CASA MANILA: A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME

Photo By Roberto Verzo on Flickr


INTRAMUROS, MANILA—In a cultural and historical immersion, The Makati Science Vision went to Intramuros, Manila, and visited its famous Casa Manila, a Spanish colonial lifestyle museum. Bounded by Calle Real and General Luna Street, the Casa Manila is a replica of the grand house of Don Severino Mendoza of Calle Jaboneros in San Nicolas, Manila. Built in 1850, it is located right across the historic San Agustin Church and was refurbished in 1972 to showcase the grandeur of a Spanish colonial past upon the order of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

As we entered the Casa Manila, we were welcomed at the zaguan or hallway where carruajes or carriages entered and deposited passengers by the stairs. We learned that the zaguan and the courtyard were paved with piedra china or chinese marble and that the fountain at the middle of the courtyard was installed in 1882.

Dark wooden stairs ushered us to the entresuelo or a mezzanine where clients, tenants, or estate managers waited before being admitted to the oficina or office. The entresuelo has two adjoining bedrooms where immediate family members lived and took siestas or naps as the rooms were relatively cooler here in the afternoon.

Our adviser then led us to the oficina where the master of the house conducted businesses together with his clerks and accountants. Most of the pieces of furniture here are locally made, and we even noticed indigenous motifs carved in great detail on the legs of the owner’s desk.

After climbing another flight of dark wooden stairs to the third floor, we reached the antesala or antechamber adorned with astounding paintings and intricately embellished carvings on the doorway leading to the sala or drawing room. During the day, the antesala was used for playing parlor games, entertaining close friends, or eating merienda or morning or afternoon snacks. Surrounding the antesala were capiz shell ventanas or windows. The persianas or venetian blinds are opened, keeping the room airy while blocking direct sunlight from the outside. Underneath are sliding panels called ventanillas or small windows.

Adorned with antique furniture, the sala depicts the social status of the family in the Spanish colonial society. It is here where very important persons were entertained, where bailes or dances and tertulias or social gatherings were performed and where young ladies played the grand piano while elders discussed politics and businesses.

Guided by our adviser, we headed to the oratorio or oratory, where the family gathered every night to pray the oracion or angelus, the santo rosario or holy rosary, or novenas or devotion to saints and martyrs. A large retablo or altar-piece was adorned with large santos or religious images, which are usually brought out for annual processions dedicated to patron saints.
Our next stop was the cuarto principal or the master’s bedroom with an enormous four-poster bed, an aparador de tres lunas or armoire with three sections, a tremor or dresser with swinging full-length mirror, and a marble lavabo or washstand. As these were status symbols of the time, we learned that the master of the house would usually offer the cuarto principal to important guests who stayed overnight.

From the cuarto principal, we went to the comedor or dining room. Lined with plateras or sideboards displaying the family’s expensive china wares, the comedor had a very long table enough to accommodate the nuclear family. Above it hung a punkah, a traditional ceiling fan pulled by a muchacho/a or servant to shoo flies away and to cool family members during meals. Our adviser told us that traditionally, the padre de familia or father and the madre de familia or mother sat on both ends of the table, while the children sat on the sides.

Adjoining the comedor were the cocina or kitchen and the letrina or comfort room. The cocina was equipped with a nevera or icebox, pugon or man-made oven of ash and water, paminggalan or cupboard where preserves and leftovers were stored, and a banggera or dish rack where cutlery were washed and air-dried. The letrina, on the other hand, had two adjoining toilet bowls and a game board to entertain family members while they relieved themselves. We also took a quick look at the baño or bathroom that contains two large stoneware bañeras or bathtubs.

The kitchen door led us to our last stop, the azotea or terrace where household chores that required plenty of water such as washing clothes or butchering pigs or chickens for family meals were done near the aljibe or cistern, a large stone container that stored rainwater.

As we left the Casa Manila for the bustling world outside, we were amazed how wealthy Filipinos lived before. Even the present and the future generations of Filipinos encounter rapid changes, the Casa Manila would always welcome them to return back into a time of grandeur and to carry on the legacy of a rich cultural and historical heritage.