arayat municipal
hall. It was refurbished after the
renovation of the plaza and after the reconstruction of the municipal building.
ING TANDA
Location: Town Plaza, Magalang
“Ing Tanda”, or the Magalang town marker, features a book
guarded by an eagle. On the pages of the open book is inscribed the history of
the town—from its founding by the Augustinians in 1605 to its turnover to the
Philippine Republic in 1946. A plaque on its pedestal recounts the same,
in English. The marker, designed by the Father of Modern Philippine
Architecture, Fernando Ocampo y Hizon of San Fernando, was built through funds
raised by town committees. It was installed on 13 December 1954.
TO BE CONTINUED....
SOURCES &
REFERENCES
ANDA MONUMENT.
Photo: http://nostalgiafilipinas.blogspot.com/2012/12/con-amor-reconstruido-anda-monument.html (John T.
Pilot’s photostream)
Photo: Bacolor Anda
Monument: Francis Musni
HIZON STATUE.
Photos: Ivan Henares, Alex R. Castro
Source: Philippine Social Directory 1934
MACABEBE
RIZAL MONUMENT. Photo/Source: Ian Alfonso
CRISSOT BUST.
Photo: Sapni ng Crissot FB page
AURELIO
TOLENTINO. Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JfAurelio_Tolentinofvf_06.JPG
FELIX GALURA
MONUMENT.
Photo: (old
photo) Alex R. Castro Collection;
Source: www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com (The Fiery
Pen of Felix Galura)
KING OF
MACABEBE. Photo: Ruston Banal
Source: Ian Christopher
Alfonso, “Nameless Hero” book, 2016.
GEN. ALEJANDRINO.
Photo: Religion, Revolution and Rice: Rambling through
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga (Part 2, owned by Marco Ph)
ING TANDA.
Photos: Magalang Heritage FB page, courtesy of Doris Manlapaz
