Asean Tour Guide: CHASING CAVITE'S HISTORY AND TASTE

Myself, Bhel Esquierdo Asinas and Vicky Paris, photo by Yohann Moises*

The old adage "two heads are better than one" is never more true than when Bhel Esquierdo Asinas and Ige Ramos get together to plan the third installment of the Cavite heritage and culinary tour for the Advocates for Heritage Preservation family that was held on the 24th of February, 2018. If you think you know Cavite, you have got to be kidding! Tita Bhel is a loyal denizen of the province promoting it amongst friends and family. She is beloved by the AHP family and the local government of Bacoor. She was recently bestowed a Women of Change citation 2018 in relation to the Women's Month celebrations for her untiring effort in advancing Cavite's tourism as a private citizen.

Joem, Ige Ramos and myself with credits to Emy Emy Emerald

Ige Ramos, on the other hand, is from Cavite City. He is an artist, graphic designer, foodie and now... a cookbook author and food historian promoting Cavite's delectable delicacies. Ige often does food tours for heritage groups when he is not busy travelling the globe. As of this writing, he is again somewhere in europe (he left immedaitely after the AHP tour). Ige was in charge of the food tour component on our visit. He even invited his friends - translated - regular food suppliers, so we can experience the tasty snacks and viands Cavite has to offer. Forced to concede an argument over which was the country's culinary capital, Ige tells Poch Jorolan (of Everybody's Cafe, Pampanga): "okay, Pampanga may be (arguably) the culinary capital of the Philippines, but without Cavite - there would be no republic to speak of."

St. PeterChurch

The itinerary for Cavite Part III reads like a round robin tour of Cavite's must see areas. Our registration started at the St. Peter Parish. The original church was established in 1586 and completed in 1591. It was known as the Parish of Cavite el Puerto as it was located near the Philippine Navy base. It was near the bay where devotees of the Nstra. Sra dela Soledad de Porta Vaga would flock to sate their spiritual needs. The church was utterly destroyed in World War II. From its ruins, the church was revived and moved to the current location in Caridad. The re-building was from 1984-1986 under the patronage of Fr. Isagani Avinante. The intimate chapel has an old world ambiance owing perhaps to the coral stone that was recycled from the old church. a concrete baldochino frames the main altar with a painting of Jesus handing St. Peter the keys. A separate bell tower dedicated to Msgr. Bruno Torpigliani sits in the patio of the chapel surrounded by greenery and next to it are the offices and convento.

This was the area where we were treated to a sampling of the best delicacies Cavite has to offer. We tasted:

Baloy's Ensaimada de Cavite - soft spiraled buns sprinkled with sugar and lots of shredded cheese. Ensaimada is a Filipino adaptation of the same baked buns from Spain and Mexico. It was heavenly!

Beruete's Roadside Breads and Burgers - they provided the hot pan de sal. The buns were freshly cooked and still hot when they were served. The were also quite dense as compared to other brands I have tried and they were so good when paired with the quesillo (local cottage cheese wrapped in banana leaves. Perfect!

Big Ben's Imus Longganisa - longganisa is a native adaptation of the european sausages intorduced in the Philippines. No one knows exactly who copied who but other nations have their own versions of these sausages. I simply bought the bottled version of the gourmet longganisa variety and used it by adding more garlic as a pasta sauce. I regretted not buying more bottles of it afterwards.

Holy Crop Rice and Amadeo's Coffee - I didn't try the coffee as I had already downed at least two cups before I even left the house to join the tour. But you know how good the coffee tastes when you can smell the coffee aroma while it was brewing right there on the site. It had a heady aroma that would make your stomach churn while sampling the pan de sal and ensaimada.

Tamales de Familia Robinson - yes, there is a disjoint when you consider their brand name. Apparently, an American staff member of the USS Olympia under the command of Admiral George Dewey, Henry Benjamin Robinson fell in love and married the matriarch of the family. Tamales is a Filipino adaptation of the Mexican tamales. This one however, is wrapped in banana leaves as opposed to corn husks. The tamales is thick and dense made from ground peanuts and glutinous rice and the oil is leaking from the meat and the salted egg that's cooked into the tamales. Unfortunately, they ran out before I could even purchase a piece.

Don Ladislao Diwa National Shrine

Immediately after, we visited the Don Ladislao Diwa National Shrine. Don Ladislao Diwa is fondly remembered as one of the founding fathers of the Kataastaasan, Kagalang-galangan'g Katipunan. The brotherhood (KKK) is responsible for the overthrow of the Spanish colonizers in the Philippines. The National historical Institute declared the don's ancesttral home as a national shrine and in 1996 his remains were transferred to a mausoleum in the corner of his property.

Cavite City Public Market

Our next stop was the Cavite City Public Market. My main tasks at the market were to purchase the Patis Labo (fish sauce from fermented krill) and to experience the Pansit Puso (noodle dish made from shredded Banana pod before it even blooms into fruit. In both attempts I was unsuccessful. I'll try maybe another day...

San Roque Church

We then proceeded to San Roque Church. Located 34 km south of Manila, the Church of San Roque is the appointed shrine of the 17th century image of Nuestra Senora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga. The area was surrounded by water and the location of the church was in a swampy area. Ergo, when the Chinese pirate Limahong was retreating from the pursuit of Spanish ships, they retreated to the northern tip of the area. It was conducive to trade and took on the name of Sangley Point. From the belfry of San Roque, one has an unobstructed view of the coastal area of Manila Bay.

We also paid homage to the Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite who were tagged wrongfully as rebels by the Spanish authorities. These thirteen individuals were executed by musketry after being charged for aiding and abetting the Katipunan in overthrowing Spanish rule in the Philippines.

Ermita de Porta Vaga at Samonte Park

The next stop was in Samonte Park where we visited the original site of the Ermita of Porta Vaga. The park was established during the American Occupation of the Philippines. Around the park can be seen fully developed Baobab trees donated by an African ambassador that was formerly stationed in the Philippines. Two blocks away from the park is what is left of Santa Monica Church. Established by the Augustinian Recollects in the early 17th century, sadly only the belfry remains.

Tita A with AHP family

The sun was beating really hot at this point and we were getting famished so we had lunch at the Cantina de Tita A where we experienced the Cavite pairings of Terno-Terno, Tono-Tono. One viand is paired off with another that is seemingly totally unrelated in taste profile and yet they complement each other. For lunch we had Chicken-Pork Adobo, paired off with Kinilaw na Papaya, Kare-Kare paired with Bagoong Alamang. We had Chinchao to quench our thirst from the noon day sun and Haleya'ng Ube with Bibingkoy sauce as postre. For sale were Pansit Pusit and Palabok in take away containers.

Fuerza San Felipe

A few minutes drive away, we stopped at Fuerza San Felipe. Built in 1609, the fort was built for the protection of the larger Cavite City area against pirates and invaders. Only a portion of the fort remains to this day. From what remains, one can surmise that the fort was massive; what with 30 foot high walls and wide stairways made of granite blocks. at the top of the fort is a mini museum of naval artifacts that reinforce the city's position as a naval area. one has a view of Canacao Bay and Sangley point from the ramparts of the restored fort. This being a special visit, the AHP family were given special permission to visit the fort and meander around the grounds of the fort. Sadly, the museum and the fort are not open to the public.

Lt. Col. Alfred Apungol with Faviola Torres Hidalgo

Sangley Point was our final stop and it was the highlight of the tour for the elligible ladies and LGBTQ members of AHP. The group was welcomed by uniformed officers of Sangley Point. Situated on the northern point of the isthmus of Cavite, Sangley Point served as a US Naval Communications and Hospital facility during the American period, It was used during the Vietnam War for US Naval Patrol squadrons deployed by the US Navy of six month rotations. It was eventually turned over to the Philippine government in 1971. It is now operated by the Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Navy. Our visit started off with an audio visual presentation on the role of the Air Force and welcome address by the Officers present on that day. Then we were given access to the Open Air Museum that featured air borne vehicles used by the Air Force and some photo ops with the airmen. Some of them are actual heroes who eliminated the threat of the Marawi Siege. They were the stars of the day and just everyone was clamoring to have photos taken with them for posterity.

Julian Felipe Monument

Lastly, before we all went home, We made a stop at the monument of Julian Felipe, patriot and composer no less of our national anthem, Marcha Nacional Filipina; a.k.a. Lupang Hinirang. Eventually, he joined the revolution against Spain. He was captured and jailed at Fort San Felipe and once released, he again joined the troops of General Emilio Aguinaldo, To pay respect to him we all assembled at the foot of his monument despite the traffic, faced the flag and sang our anthem... That made our Cavite Part III even more memorable.