1. Ancestral Houses in
Sariaya Quezon

2. Itenerary
10:00 –We arrived at our meeting place in front of St.
Franciss of Assissi Parish Church
10:15 –We left our meeting place and went to Villa
Sariaya
10:30-11:45 –We visited the Villa Sariaya, we took
pictures and took a tour in he house (Villa Sariaya)
12:00 –We left the place and had our lunch
1:00-2:00 –We took pictures of the other ancestral
houses in Sariaya
2:30 –We separate ways with our groupmates

3.  Sariaya in Quezon Province is synonymous with those big, beautiful
ancestral houses that define the elite and affluent center of town in the pre
war years . . . . . comprised by the imposing 1748 Saint Francis of Assisi
Parish Church, the once symmetrically-designed Park containing the
graceful Glorita and Rizal Monuments commissioned by the then very
active socio-civic local organization Kapisanang Muling Sumilang and
crafted by Kapampangan-turned Sariayahin furniture and monument
maker Mr. Eusebio Cortez which was inaugurated on Rizal Day, December
30, 1924, and the 1931 Municipio designed in the Art Deco style by the
National Artist for Architecture Juan Arellano. According to UP College of
Architecture Professor Jojo Mata, who is part of the interdisciplinary
Sariaya Community Empowerment Research Team on Sustainable
Tourism, the Manila Post Office building belongs to Juan Arellano's work
with the Neo-Classical while the Metropolitan Theater is a fine example of
his Art Deco creations. Professor Jojo Mata enumerated other notable Art
Deco showcases, not all of the Arellano genre, as the Rizal Memorial
Stadium, FEU Building, Lyric and Ideal Theaters, the Tomas Mapua
residence as well as the erstwhile Jai Alai and the old FEATI
Buildings, among others. Apparently, it was a great source of pride and a
social statement among the knowing Sariayahins of the time that their
small town in Tayabas Province was able to afford the well-known US-
trained architect's services.

4.  In Old Sariayahin lingo, that area called the Tisaan was the enclave of the
Taga Gitna or the rich landed gentry who had the fortune of riding the crest
of the coconut boom years when the world demand for oil extracted from
copra was very high.. They had so much money that they resolved to
renovate their old 19th century Filipino - Hispanic houses into those eye-
catching residences exquisitely crafted by Batanguenyo and Kapampangan
carpenters and artisans, who at times worked under the aesthetic
supervision of foreign-trained Filipino architects like Juan Nakpil and
Andres Luna de San Pedro. These ancestral houses usually had brick roofs
over awe-inspiring, opulent exteriors of first rate building materials that
can be found nowhere else in the old province of Tayabas. The interiors of
these houses were a feast to the senses, with huge intricately carved wooden
furniture of Narra that cannot be moved outside because they were crafted
indoors, intermingling with exquisite fixtures coming from Europe and
America. One of the grand houses featured lovely and delicate glass
etchings on its doors by Kraut, a noted German artist who did awesome
masterpieces in glass at the San Beda Chapel and at the San Sebastian
Church according to Professor Mata. Others had prayer rooms containing
the heirloom Santos that at times graced the town's grand traditional
processions during Good Friday, the erstwhile three-day town Fiesta from

5. September 13 to 15, and the May 15th harvest festival in
honor of the Spanish patron saint San Isidro Labrador, all
of which were very resplendent in their silver-plated
carrozas during their feast days. The rich Sariaya
philanthropist Donya Margarita Rodriguez whose old
house with intricate wooden interiors was once located
along Calle Rizal, behind the Glorita monument on the east
side of the park, owned the Ninya Maria or the Child
Mary, a small yet very expensive Santo whose face and
hands accordingly were of ivory, dressed in resplendent
golden dress, whose very expensive crown and fineries were
of heirloom origin, and which upkeep during its feast day of
September 15th was cared of by the proceeds from its very
own landholding or Bienes.

6.  Some of these stately houses became venues for fabulous celebrations that
featured local and foreign dignitaries such as the erstwhile very big house of
Gobernadorcillo (town Mayor during the Spanish times) Roman Reynoso
along Calle Argente corner Bonifacio that accordingly served as the venue
for the visit of then American Governor General of the Philippines Francis
Burton Harrison sometime in the 1920s, with well known officials of the
Tayabas provincial government gracing the occasion. Moreover, it is one of
the first houses in town to have electricity in the 1920s, care of the so-called
Delco Lights, the forerunner of the electric generator, and old residents
remember how its outlines were fitted with countless bulbs that were lit at
night during the occasion of the three-day town fiesta thereby turning the
house into a great visual attraction. Others like the old brick-roofed house
of Gobernadorcillo Venancio Rodriguez served as the temporary Municipal
Building when the old Municipio was turned into a school for young
students under the tutelage of the Thomasites, the first American teachers
who came into the country aboard the ship Thomas. The beautiful two-
storey house of Don Emiliano Gala, the very first deputy of the second
district of Tayabas Province during the First Philippine Congress of 1907
had a very large roofed veranda ringed with wooden balustrades having

7. intricately-designed double arches, an attractive feature it shared
with the Gobernadorcillo Roman Reynoso house that was even
more grandiose with its triple arches. Meanwhile, the northern
wall at the second floor of the three-storey house of
Gobernadorcillo Lucio Rodriguez has six paintings depicting how
the center of Sariaya looked when most of the park was still part
of the big patio and the old convent, today's St. Joseph's
Academy, was still on the west side of the church. Those were the
days in the early 20th century when the original brick inlaid
masonry topped by large blocks of adobe were still visible in the
church walls and the area where the beautiful Governor Natalio
Enriquez house now stands was still a vacant lot owned by the
1910 Sariaya Presidente (town Mayor during the American
period) Pastor Espinosa.

8.  Sariaya's fabulous ancestral houses truly defined an era
of affluence far removed from that of the present, when
the characteristic old Filipino-Spanish architecture was
renovated by its very rich owners and transformed with
foreign influences like the then prevailing Art - Deco
style through the expertise of some of the country's top
American and European-trained architects.
Indeed, those were the days when the rich landowners of
Sariaya sought to impress one another and the outside
world, and they expressed it not only through their
ostentatious lifestyle but more so through the
ultimate, the architecture of their very own beloved
shelters. Accordingly, Sariaya and the Sariayahins
themselves earned a reputation for ostentation, affluence
and discriminating taste in this part of the country, and
the town had a very distinct foreign look and feel about
it.

9. Ancestral Houses

10. Governor Natalio Enriquez Ancestral
House
 This eye-catching and brick-
roofed Sariaya landmark near the
church, is an Art Deco style
house designed by European
schooled architect Andres Luna
de San Pedro, the son of artist
Juan Luna. It was built in 1931 by
erstwhile Tayabas Provincial
Governor Natalio Enriquez (1941
- 1945) and his wife Susana Gala.
A venue for fabulous social
gatherings in pre war Sariaya, it
hosted the grand reception
during the 1938 wedding of their
daughter Alicia to Manuel Gala
where Philippine Commonwealth
First Lady Aurora Aragon
Quezon served as principal
sponsor. It was declared by the
National Historical Institute as a
Heritage House on May
14, 2008.

11. Donya Carmen Rodriguez Arguelles
Ancestral House
 This NHI - declared Heritage House situated in a
property astride two streets was designed in the Art
Deco style by National Artist for Architecture Juan
Nakpil and built in 1935 by its owner Dr. Isidro
Rodriguez. It has two receiving rooms, several
bedrooms, two dining halls, a prayer room, an
intricately designed veranda, and a terrace at the
back overlooking a large swimming pool and a
private garden with a gazebo. Aside from its fixtures
of American and European origins are Puyat crafted
wooden furniture, exquisite table wares, a large wall
mirror, a 19th century grand piano and even a
vintage wooden radio. However, visitors are
charmed even more by the stories tied to this
beautiful residence, most especially those that
happened in wartime Sariaya concerning
Carmen, Dr. Isidro’s beautiful daughter, that is one
of the highlights of a guided tour that never failed to
give a comprehensive glimpse of life in Old Sariaya.

12. Enriquez - Gala House
 This big house is owned by Atty.
Librado Enriquez and his wife
Josefina Gala which was built to
replace a much older residence that
burned in the Japanese-started
great fire of 1944. Among its
features are an arched roofed -
entrance topped by a curved
veranda, a silo-like outside wall
with small windows where a
curving flight of stairs inside leads
to the second floor of the house as
well as three cathedral-type arched
side doors with Corinthian style
column embellishments that open
to the garden topped by another
veranda upstairs held by the
curving crowns of ionic columns.

13. Don Catalino Rodriguez Ancestral House
(Villa Sariaya)
 The third NHI-declared Heritage House in
Sariaya, it was renovated sometime in the
year 1922 and owned by Don Catalino
Rodriguez, Sariaya’s town Presidente
(Mayor during the American occupation
period) from 1908-1909. This
fenceless, almost block long residence
with its main entrance facing south along
Calle Daliz is likewise bounded by Calle
Rizal on the west and Quezon Avenue
(formerly Calle Talavera) on the east.
Among its features are colorful stained
glass windows, a big veranda facing east, a
straight grand flight of wooden stairs, a
beautiful high ceiling with intricately-
designed lattices, a spacious grand living
room, European and American fixtures in
the bathroom and the kitchen and

14. Julianito Rodriguez House
 This brick-roofed, thick-
walled, pink-colored, three
storey house once owned by
Mr. Julianito Rodriguez and
his wife Rosie Gala is a
comprehensive renovation of
a circa 1920s residence of
erstwhile Tayabas Provincial
Governor Maximo Rodriguez
that burned in 1944. He and
wife Martinita Gala were the
principal sponsors of Manuel
Luis Quezon and wife Aurora
Aragon during their wedding
in Hong Kong, and their
house was where President
Quezon used to stay whenever
he visited Sariaya in the old
days.

15. Francisco Rodriguez House
 The big house was once
owned by the family of
Mr. Francisco
Rodriguez, built on the
very site of their old
residence that got
burned in the big
wartime fire of 1944. It
was later bought by the
late local architect
William Rodriguez.

16. SWOT Analysis
 S- they preserve the houses for the tourists and for it to be
more attractive
 W- the ancestral houses are not along the way, and when you
look at it, it’s like not open for the public to see
 O- they promote the history of Sariaya and they have
brochures and they use websites to promote it
 T- the caretaker there are not prepared to welcome the
guests, the guests should set an appointment first., the guess
can’t go as walk-in. The caretaker’s information about the
history of the house and sometimes not important

17. Assessments and Recommendations
 The houses should be always open in public for the
tourists can see the house inside, especially when
they’re just along the way and saw it and wanted to
visit the house. The caretaker should also know the
important information or history about the house for
the tourists to be informed.

18. Cultural mapping

19. CULTURAL MAPPING TEMPLATE
Municipality of Sariaya, Quezon
1. TANGIBLE CULTURE
Name/ Forms of Creator/ Artist/ Artisan Year/ Era of Creation Description/ Nature/ Utility/ Popularization Method
Expression Function
Gov. Natalio Enriquez Arch. Andres Luna de 1931 Ancestral House Art Deco Style Guided Tour
NHI Heritage House San Pedro
Don Catalino Rodriguez Unknown 1922 Ancestral House “Bahay na Bato” Brochure/ Guided Tour
NHI Heritage House with renovated modifications
Gala-Rodriguez NHI Arch. Juan Nakpil 1935 Ancestral House Art Deco Style Brochure/ Guided Tour
Heritage House
St. Francis of Assisi Unknown 1743 -1748 Roman Catholic Church Guided Tour
Parish Church
Sariaya Municipal Arch. Juan Arellano 1931 Art Deco Style Facade Guided Tour
Building
2. INTANGIBLE CULTURE
Name/ Forms of Creator/ Artist/ Artisan Year/ Era of Creation Description/ Nature/ Utility/ Popularization Method
Expression Function
Paawitan Unknown Unknown/Traditional The social art and graces of drinking Reenactment
Lambanog … “Kung gaano kainit
dumaan ang lambanog sa
lalamunan ay gay-on din kainit
tumanggap ng mga bisita ang mga
taga Sariaya!”
Marcha Ng Sariaya Esther Dedace -Alcala 1981 Official Town Anthem of Sariaya Being sung during official
occasions
Pabasa Unknown Unknown/Traditional Lenten Season Ritual Sung during the Lenten
season
Tamalis -making Unknown Unknown/Traditionally Local delicacy of ground rice dough Sold along Rizal Street
cooked sautéed in meat stock , seasonings, and elsewhere in town
lard, etc. and topped with shredded
chicken, hard boiled egg pieces,
peanuts, etc. then wrapped in

20. Pinag-ong Unknown Unknown/Traditionally A very popular, so filling turtle shell- Sold in the bakeries and
baked in Sariaya shaped sweet bread with “nipples” when being hawked by
(instead of head and tail) at both vendors, the name of the
ends, usually eaten as a hearty town of its origins,
snack fare Sariaya, is always
mentioned for
guaranteed salability,
thus you always hear
them shout … “Pinag-
ong Sariaya
1. PERSONS
Real Name Birthday/ Year of Birth Historical/ Political/ Cultural/ Status
Social Distiction
Gov. Maximo Rodriguez Sometime in the year 1875 Twice Sariya “Presidente”(Mayor) Deceased
and twice Tayabas (now Quezon)
provincial governor, a member of
the town’s landed gentry, Weding
godfather of Philippine
Commonwealth President Manuel
L. Quezon and wife Mrs. Aurora
Aragon – Quezon, philanthropist,
business person, President of the
National Coconut Corporation
(NACOCO), facilitated the
surrender of “Kapitan Kulas”
known as the “Kilabot ng Sierra
Madre”in the 1930s, founder of a
Soils Laboratory in town
Don Emiliano Gala Sometime in the 19th century The very first Representative of Deceased
the Second District of the old
Tayabas Province along with
Manuel L. Quezon in the First
District to the First Philippine
Congress

21. Doña Margarita Rodriguez Sometime in the early 1870s A member of the landed Deceased
Rodriguez family and a well -
known town philanthropist in the
pre war years who donated tracks
of land for the town monastery
and seminary, donated church
artifacts, sponsored the schooling
of Sariyahin professionals and
priests, popularized the devotion
to the “Niña Maria” a priceless
icon of the child Mary in the old
days
Don Emiliano Gala Sometime in the 19th century The very first Representative of Deceased
the Second District of the old
Tayabas Province along with
Manuel L. Quezon in the First
District to the First Philippine
Congress
Fr. Rufino Cadiz Sometime in the 19th century The very first “Sariayahin” to be Deceased
ordained as a Catholic priest
Don Marcelino de San Andres Sometime in the 19th century A very brave and valiant resident Deceased
in the old days who was
accordingly responsible for the
surrender of great numbers of
bandits or “Tulisanes” and thus
was popularly known as
“Kapitang Daliz”. However, he
refused to surrender to the
Americans, fought against them
and thus was mortally wounded
in the process. His “alias” became
the name of a long east to west
thoroughfare in town … “Calle
Daliz” or Daliz Street.