Situated in the province of Ilocos Norte, is the century-old Saint Augustine Church and is commonly known as Paoay Church. The Philippine government declared it as a National Cultural Treasure and also proclaimed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What makes the church distinctive are the huge stair-like buttresses (structures that serve as reinforcement for the wall) on the side and at the back of the building primarily constructed to withstand the force of an earthquake and its architecture is also a unique fusion of Gothic, Baroque, and Oriental designs.
The other baroque churches of the Philippines are San Agustin Church in Manila, Santa Maria Church in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur and Miagao Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo.
My friends and I decided to take a peek at this colossal structure coming from our Pagudpud trip. We drop off at the capital of Laoag City and from there, we took a jeep heading to Paoay. It was Sunday and the church is obviously crowded yet you'll feel the sanctity and the stillness, not just inside the church, but its surroundings as well.
Compared to other churches, the three-storey bell tower is similar to the one at Bantay Church in Vigan and the sinking bell tower in Laoag where it is also detached from the main structure and the primary reason is so they won't hit each other when an earthquake occurs.
It has been used as an observational post against the Spaniards back in 1898 and also against the Japanese soldiers during the second World War. They say that the bell tower also served as a status symbol for the locals. During the wedding of a prominent clan, you will hear a repeatedly loud ringing of the bell than during the poor's wedding. The loud ringing of the bell means nothing if it's not accompanied by flash mob dancers, if you'll ask me. Now that will be a hit on YouTube!
The front yard of the church is where they held a 4-day celebration of a 400-year old tradition, the Guling-Guling Festival, where the locals would wear their colorful traditional clothing and dance their way to the church, the streets up to the town plaza. The festivity includes a cultural show, pageant show, competition for the best-decorated house and a dance showdown. They celebrate it before Ash Wednesday as they believe that this is the last day for the locals to enjoy all forms of merriment before observing the Lenten season.
The front yard of the church is where they held a 4-day celebration of a 400-year old tradition, the Guling-Guling Festival, where the locals would wear their colorful traditional clothing and dance their way to the church, the streets up to the town plaza. The festivity includes a cultural show, pageant show, competition for the best-decorated house and a dance showdown. They celebrate it before Ash Wednesday as they believe that this is the last day for the locals to enjoy all forms of merriment before observing the Lenten season.
That time, I remembered that there's something different from what I am looking at than the photos I saw online. Then it hit me! The green picket fence. Personally, I don't like it being there as it doesn't quite mix with the setting and tends to ruin the aesthetics. It's probably their idea of an upgrade, but they shouldn't have done it, though.
Our visit lasts only for a good couple of hours or so. We stayed at the plaza where we choose to escape from the heat with halo-halo and the sumptuous Ilocos empanada. Then we're off to the last destination of our Ilocos tour, Vigan.
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I find this church extremely interesting to explore because as you mentioned, it's an unique fusion of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental designs which I am a big fan of.
ReplyDeleteHi Agnes! Thank you for dropping by. Yup! The structure is dubbed as ''European Baroque'' redesign to withstand the seismic condition of the area. I also fancy Baroque designs for their artistic intricacy. On our visit however, we were too exhausted from the heat that we never got a chance to take more close-up photos, not even the church's interior. We're planning to visit again someday and have a tour as I've heard there are other places and activities aside from this. =)
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