1. ARCH 197: HERITAGE CONSERVATION SARIAYA, QUEZON

2. MEANINGS AND SYMBOLS POBLACION, SARIAYA, QUEZON

3. Without a doubt, Sariaya is one of the towns in Quezon Province with a rich historical background. It’s grand ancestral houses located in the Spanish Church-Munisipyo-Plaza Complex is evidence of the glorious days of Sariaya. Today, this town is still buzzing with life. Nestled below the foot of Mt. Banahaw, there’s a tranquil beauty that emanates from the quiet sloping streets of the town.

4. Point of Convergence The Church as the Center of Town Proper

5. As a town greatly influenced by Spanish Colonial town planning, the church complex is at the center of seemingly everything. With the mystical Mt. Bahanaw as its background, the church complex is in a prime location. The municipal hall is adjacent to the chuch, the park is right across, and prominent ancestral houses are within the vicinity.

6. Quite a number of roads terminate at the church complex, and with its grid layout views of the church are seen from almost everywhere in the immediate vicinity. Furthermore with its location along the national highway, this area has also served as a drop off point and a point of reference as well. The church complex as it seems serves as a convergence point, where people come together, at least once a week and especially during special Catholic celebrations.

7. Seeing the church often signals that one has arrived in Sariaya. This is evident in the buses and jeepneysunloading passengers near the shed fronting the church.

8. The Church of Sariaya: St. Francis of Assisi

9. As most with most Philippine towns, Sunday in Sariaya is a day for family and for church. The place is filled with people and is alive with activity. There are vendors at the gates of the church. There are people walking around the church plaza and sitting underneath the huge acacia tree. And yet, the place doesn’t seem chaotic.

10. SUNDAY MORING AT THE CHURCH. Like most Philippine Towns, Sundays are often spent with the family at church.

11. In between masses, the outside of the church are filled with people coming and going to church.

12. A BUSY MORNING AT CHURCH. With people coming in out, so were the tricycles, cars and the vendors offering flowers, food and a few toys.

13. Flowers are often staples of church vendors, whether its traditional sampaguita or sinamay flowers. Food and something for the children are quite often found too.

14. Around the church grounds

15. On ordinary days, the church remains open, although with only main gate as access. There are also no more vendors, and the rest of the complex is quite. During the day, several people come in and out of the church. As a town originally christianized by the Franciscan, Catholicism is still very much alive in the town. People come up to the images and touch and wipe their handkerchiefs, with faith that these images will keep them safe and in good health.

16. Inside the church

18. SUNDAY morning is a busy day at the Parish. MONDAY are more quite.

20. Town Center Complex

21. The town center complex is one of the busiest place in the Poblacion. A public space across the church, the town center is composed of Rizal Park and a covered basketball court/assembly hall. The park, aptly called Rizal Park, perhaps due to the monument of Rizal located off center, is a place where people stay and watch the world go by. Covered with trees and equipped with seating areas, an open court, a playground and a small store, the park is alive.

22. Despite the ongoing construction in the park, people still pass time idly, chitchatting by the benches and tables under the trees. Children are by the playground, amusing and entertaining themselves. Volleyball players practice their moves. Although there may be a few people some may be wary of, like the bum sleeping by one of the waiting sheds, the atmosphere of the park is generally safe during the day. Mothers are not afraid to let their children play. Students and teenager hang out.

23. The park is nothing out of the ordinary. Although it is not maintained well, people are still using the park. As there are not many public spaces in the Poblacion, the park perhaps serves as an alternate form of leisure. There is also a smaller gated park called the Magandahan Club, with a gazebo, several seats, and an open area. Both the young and old get to enjoy this part of the park, which is cleaner and better maintained.

24. The park also serves as a pathway. It links the church and the national road to the residences beyond the park. People cross through the park. Its paved wide walkway is walkable and inviting. Its location makes it accessible to people. It is currently not enclosed by any fence or wall, thus people freely come and go, and actually use the park.

30. A few people come in and shoot some hoops, once in a while some students will hang out. During the summer and fiesta season, the court will come alive with basketball games and various programs and activities The covered courts/gymnasium double as a place for sports activities and for other town activities and celebrations. There are bleachers, a basketball net, and a stage on one side.

32. SUMMER SPORTSFEST. The 2008 summer sportsfest of Sariaya was held at the covered court of the Town Center Complex. Image from: http://www.sariaya.info/2ndPics.html

34. Place for Commerce

35. Sariaya still has its share of commercial spaces despite being a relatively small town. Some of these spaces can be seen scattered around the town proper, but most of them are bunched up near the public market. Commercial spaces seen around the town proper are mostly small-scale probably because they cater to a small number of people. These establishments seem to be busiest during weekdays but the market looks quite busy duringSundays.

36. Commercial areas can be found along the highway and along streets leading to the church and the market. These areas are located in such a way that they are easily accessible from the north or south of town. Some of these places are typically found in any town, like bakeshops, carinderias, hardware stores, and the like.

37. Aside from the basic commodities, internet shops and pasalubong stores are also common additions. Sari-sari stores on the other hand, are more commonly seen near homes, away from the busy market. This way, merienda is just within the child’s reach.

38. A typical school day. Students walking along the highway passing by bakeshops and food establishments.

39. Valderas Street: The road leading to the Sariaya Public Market

40. Home-based business establishments along minor roads. Mount Banahaw, as seen even in business permits, seems to be considered as one of the icons of Sariaya.

41. Children playing and buying from one of the sari-sari stores seen scattered around downtown Sariaya. (right) Internet shops and students buying from a street food vendor.

42. A Place Called Home

43. The residential areas of Sariaya, are a mix of the old and the new. Turning around corners is like reading a new page from a book; about what Sariaya was like, and what it has become. Most of the ancestral houses are located within the vicinity close to the church, with one of the grandest, being beside the church. As one moves further away the more modest the houses become.

44. Contemporary houses are also seen near these ancestral houses. They come in in different and bold colors like yellow and mint green attempting to steal the limelight, but never quite successful as the grandeur of older houses still remain unequaled. These houses have become a symbol of Sariaya, its glorious coconut planting industry. Residents interviewed consider these ancestral houses as integral to Sariaya. One way or the other, they have become part of what defines the physical space of the town.

45. Heritage houses such as these can be seen in near proximity to the church. Their grand scales give the people an idea of their prominent status back in the day.

46. These houses, considered by the residents as one of the elements of Sariaya they would not want to be changed, has lived on throughout the years.

47. Modest models of houses can also be seen appearing side-by-side with these grand houses.

48. One of the older, ancestral houses still in use at present.

49. It is uncertain whether some of the existing ancestral houses are still in use today. But from the outside, they seem to be in very good shape. They never fail to add a Filipino flavor to the town.

50. A common practice among houses in Sariaya, names of the owners are posted at the door lintel or at the gate, obviously part of a Sangguniang Kabataan project.

51. Residential area back-of-the-houses have also been used for handling businesses such as coconut trading.

52. Walking through the streets of Sariaya

53. The streets of Sariaya give of a certain charm, particularly those of the residential areas in the Poblacion, may it be streets lined with grand ancestral houses, or those with modest vernacular houses. Walking through the streets, an open door is a common sight. It seems as if people welcome and trust in others good intentions. The neighborhood is generally quiet, clean, and relatively safe.

54. In a grid pattern, the streets run from north to south, and from east to west, with major roads running in both directions. Streets running north to south are gently sloping, climbing up towards the mystical Mt. Banahaw. Without a doubt, almost every street going in the northern direction has good views of the mountain. As one goes down, there are views of the coconut plantations down south.

55. The major thoroughfare, Gen. Luna St. is perhaps one of the busiest streets, for it connects Sariaya to other municipalities in Quezon. Buses, tricycles and commuter jeepneys, trucks, and private vehicle traverse this road that passes through the church and the public market. People get on and off the buses in front of the church and in the market.

56. The Maharlika Highway, also locally known as Gen. Luna St. is the major thoroughfare that connect Sariaya to other towns in Quezon.

57. Traffic through the Marharlika Highway can be heavy. Commuter busses from Manila to Lucena pass by regularly.

58. Most of these houses are along the wider streets fronting the church. Rizal St., perhaps one of the widest, is the address of some of the grandest and most elegant houses that the town is known for. As a thriving coconut-cultivating industry, Sariaya’s golden past is evident in its grand ancestral houses. These houses line the streets near the church and the plaza. The closer the house is to the church, the larger the houses.

59. Rizal Street: View of the mountain, a view of the south, and the wide but poor conditions of the street.

60. As one moves further away from the church complex, the houses become much more modest, the streets become smaller and narrower. Several vernacular, wooden houses continue to be the residence of several locals. These adds to the old town feel of that emanates from the Poblacion.

61. Streets where there are ancestral house

62. Drying laundry are hung in front of most houses, doors and windows are often open, and people are sometimes seen by their homes watching the world pass by. Walking along the streets of Sariaya, especially on a Sunday, there is a sense of an idyllic setting.

63. However there aren’t many trees lining the roads, and despite the relatively wide streets, some are in poor condition. Due to road construction, large trucks have been by passed through the other streets.

64. Make shift food eateries in the streets of Poblacion

65. Under the shadows of the Mountain

66. Nestled between two natural features, Tayabas Bay to the south, and Mt. Banahaw, considered to be an inactive volcano, to the north, Sariaya’s setting unique in its own right. Mt. Banahaw that provides a strong visual orientation for Sariaya. Almost every street running north and south in the Poblacion has a view of the mountain. It has become iconic in some ways, as it is depicted in pictures and images that present the town.

67. The mountain has come to be iconic of Sariaya

68. Sariaya is a town that tells of stories. From its miraculous images and religious devotions, to its thriving coconut industry and grand ancestral houses. Walking through the streets may feel like opening chapters in various parts of its history, for its structures and houses show the different periods that have gone by. To this day the town still breathes life, its modern age living side by side with its past. It is important that the town continue to respect, remember and be true to its past, while looking forward and embracing its future.