Calle Crisologo Vigan City and the The love story that saved a town.

As you’ve noticed, I am staggering my post by place; pardon me for doing so.There are a lot of wonderful stories and memories I got from travelling that I can’t forgive myself of not sharing them specially that I am aware that soon these stories might be forgotten or fade in time. Standing alone in one of the corner of a UNESCO World Heritage Sites is more than enough, but I can’t settle on that. I need to take photos, I need to hear stories, and of course I need to share or rather keep and write those I have captured and heard. Today I am posting about one of the most romantic place in the Philippines, - Vigan City’s Calle Crisologo and the Heritage Village.

The historic City of Vigan is always hailed to be the most preserved Spanish Colonial town having Calle Crisologo as its most famous site. Calle Crisologo is a half kilometer street of old Spanish structures – mostly are houses of prominent Filipino-Chinese traders. The main mode of transportation in Calle Crisologo are tricycles and carriage (a tourist choice). Around the street corner are found some café, pension houses, restaurants, souvenir and antique stores. Walking along by day and shopping made me felt genuinely somewhere in the Hispanic heydays.

 

The night view is stunning and indeed the intricate craftsmanship of old times is preserved and is still perfectly embedded in each corner of the street. Most of the buildings still serves its long time purpose of housing while others where converted into a Museum like Syquia Mansion. It always comes to my thought how this place survived the war while places around were all crushed and smashed into pieces. Have you ever wondered why?

True or not I still love the story and it arrives to me like it was a real fairytale. Now here is the summary of the tale told by one the tour guide inside Syquia Mansion.

 

The love story that saved a town in WWII.

“Before world war II, Japanese reaches the Philippines and some settled in Vigan. One of them is Japanese General Maj. Sakae Narioka who fell in love with a local woman named Belen Castillo. The Japanese General won the heart of Belen and they got married and had a child named Emiko Narioka. Couple of years then after signing the treaty of Paris which transfers the fate of the Philippines from Spanish to Americans the battle set in the Northern Part of the Philippines.

While the battle is fast approaching north and further, the Japanese General had sensed news that the Americans are soon to arrive in Vigan. To spare his wife and child, he commanded the Japanese settlers and soldiers to depart going to north. He left his wife and son in one of the church in Vigan under the care of a Dominican priest. All signs of Japanese inhabitant were burnt in Vigan right after the General and his troops left the place. American flags were hung on each and every window of the houses signing the Americans that this place has fully turned to their side. By this, Vigan was spared from bombing.

American troops kept going north and soon attacked Laoag City. Nothing was told about what happen to the brave general (now an image of loving father and husband) and his troops who they believe headed to Laoag too.

The ambiance is romantic and the story as well, could there be any place sweeter than this? Anyhow, I only told the story based on how I remembered it. If you have a better version or if you happen to take down notes of some details, please let me know. I would love to hear those =).