8 Fun Facts of Museo Desteleria Limtuaco in Intramuros

8 Fun Facts of Museo Desteleria Limtuaco

1.) Oldest Liquor Distillery in the country –Destileria Limtuaco takes pride of having established in 1852 or 167 years ago.

Lim Tua Co set up a distillery at 135 Gov. Gandara street ( now called Sabino Padilla street) Binondo district, Chinatown, Manila.

Sioktong -one of the well-known liquor

2.) Destileria Limtuaco is known different kind of liquor among the famous ones are White Castle whisky, Napoleon VSOP brandy, Sioktong ( originally spelled : SIOHOCTONG) herbal wine now under two different brands-Vino de Chino and Vino Kung Fu. Other brands includes Palawan Rum, Manille Liqueur de Calamansi, Imeldific and Intramuros. Over 30 known brands of liquor are tucked under this company.

photo courtesy of : Mr. Allan Pardilla Martinez

3. ) Bahay na Bato – The family purchase an ancestral house in 1979 with the intent of opening it to the general public. It was realize when the museum open its doors to the general public on February 9, 2018.

family memorabilia, office equipment, awards and magazine feature

The museum houses family memorabilia, wine bottles, office equipment, oak barrels and distillery equipment.

Disteleria Limtuaco Museum facade ( Photo courtesy : Mr. Allan Pardilla Martinez)

The architecture is a combination of hybrid styles of Bahay na Bato, Californian mission style and post- war architecture with adobe stones walls, Chinese granite pavement, tiled roofs, high ceiling, iron grills and large windows which allows maximum amount of light inside the premises. It also have a small patio with several potted plants.

Philippine blended liquor

4.) Internationally Awarded – The company garnered several international awards and accolades. The company was accredited by TUV as an ISO certified production plant.

5.) 5 Generations of Masters Blenders – The company takes pride of having 5 generation of master blenders. The company is under the leadership of Mrs. Olivia Limpe-Aw.

red bikinis, swiss knife, caps and mugs are among the collectible item on display

6.) White Castle and Company logo – the logo of the famous brand was a product of a dream and the company logo was also designed by Mr. Julius Limpe. While sleeping, he dreamt of a woman in a red bikini, riding a white horse with a white castle in the background, and the rest was history.

Ms. Evangeline Pascual- Miss World 1973 first runner-up

7. ) White Castle Beauties –  Ms. Evangeline Pascual ( Miss World 1973 first runner-up) Ms. Cristina Gonzales, Ms. Glydel Mercado, Ms. Carmi Martin, Ms. Lorna Tolentino, Ms. Angela Velez, Ms.Roxanne Guinoo, Ms. RR Enriquez and Ms. Meg Imperial among others. They were featured in the company’s annual calendar and  television commercials.

8.) Products– One can buy different kinds of products and merchandise when one visits the museum. A lot of their ingredients are locally sourced and proudly Philippine made. These are also exported in several countries.

author together with photo bloggers and participants

Note: A visit to Intramuros is incomplete without a visit to this museum.

group photo at the company logo ( Photo credit: Mr. Allan Pardilla Martinez)

Note: “Special Thanks” to Ms. Mary Ann G. Roque, Ms. Gene Policarpio and Ms. MJ for the accommodation extended to the group )

Entrance Fees: Students and Senior Citizens with valid Id’s – Php 50.00 ( must be at least 18 years-old to avail of liquor tasting)

Php 100.00 general public

Php 100.00 for liquor tasting ( 5 to 6 shots)

Museo Destelleria Limtuaco

Operational Hours: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Tuesdays to Sundays

Address :482 San Juan de Letran Street, Intramuros, Manila, Metro Manila, Manila, Philippines

Office and Plant Address: Destileria Limtuaco Bldg., 1830 E. Delos Santos Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines 1106

6 Important Galleries at Museo de Intramuros

Museo de Intramuros had been officially open to the public last April 29, 2019 with Department of Tourism secretary Ms. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, former Department of Tourism secretary Gemma Cruz – Araneta, Miss Universe 1973 Maria Margarita Moran among others in attendance.

facade

The museum is managed by the Intramuros Administration (IA), which is an attached agency of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Museo de Intramuros is located in two important reconstructions inside the walled city. the San Ignacio Church and Convent and the Mission House of the Society of Jesus.

The in-house exhibition were curated by Ms. Esperanza Gatbonton, Mr. Gino Gonzales, Ms. Cecilia dela Paz, Ms. Santiago Pilar and Mr. Martin Tinio.

Immaculate Conception statues which dates from late 17th to 19th century

processional carriage

6 Galleries or Exhibition Area

Museo de Intramuros have six sections or galleries : the Immaculate Conception, the Religious Order, the Patronato Real and establishments of Parishes, Religious Colonial Paintings, the establishment of parish and sacred vessels, and The Indio Response. Throughout these sections, you will be able to find different kinds of artwork, including paintings, sculptures, and antique items from hundreds of years ago.

The religious order room

guidelines

The public is also advise not to sit and touch the statues within the exhibit area. Observe silence and proper guidelines.

Patronato Real and Establishment of Parishes

religious paintings

urna

urna with 4 saint painted on sides

urna

This statue is one of the crown jewels of the Intramuros administration. The statue is taken out during the annual marian procession.

The museum has over 7,500 pieces which were accumulated for 40 years from different parts of the country.

different kinds of silver works and ecclesiastic arts

The Museo de Intramuros is located in the reconstructions of San Ignacio Church and the Mission House of the Society of Jesus in Intramuros.

gallery an timeline of intramuros

Manila Cathedral

Las Casas de Dios

It officially opened last week and the entrance is currently free (and will be free for the first six months).

Address:  Arzobispo street corner Anda Street, Intramuros, Manila, 1002

Operation: Tuesday to Sunday

Operational Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm

Special Thanks- Mr. Dino Santos ( curator) and Ms. Sandra Martinez ( Intramuros Administration for the accommodation.

 

A Memorable Encounter with Mr. Ben Cab at Ben Cab Museum

Km. 6 Asin Road, Tadiangan, Tuba, Benguet province 

The BenCab Museum is a project of the BenCab Art Foundation, a non-stock organization that supports activities related to the arts and environment. There are 12 founders of the organization and Azalea Residences together with group of media , bloggers and Instagram users visited the museum.

Ben Cab Museum facade

The museum and the restaurant is getting a lot of positive reviews from both local and international travelers . There is also an Eco- Trail , where one can visit the forested area for 2 to 3 hours trek to at least half day trek.  There is an additional fee for the tour guiding, briefing and trek .

an ifugao hut , native hut and forested area 

The forested area were planted with pines and other native trees  by Mr. Ben Cab and his artists friend . Although there is a portion of the property where non-native trees species ( like mahogany  and african tulip trees ) and exotic ornamental plants like bromeliads are incorporated in the landscape .

back portion of the museum 

trip advisor and visitor’s guide

Among the well-known personalities who form part of foundation included Mr. Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera – Founder , Mr. Rico Hizon ( television and international anchor ) , Mr.Bobby P. Gopiao ( bonsai and antique furniture collector ) , Professor Ambeth Ocampo ( historian, professor , author and columnist) among others.

group photo

It was in early 2008 when we have heard from local people around Tam-Awan Village that Mr. Ben Cab is constructing a museum / workshop / gallery within Benguet and Baguio area.

 steel sculpture 

Unfortunately , We were not able to visit the museum/ gallery in our last visit in 2011 , as we went to different places like  BSU and farms around Benguet , missing the opportunity to visit the famed place.

32 variation of Sabel glaze on Mariwasa tiles 2008 – Edison T. Co Seteng Patio 

nude painting

National Artist Ben Cabrera’s art collection in a four-level building. This is also where BenCab lives and where his actual workshop is located. Exhibits of exciting contemporary artists in Manila  and Benguet can be found here, too.

group photo

We are fortunate to have spotted Mr. Ben Cab while queuing at the main lobby of his museum / workshop area.

museum shop 

There are different galleries , each are thematic which focuses on a particular theme , sketches, drawing , paintings, sculptures ,  contemporary art works , artifacts , furniture . There is also a museum shop , where interesting art works , view cards and postcards by Mr. Ben Cabrera are being sold.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Tuesdays to Sundays 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
(last entry at 5:30 pm). Closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Admission to the Museum:

General admission – Php120
Students with valid school ID – Php100
Seniors/ PWD with valid IDs – Php80
Special rates for student & organized groups with minimum of 30 guests
EcoTrail tour – same as above

Website: http://www.bencabmuseum.org/

A Visit to San Juan de Dios Church and Parochial Museum

San Juan de Dios Church and Parochial Museum, Barangay Poblacion ,  San Rafael – Bulacan province

San Rafael Poblacion Church is also known as San Juan De Dios Parish

The town of San Rafael had its humble beginning as part of the Hacienda de Buenavista ( now part of San Ildefonso )  under the San Juan de Dios brothers. Though belonging to that religious group, the place was however administered by the Augustinian friars who established the mission in 1750.

curve facade

The church architecture is a classic example of Partido Baroque architecture in the Philippines. The style, popular from the early to mid-19th century, boasts of a curved facade as opposed to the flat ones typically found in other Baroque churches in the country.

historical marker

interior of the church

church altar

The church facade and interiors were painted in pastel colors,  looks bright and pleasing to the eyes, but it had a grim and sad story to tell behind those pastel colored walls and facade . The church and the nearby parochial college tells a different story .

Colegio de San Juan de Dios with century- old acacia trees

We also took some photos of Colegio de San Juan de Dios ( the college used to be known as Saint Paul’s School) .The school premises had several large acacia trees with dischidias or manaog ka irog which cling to their massive trunks.   When some of us took the first glanced at the structure, we felt some eerie  feelings and felt that someone is looking at us . According to one of the locals , parts of the present school used to be part of the public cemetery .

 artist depiction  of battle of San Rafael inside the church 

Local historian and town folks  said that bodies of those people which numbered from 800 to more than 1,000 people were killed on November 30, 1896 . There was a town fiesta and people were at the church premises when the massacre took place, they are mostly innocent civilians , children and people who came for the fiesta .

church bell cast from Hilario Sunico foundry in Binondo

San Juan de Dios Parish Museum / San Rafael Parochial Museum or Museo San Rafael

The Museo San Rafael was officially opened on September 29, 2006 during the feast of San Rafael, coinciding with the 256th founding anniversary of the town. Besides the main hall of the convent, three rooms now house different exhibits.

 saint images and ecclesiastical items used by the church 

We took some time exploring the church and also the parish museum.  Mr. Chael Santos had negotiated prior hand  with the parish priest , Our tour group was allowed entry at the parish museum .

church vestments

There is also a place where the parish museum had an interesting display of church vestments .

period costumes on display

There were some period costumes on display reflecting a gentle era of the town

old retablo

sala set made from wood

The public can visit the parish museum during office hours but the staffs and parish priest must be inform several days prior to the visit. One must also be very careful in their steps,  since parts of the wood flooring is weak and were eaten by termites .

Our group was allowed to enter another exhibit are which they call museo ng bayan exhibit , only 3 to 4 people were allowed to enter since the floor is not that stable .

Story of Crispin , Basilio and Noli Me Tangere :

People from the town believes that Dr. Jose P. Rizal  was inspired to create the characters Sisa, Basilio and Crispin (in his novel Noli Me Tangere)  published in Berlin in 1887. Noli Me Tangere and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, exposed abuses of the Spanish friars and earned for Rizal the ire of the Spanish authorities.  The novel was said to have been adapted to the real-life story in San Rafael during the late 19th century . Recalling the story from Rizal’s novel, the two brothers were serving as bell ringers in the church to help their mother ( Sisa)  by earning money.

life-sized mannequin  of Dr. Jose P. Rizal and painting of crispin , basilio and sacristan mayor

The Rizal mannequin sits behind a desk, writing. He faces the well where Crispin’s body was supposedly dumped.

On one occasion, the sacristan mayor accused Crispin of stealing an amount of money. Crispin was punished by the sacristan mayor and was believed to have died inside the church premises. On the day the loss was discovered ( 2 gold coins ) , He was not permitted to leave the convent, while his elder brother was allowed to leave only after 10 p.m., which was past the 9 p.m. curfew.

painting showed the physical abuse of Crispin and Basilio

As proof of the local legend, locals point to a blood-stained wall off the side of the convent in a small room where supposedly the young “Crispin” was tortured to death today their soul are present in convent.

hand stained portion of the wall believed to be that of Crispin

The head sacristan dragged Crispin down the stairs from the bell tower and into the shadows. That was the last time Basilio saw his younger brother.

church belfry

Some stories would tell of the revolutionary period where hundreds and even thousand of people perished.  the hand marks used to be in darker and more reddish in color several years ago , before this portion of the church was renovated in the late 1990’s .

This is the area where locals believed that Crispin was push to his death and Basilio escaped .

well

Fray Antonio Piernavieja was the friar that Dr. Jose Rizal took his character inspiration for Padre Salvi . It was widely believed that he was the said priest in the novel. He was transferred to Cavite in the middle part of 1896 when the revolution broke out . He was taken as a prisoner and made as a bishop by the Filipino insurgents  .

group photo

Fray Antonio Piernavieja took the advantage of his new position and gave vital information and tactical plans of the insurgents to the Spanish authorities that were based in Manila. Upon the discovery of the plan , the insurgents tied the friar in an open field and left him to die from hunger and thirst.

group photo

People would also claim the cemetery mentioned in Rizal’s novel is the Pasong Instik area.

We got to have a group photo before we bid farewell to the local priest and gave our donation to the museum .  Some of us had still some questions in our mind , if the stories are true , was it based on a true story or urban legend that refuses to die .

 References and Bibliographies :

Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo books

San Rafael Website: http://www.sanrafael.gov.ph

Official Website of the Municipal Government of San Rafael. “San Rafael Festivals”. sanrafael.gov.ph. Retrieved May 24, 2014.

Official Website of the Provincial Government of Bulacan. http://bulacan.gov.ph/sanrafael/history.php

Philippine Star : http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2014/05/15/1323160/haunting-san-rafael-church

Zamora, F. “Sisa, Crispin and Basilio lived here, say Bulacan townsfolk”. inquirer.net. Retrieved May 24, 2014.

Lakad Pamana of Bustos , Bulacan

Bustos, Bulacan province-Philippines

I woke -up early around 3:30am took a bus ride to Baliwag bus station along EDSA . The bus that i rode did not stop at the Kamuning or Cubao area ( later the bus conductor told me that they will take the ilalim route -under the bridge route ) . The bus driver took us off at the Main street which is about 500 meters away from the station . So i took another bus north bound going to Cubao ( Baliwag bus station) . The bus ride was indeed a hell raising experience . The travel was less than 25 minutes south bound from Fairview/ Novaliches area.

. I met Mr. Philip Reyes ( blogger friend ) at the Baliwag Bus station  , He was there around past 4:30am and told me that the first bus left (The bus had a Baliwag town signage) .

I arrived past 4:50am and we waited until past 5:20 am for the next bus going to the town of Cabanatuan . ( with Plaridel town signage) . There were a lot of people waiting to ride the bus and We are quite fortunate to get a seat .  It took less than 10 minutes before the bus was filled-up and some commuters were even standing . The travel from Cubao to Plaridel is quite fast . We manage to arrive around 6:30am at the meet-up / pick -up area at the Waltermart -Plaridel .The usual travel time from Cubao to Plaridel is around 1 and 1/2 hours.

entrance arch

We were fetch by 2 vans on our way to the town of Bustos around past 7:00am . The group passed by the town of Baliuag then Bustos ( around 14.5 kilometers)  . It took us about 20minutes to reach the municipal hall grounds.

name tags

We were greeted by the municipal tourism guide and staffs, pre-registerd participants got their name plates with proper identification .

huge minasa cookie at the Bustos municipal park

LAS MINASAS GIGANTES represent the iconic and historical confection of Bustos,Bulacan,the MINASA,cookie conceived during the Spanish era at the time when the privileged families of the town built houses made of adobe using egg whites to glue the bricks together.

letras y figuras

Letra y Figuras a stone carving of the municipal’s name, “BUSTOS” in all caps, inspired by the intricate design of the Mercado Stone House , art of letter writing with floral with caricature designs and the people of Bustos’ most favorite finger food, Minasa. It was installed on April 7, 2014.

akalatan bayan ( town’s library )

There is a quaint town’s library that used to share an office with the municipal tourism office.  It had a unique  green roof.

Ambu – The town official mascot

Ambu is an acronym for Asenso Mamayan ng Bustos . This was conceived about 6 years ago and symbolizes by the hardworking , progressive and friendly nature of the town’s people. While Green is the adoptive color which means progressive an environmental consciousness efforts of the government .

 There is also a mini-zoo within the plaza, with reticulated python  , albino python and eagles .

commercial stalls

Within the municipal ground there is also an agro-commercial trade fair , where more than 100 stalls offering different kind of products from Bustos and nearby provinces .

Princess of nutrition 1989

This statue was installed to commemorate an event in 1989 where 14 students from 14 Bustos  barangays . They were able to realized to build Paraiso ng mga Bata during the incumbency of Mayor Pablito V. Mendoza and the sangguniang bayan led by Barangay Captain Martin Perez. The project was successfully initiated by Dra. Rosalinda F. Mendoza.

Conrado Mercado

Mr.Conrado C. Mercado Jr. –  hails from Bustos, Bulacan, Philippines. He was born on (October 20, 1945 – February 27, 2010) to parents Conrado, Sr., a civil engineer and to Conception nee Camacho, a former school teacher.

The youngest of three sons, Conrado is the only one who showed a penchant for the art. His entry into this field is by ni means an accident. He holds A Fine Arts degree from the University of Santo Tomas, Manila which has produced a long line of fine artists.

 cocoon -year 2001

He is the founding president of Figure Artists and chiefly instrumental in reviving the then-dormant Society of Philippine Sculptors in which he served as president from 1993 to 1998.

valley of the dolls- welded bronze 1993

close-up view of the art work

giraffes

Website: http://conradomercado.com/

There is also a battle memorial plaza ( Bulacan Military Area )  which commemorates the 1945 battle with the Japanese forces.

There is also an electronic time clock  timer which had a countdown time in time for the 100th anniversary of the founding of Bustos.

post office branch

There is also a small post office with some old P.O. boxes and letter box near the municipal town hall. Since it was sunday , The post office is close.

native orchids like Dendrobium anosmum ( sanggumay ) Dendrobium aphyllum ( lesser or fairy sanggumay ) and native ferns

Our group got a short private tour within the house of the mother of the current town’s mayor which is located near the town hall.

cacti collection

large tarpaulin poster within the municipal grounds

There are several large tarpaulin poster within the town’s main plaza advertising the calendar of events and activities .

Here is the official video uploaded by the Bustos Municipal government

We took a quick walk around the municipal town hall , post office, Zeny’s Minasa, Pan de Bustos and we were welcomed by the mother of the current town’s mayor .

Mayor Arnel F. Mendoza 

Mayor Arnel Mendoza and Ms. Aprille Keith Lazaro ( member of sanggunian bayan  and chairperson of the tourism council ) gave a short welcome speech and gave a short history of the town and various projects.

Bustos tourism office and museum

We were also one of the first group of people who witness the formal opening of the newly constructed Bustos Tourism and Museum .

group photo

Please Visit :

Lakad Pamana of Bustos, Bulacan  Part 2 : https://renz15.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/lakad-pamana-of-bustos-bulacan-part-2/

Website: http://bulacan.gov.ph/bustos/index.php

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bustos.gov