La Muy Noble Villa de Tayabas

At the Parque Rizal in front of city hall. Tayabas is a city that doesn't look like one. Thank goodness for that.

The main reason why we traveled to far away Tayabas last December 27 was to satiate Yeyette's hunger for that famous Rodillas Yema Cake she tasted in a reunion with my Alas cousins in Lucena almost five years ago. During that small gathering, one of my cousins brought a yema cake from Rodillas Restaurant. Yeyette only had a slice because we were too many. But she has never forgotten its magical flavor. Since then, she's been eager to visit Tayabas just to buy for ourselves a whole box of that famous yema cake (she's been bugging us about it for the longest time). Due to the place's distance and time constraints, it took us years to fulfill our plan. It was a relief that we were free to visit the town known for its budín, strong lambanóg, and Spanish-era bridges on the above-mentioned date. The rest of the family really didn't mind. All our kids, even li'l Junífera Clarita, are travel freaks. And I had my own agenda, of course: to explore the town's history.

This Rizal monument was inaugurated on 19 June 1914, on the occasion of José Rizal's 53rd birth anniversary, making it one of the oldest monuments in the country to honor the national hero. The centuries-old park/plaza where this monument stands was in the news last year because of a planned underground parking lot. Imagine that. 

Scenic Tayabas-Lucbán Road, facing Monte de Banajao's eastern side.

Rodillas Restaurant and its famous yema cake! The name of this restaurant in Spanish means "knees".

Tayabas is an old Tagálog town strategically perched more than 600 ft above sea level along the southeastern slopes of thickly forested Monte de Banajao. It was founded by the Spaniards (Franciscan missionaries) in 1578, making the place 437 years old. The old town of Tayabas, in fact, was the capital of the province of the same name, Provincia de Tayabas, from 1749 to 1901 (before that, the capital of Tayabas Province was Calilayan, now known as Unisan, the hometown of my dad). Irritatingly, the province is now divided into two, with neither carrying the original name (Aurora and Quezon). The province's former name is now carried solely by its namesake town which has become a city just a few years ago.

Two years after its founding, Tayabas was established as a parish with San Miguel Arcángel (Saint Michael the Archangel) as its patron saint. The first church was made of light materials (bamboo, nipa palm, etc.). The church was repaired under the supervision of Fr. Pedro Bautista in 1590. Ten years later, it was rebuilt using strong materials (bricks, etc.). It is interesting to note that Fr. Bautista was later declared a saint in 1862.

Basílica Menor de San Miguel Arcángel. This became a minor basilica on 18 October 1988. No other than Pope John Paul II, who recently became a saint, conferred the title.

The old entrance of this church was designated as a Porta Sancta (Holy Door) 11 days before our visit following Papa Francisco's Misericordiae Vultus.

Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel.

In 1703, the town was conferred the title La Muy Noble Villa de Tayabas. Villa is a Spanish territorial classification as well as an institution. Aside from Tayabas, only seven other towns were classified as such. Although there were a few villas back then, they were highly significant insofar as they are considered as the centers for regional consolidation as well as a means of disseminating Spanish governance, culture, and commerce throughout the country.

In the 19th century, Tayabas grew to become one of the biggest towns in the country. It had 1,800 houses with more than 22,000 people. The town church was also enlarged. Its 338-ft nave was said to be one of the longest among Spanish colonial era churches in Filipinas. In fact, the church was the largest in all of Tayabas. From above, the church is built in the shape of a key (if the basilica rectory is included).

Krystal in front of Casa Comunidad, Tayabas' old tribunal. It was built by Gobernadorcillo Francisco López in 1776. In 1831, it was rebuilt into a much stronger and grander edifice by Gobernadorcillo Diego Enríquez. This structure was declared a National Historical Landmark in 1978. 

Tayabas is also known as the "City of 11 Spanish Bridges", but only one of them stands out from the rest: the bridge of Malagonlong. Thankfully, it's still popularly known in its Spanish original: the Puente de Malagonlong.

Puente de Malagonlong taken from the new Malagonlong bridge.

Puente de Malagonlong is located outside the población. It runs over the Río de Dumacaa. It is classified as a stone arch bridge that has a total length of 445 ft (136 m) and with four arches underneath. The arches served not merely as a design but also to mitigate the strong currents of the water (the river used to be deeper during the Spanish times), thus ensuring the stability of the bridge.

I also have a suspicion that it served as an aqueduct. If precise, the water must have been sourced from the northern part of the Dumacaa River whose elevation is higher compared to the part where the river courses underneath the bridge. The water within the this theoretical aqueduct could have been delivered to some settlement south of Tayabas, or perhaps to irrigate farmlands.

Take note that this is all just conjecture from my part. But what is not conjecture is that this bridge had strong potential to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Unfortunately, it can no longer qualify because the government built a new one very near to it, thus ruining its visual setting. Sayang.

After exploring the old bridge and the town proper, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the población's most popular street: Calle Budín!

The street is made famous for its many stores selling the town's delicacies such as ticoy (Chinese New Year's cake made from glutinous rice), pancít habháb (dried flour noodles eaten using only the mouth), longanizang Lucbán (Spanish sausage prepared Lucbán-style), and of course, budín (cassava cake). Along with Yeyette's box of Rodillas Yema Cake, we also purchased a couple of budín. All in all, Tayabas is a tasty treat for the senses, spirit, and tummy.

Did you know? Budín is Spanish for pudding!

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