Much of La Laguna’s towns were Franciscan frontier. But among a handful of its picturesque communities, the now bustling City of Santa Rosa earns the distinction of being a Dominican haven. The hardy Order of Preachers gave it the distinguished name of Santa Rosa, named after Isabel Flores de Oliva (some sources say Isabel de Herrera), that young and beautiful beata from Lima, Perú.
Born on 20 April 1586, her name was changed to Rosa a decade later, owing to a claim that her face miraculously transformed into a rose when she was still a child. Later on, she modeled her life to that of St. Catherine of Siena. And as a testament of her linkage to everything holy, Rosa was confirmed by another blessed hispanic: Turibius of Mongrovejo, the Archbishop of Lima.
Despite being one of the most beautiful women of her time, Rosa was often disturbed by that fact. She treated her beauty to be a distraction and a magnet for temptation especially since at an early age, she had already decided to give her life only to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To remedy her troubles, she cut off her long hair, did manual labor to make her delicate hands rough, wore coarse clothing, and, finally (and rather shockingly), she disfigured her face with pepper and lye! And to finally defeat the temptation to get married, she joined the Third Order of Saint Dominic, thus taking a vow of perpetual virginity. Like other mystics and beatas, she also practised corporal mortification and fasting, focusing her mind solely to a life of prayer.
After a brief life of holiness on this realm, the Lord gave her eternal rest on 24 August 1617. Fifty years later, on 15 April 1667, she was beatified by Pope Clement IX and was finally canonized on 12 April 1671 by Pope Clement X. Rose became the first Catholic in the Americas to be declared a saint.
The Dominican missionaries who arrived and preached in the lakeshore community called Bucol brought with them the Peruvian saint’s memory and legacy. Bucol subsequently became a part of Biñán (the hometown of José Rizal's father) which in turn was under the territory of the much larger and ancient Tagalog town of Tabuco (later to be known as Cabuyao). In 1688, Biñán separated from Tabuco, bringing with it the small sitio of Bucol (only in 1747 did Biñán officially exist as a separate barrio, becoming a town in 1782). More than a century later, on 30 August 1792 (feast day of Santa Rosa de Lima), Gobernador General Félix Berenguer de Marquina made Bucol a separate town from Biñán. And so the hardy Order of Preachers who had been administering Bucol gave the new town the distinguished name of Santa Rosa, after that young and beautiful Dominican beata from the Americas.
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The iconic Bantayang Bató or the
welcome arch stands along the entrance to the centuries-old población, with its stone lions ready to greet visitors in all its structural magnificence The original arch was built between 1859 and 1860 and it used to stand on a different site. It was renovated in 1925, but it ended up into a total demolition. This present structure was built in 1931.
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| Maguíng león man ay nauuhao din. |
Today, Santa Rosa is a bustling first-class city, proud of bearing the nickname “The Investment Capital of South Luzón" due to its many multinational companies and industrial estates, popular malls, as well as high-end residential communities. It is also the home of the world-class Enchanted Kingdom, a 17-hectare amusement park. Because of these, Santa Rosa is also known as "The Lion City of the South" for having earned the lion's share of the province's blessings (or could the nickname have been attributed to former mayor León Arcillas?).
Truly, this once picturesque Hispanic town —once tinged with pastoral scenes of fresh farmlands, cool forested areas, and a crystal-clear Laguna de Bay— has gone a long way. Sadly, the “curse” of cityhood which sprang forth from nearby Metro Manila (air pollution, congestion, etc.) has crept up. Nevertheless, Santa Rosa still has retained vestiges of its former beauty through its remaining ancestral houses which still stand around the handsome old church of Santa Rosa de Lima.
Here’s hoping that the city government of Santa Rosa will also strongly focus on its town’s namesake (and how come it is not a sister city of Lima, Perú yet?). Although the city bears no roses nor beatas, its sanctified name still evokes its holy Dominican origins. Aside from Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Rose of Lima is also the Philippines’ patron saint. And may that fact bring around a multifaith sentiment among the people of Santa Rosa City.
Here we share more photos of our biglaang lacad to the Lion City of the South last March 8, thanks to Yeyette's weird pregnancy cravings, hehehe!
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| Our first stop was Rose & Grace Restaurant. Although famous for their bulaló (bone marrow soup), Yeyette had wanted to try out their fried tawilis (Sardinella tawilis) and guinataáng hipon (shrimp cooked in coconut milk), as if all that guinatáan we had in Iskargu two weeks before were not enough! This branch of Rose & Grace Restaurant is located along the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road right in front of Paseo de Santa Rosa. But the one in Santo Tomás, Batangas is said to be the most popular branch. We will surely visit it someday! |
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| Yeyette ordering our meal with Momay and Krystal. |
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| Yeyette saw something familiar being sold inside the restaurant: JJ's Macaroons! We bought some of these in Candelaria, Tayabas just a few days before. Small world, big coincidence. It seems that all our trips are connected. Remember that candle guy we saw in front of the Ternate Church last February 16? He turned out to be the same candle guy we met in front of the Lumbán Church! Ain't traveling fun?! =) |
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| Juanito already wants to eat! |
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| After lunch, we proceeded to nearby Paseo de Santa Rosa, just across the road. Paseo de Santa Rosa is a part of the 375-hectare, master-planned community called Greenfield City, a creative mix of residential and commercial districts replete with nature: vast delectable grass fields, elegant trees, and colorful flowers all around to soothe the tired eye. |
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| Drumsticks are not just for chicken thighs. |
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| Rebirth of the Jefe! |
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| Thanks for this, Kanin Club! We'll try out your dishes on our next visit, promise! |
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| Jefe's flowery gift to Mommy Yeyette! |
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| After our afternoon stroll, we went straight to the faraway city proper, i.e., the población. Yes, at 54.84 km2, Santa Rosa City is huge. |
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| Just arrived. City hall's lookin' more like a mall. |
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| This school fronts the town plaza and the church and was once the administration office of the Dominican friars. During that time, it was known as Casa Hacienda, for Santa Rosa was then a part of the vast Hacienda de Santo Domingo. From the foot of the convent beside the church was an underground passage that crosses through the town plaza and Calle Rizal (the road you see on this photo) to the stairs of the Casa Hacienda. |
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| At the town plaza. |
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| This heritage building to the right of the church (along Calle Gómez) used to be the local government office of Santa Rosenses from 1828 to 1954. Now a museum, it is known as Gusaling Museo. |
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| Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima. This oft-ignored baroque beauty dates back to the Spanish times and was hardly damaged during the last war. But it makes me wonder why up to now it has no historical marker. |
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| A giant statue of Saint Rose of Lima, Perú cradling an infant Jesus in her arms. This statue was erected in commemoration of the historic consecutive visits of former Peruvian ambassadors Victor Aritomi-Shinto (on 25 November 1999) and Julio Cárdenas (on 19 August 2000). The statue was donated by Conchita Delfino, her family, and other concerned parishioners. |
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| Momay and Jefe at the church's roof, unafraid of heights. |
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| After our church visit, we continued our walkatour of this beautiful heritage town/city. If memory serves me right, this is Calle Añonuevo. We were already in a hurry because it was getting dark, and our camera was uncooperative; it had no more flash due to, perhaps, age and overuse. |
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| Casa Lacerna along Calle Rizal, now occupied and maintained by UnionBank. A good example of conserving architectural heritage using adaptive reuse. Kudos! |
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| Casa Delfino, the ancestral home of priest-historian Fr. Gabriel Delfino. |
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| My family in front of Casa Zavalla along the street which bears the same last name. |
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| My family in front of the ancestral home of my friend, Doña Antonia "Nonia" Tiongco, founding president of the Santa Rosa Studies Center. It is also along Calle Zavalla. |
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| Casa Perlas, right across Casa Tiongco. |
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| Krystal knocking at the side gate of Casa Tiongco as my family waits (left) along Calle Dr. Zavalla (the churh's bell tower can be seen from here). Behind my family is the side part of Casa Zavalla. Nobody answered after calling and knocking for several minutes. We concluded that nobody was home. But Krystal peeked through a hole and swore that she saw a woman inside. And she was dressed in white. Go figure. |
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| Before going home to San Pedro Tunasán, we had dinner here at Carvajal Restaurant outside the población which is along the national road (Pan-Philippine Highway). |
Click here for the complete photo album of our Santa Rosa trip. For daytime photos of the city which I took on 4 April 2010, click here. And please don't forget to LIKE US on Facebook! ¡Maraming salamat! ¡Hasta la vista! =)
