Museo De La Salle tour in Dasmariñas, Cavite

Museo De La Salle , De La Salle University campus , Dasmariñas, Cavite- Philippines

De La Salle- Dasmariñas City -is a member institution of  De La Salle located   Cavite. It was established on July 18, 1977 as a private nonsectarian tertiary school named General Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite and managed by the Yaman Lahi Foundation. In 1987, ownership and management were transferred to Frère (St.) Benilde Romancon   Educational Foundation Inc., a sister corporation of De La Salle University ( Manila ) . It became a Catholic institution under the name De La Salle University-Emilio Aguinaldo College. In 1992, the name DLSU-EAC was changed to De La Salle University-Aguinaldo. In 1997 the institution was renamed again as De La Salle University-Dasmariñas to avoid confusion with the nearby  Emilio Aguinaldo -College .

De La Salle University-Dasmariñas campus map

De La Salle University-Dasmariñas campus has been conferred the DARK GREEN STATUS by the Dark Green Schools (DGS) Program of the Environmental Education Network of the Philippines, Inc. (EENP). The conferment is an affirmation of the University’s “effective integration of environmental concerns in its academic programs and its continuing efforts to improve the environmental situation within its community”. This is the highest status a member institution of DGS can receive. DLSU-D is one of three schools given this status in the entire Philippines.

Museo De La Salle

History :

Museo De LaSalle was constructed through the help of concerned community who helped Brother Andrew Gonzalez ( former DECS secretary )  to conceptualized the whole museum in October 1996. It was through his initiative which was then supported by the local government illustrating the 19th century Ilustrado lifestyle being shown in the museum collection. Museo de La Salle is in Dasmariñas City, a city that is rich  which was influenced by the rich Mexican , Spanish and Oriental  architecture.
Hotel Rafael
This is the onsite hotel for DLSU-D and it serves as a practical laboratory for the Hotel-Restaurant Management students.
Cavite province is considered by many historian as the torch of the light symbolizing nationalism, history  , heritage and culture that is why De La Salle University upholds this recognition and opens the door for anyone who wants to experience history through the lifestyle museum.
replica of intramuros walls and signage
Campus
The entire campus looks like a replica of old Intramuros in Manila or somewhere in old Kawit , Cavite . The campus is a sprawling 27-hectare property  in Dasmariñas, Cavite, the university is located about 30 kilometers south of Manila via the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road and the Emilio Aguinaldo Highway.
main plaza with a fountain
Cultural Heritage Complex

Its Spanish colonial era-inspired motif, the four structures within De La Salle University  compound  was officially named as the Cultural Heritage Complex.

This was my second time to visit the museum complex, the first one was in late 2000 when the museum is still new and had a smaller collection.

replica of the Ayuntamiento building is now being constructed within the complex

Ayuntamiento building

The building is currently being constructed at the complex. This Ayuntamineto building replica is expected to be finished anytime within this year or early next year.

Museum

The museum is a mix collection of furniture , family portraits, memorabilia, books , religious items, stuffed animals, period costumes,  , Museo De La Salle is primarily for the collection of 18th to early 20th century art pieces, furniture among others . Some of the collections are donated to the museum , while some collections are on loan from the owners .

dining room with punkah or hand held ceiling fans

Punkah is a handheld fan , which originated from South Asian region . The name was derived from Hindustani .  The invention of the handheld fans may be traced as far back during the Egyptian or ancient India around 5oo B.C.

In the colonial age, the word came to be use by Anglo-Indians  in British India   for a large swinging fan, fixed to the ceiling,  pulled by  servants .The purpose the usage is quite varied to provide air circulation during the hot weather or when during dining to drives away insects such as flies  . For generations the punkah was a symbol of wealth and luxury .

The use of punkah increased during the late 17th to early 20th century in the Philippines when electricity is not yet available.  It is also quite fashionable to have these types of ceiling fans for rich families  when they hold large banquets  during town’s festivities, anniversaries and get-together . I have seen some punkah variation in my visit to some old houses in San Miguel  , Casa de Manila in Intramuros , Binondo , Quiapo in Manila  , Bulacan and Pampanga provinces.

collection of native hats from the 18th , 19th century with silver ornamentation

The museum had a collection of  rich collection of antiques depicting how people lived during the Spanish occupation. It showcases the “Bahay na Bato” or  Antillian Houses – the house was pattern after the old Spanish colonial style houses in the Antilles region of the Caribbean islands like Puerto Rico , Cuba, Hispaniola ( former colonies of Spain )  .

carrosa with lavish lightning ornamentation and pedestal  made out of beaten silver coins donated by rich families  to the town’s churches

Pieces of clothing from the different Filipino made fabrics and accessories or jewelries, shoes and other garments both from the donation of individuals.

kitchen area

Paintings are everywhere that Filipinos are known for our artistry. Primarily, the museo opened to educate students and people who are eager to learn the history of the Philippines.

bedroom with period costume pieces

The collection are progressing throughout the years as many are encouraged to donate art pieces, historical objects that will contribute to the museo. I think the pieces can be properly maintained and preserved at the museum. Some of the collections and fixtures were rescued by the families from the devastation of lahar which inundate parts of Pampanga during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and succeeding mud flows that followed there after .

collection of various saints made from local woods

Architectural details in the interior designs and furniture where kept in close attention . The designs were inspired from Constantino House in Balagtas, Armedo-Gonzales House in Sullipan, Apalit Pampanga and Santos Joven-Panlilio house in Bacoor , Pampanga.

wooden devise used to flatten the clothes

There was an extensive research done to the details of tiles, color, texture and organization as if it had live undisturbed throughout time.

jewelries

The areas in the Bahay na Bato are Zaguan which is the ground floor usually the pace as the modern time called garage. The calesa is a horse carriage where it can enter in the ground floor.

group picture taken at the museo lobby ( Mr. Martin Lopez -Director, President’s Committe on Culture & Alumni Affairs Office · Manila, Philippines, FEU swordsman fraternity members with the author )

Antonio and Victoria Cojuangco Memorial Chapel of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

The church was modeled after the parish church in Maragondon , Cavite . The chapel ‘s construction was finance by the Cojuangco family .

Saint John Baptist de La Salle , church interior with pulpit  and  retablo

Aklatang Emilio Aguinaldo

It houses collections of books, periodicals, theses, and other reference materials. It was modeled from Aguinaldo’s residential house at Kawit , Cavite. The first building was a scaled-down model, and featured only the facade. Recent developments gave way for the new building, which exactly modeled from the Aguinaldo shrine, with the tower.

Aklatang Emilio Aguinaldo (AEA) – DLSU-D’s library.

Museum Guidelines ( from Museum’s brochure and tour guides)
– No bags, cameras, cigarettes and lighters are allowed in the exhibition area except the following: hand-carried wallets/purses, passports and cellular phones (in mute or vibrate mode). No picture taking on the second floor
– No eating, drinking and smoking inside the museum.
– No touching and handling of exhibition objects.
– No wandering beyond the official tour route.

Note : We would like to ” Thank” all the DLSU museum tour guides, FEU alumni affairs office thru Mr. Martin Lopez  and Mr. Allan Rodriguez- Flores (  FEU Alumni- Cavite Chapter President ) for the tour arrangement  inside the campus and for their gracious accommodation to the group. All pictures were taken by the author , to those who wish to use the pictures for any purpose,  Please cite this link.

Museo De La Salle
(046)416-4531/416-4533 loc.(3151)│www.dasma.dlsu.edu.ph/offices/museo
Operation : Tuesday to Saturday
Time : 9:00 am to 12:00nn and  1:00pm to 3:30pm
Entrance fee: Adults and Professionals Php 100.00
Students Php 40.00 , Foreigners : $ 3.00

References and links:

Official Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/dlsudasma

DLSU :http://www.dlsud.edu.ph/

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