[Laguna Loop Trip 8] Paete Walking Trip

If there’s something well-known about Paete, Laguna, it is all about wood carvings. These two men carving out a name plate in front of their shop.

And in the heart of Paete, wood carved items shops are just around the place.

The heart of Paete. Turn left to Sta. Cruz, and turn right to the Paete church.

One thing also noticeable about Paete (and maybe throughout Laguna) is their use of Filipino. Just look at this one way sign.

Direct trips to Paete are also available from Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Unknown to many, Paete also produces lanzones, which is evident in the design of the lamp posts within the town.

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[Laguna Loop Trip 7] Paete Church

This is the second time I visited Paete Church. The first time was during the Holy Week of 2010. This is the most prominent landmark of Paete, Laguna.

To tell you the truth, there is little I know about Paete Church, except that during the Holy Week, you can see almost all well known saints, different images of Mary, and Jesus Christ, all of them carved by the locals. Also, during Good Friday, the Sepulcher of Christ is being brought back to the church. This event attracts local and foreign tourists alike.

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How to get to Paete Church from Manila?

Ride a bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. You can choose from bus terminals in Araneta Center Cubao, Alabang, or Buendia near the LRT station (I would personally recommend DLTBCo. Its terminal is located in the former Nirvana bar near the LRT Buendia station). From Sta. Cruz, ride a jeepney to Siniloan, Laguna, and tell your driver to drop you off at Paete.

[Laguna Loop Trip 5] Pakil, Laguna

Pakil, Laguna is a fifth-class municipality in Laguna. Its name, Pakil, was derived from a certain Gat Paquil, who ruled the place before the Spaniards came to the Philippines during the 1500s. And as you can see, this is a typical town planning during the Spanish era. During those days, the church and the seat of power (or the municipio) is located near each other, most of the time facing the town plaza. The town plaza today also includes their basketball court, but the set-up is still the same.

Unknown to many, Pakil is the hometown of some of the Philippines’ finest musicians. Most prominent of them are Prof. Marcelo Adonai (the man on the statue) and pop singer Janet Basco. Marcelo Adonai came from a family of musicians, and Pakil is their hometown.

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Pakil Church

The Pakil Church (Parish of St. Peter of Alcantara) is known for the Our Lady of Turumba. The church is also the Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora delos Dolores de Turumba. According to Bro. Irineo “Erning” Galleros, who served this church for a very long time, the Turumba is known to heal the sick and grant wishes to believers, that is if you truly believe in God and in Mary. Because of this, they were invited to the different parts of the Philippines to share the blessing from the Lady of Turumba.

The festivities for the Turumba is almost year round. The patrons dance in honor of the Turumba, and also to grant their wishes. Bro. Erning described this in Filipino as “nawawala sa sarili”, but I presume that the participants are only dancing for joy, no crazy antics, no untoward incidents whatsoever.

I have learned a lot more from Bro. Erning aside from information about the church. For example, do you know that Lucban is another name for the fruit Suha?

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How to get to Pakil from Manila?

via Sta. Cruz, Laguna:
Ride a bus going to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. There are regular trips from Cubao, Alabang and LRT Buendia (I personally recommend DLTBCo, which has daily trips from LRT Buendia). When you reached Sta. Cruz, ride a jeepney going to Siniloan, Laguna. Tell the driver to drop you off at Pakil.

via Siniloan, Laguna:
Ride a bus going to Infanta, Quezon. There are Raymond Transportation buses from Araneta Center Cubao and Sampaloc, Manila that will take you there. Tell your bus conductor to drop you off at Mabitac Junction. Ride a jeepney to Siniloan town proper, and take a connecting jeepney ride from Siniloan to Sta. Cruz. Tell your driver that you’re going to Pakil.

[Laguna Loop Trip 4] Siniloan, Laguna Walking Trip

The town of Siniloan in Laguna, compared to the nearby towns of Mabitac, Pangil and Pakil, looks more urbanized. For an instance, you’ll see that they have establishments such as Jollibee and Dunkin Donuts. And in the duration of my trip, it’s only here in Siniloan where I see the only ATM and only bank.

However, how urbanized Siniloan’s poblacion might be, their main road is still diminutive compared to the streets of Calamba, Los Baños and Sta. Cruz, all in Laguna.

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Plaza Delfin Rador

This is the town plaza of Siniloan, named after their former Mayor Delfin Rador.

In this plaza located the Siniloan Theater, a covered basketball court, and the statues of two main Filipino heroes, Andres Bonifacio and Dr. Jose Rizal. The Siniloan Church and the municipio of Siniloan is there. Inasmuch as I wanted to know about the history of Siniloan Theater, I don’t know whom should I talk to (or maybe I’m just too shy)

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Here are the other photos of my Siniloan excapade.

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[Laguna Loop Trip 6] Kape Kesada Art Gallery (Paete, Laguna)

Paete, Laguna is known for its wood carvings. However, their medium (wood) becomes more and more scarce because of grave deforestation. That’s why the artists of Paete are now looking for other means to express themselves.

Kape Kesada Art Gallery was founded by Dr. Nilo Valdecantos in 2004 to cater for Paeteños’ passion for art. It is also the first coffee shop and art gallery in Paete. However, how unfortunate I am that day because they can’t serve coffee since the whole Paete has no electricity that day.

But with or without electricity, I was still accommodated by Ms. Bhevs Dianela, Kape Kesada’s art curator/barista for three years. She gave me a walkthrough through the various artworks, and also gave a little bit of Paete’s history.

The ambiance of the art gallery was good, I feel good vibes here. And it’s very conducive to art. But, do you know that the materials used for building the art gallery came from recycled wood and materials Dr. Valdecantos has gathered throughout Laguna?

The members of their art gallery is also conducting a summer art workshop, open for all ages.

Aside from usual Filipino visitors like me, they have also hosted some foreign dignitaries such as the Ambassador of Spain,  D. Álvaro Lozano Cutanda. Filipino folk group Asin has also jammed in Kape Kesada’s Saturday jamming.

Kape Kesada is open Mondays to Sundays, 9am to 6pm, except for Saturdays, where they invite musicians to have a jamming here that usually ends up Sunday dawn. You may also visit their website, http://kapekesada.co.cc , or email them at kapekesada@yahoo.com.

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How to get to Kape Kesada Art Gallery from Manila?

Ride a bus to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. You can choose from bus terminals in Araneta Center Cubao, Alabang, or Buendia near the LRT station (I would personally recommend DLTBCo. Its terminal is located in the former Nirvana bar near the LRT Buendia station). From Sta. Cruz, ride a jeepney to Siniloan, Laguna, and tell your driver to drop you off at Paete. Kape Kesada is located in Quesada street, going to the direction of the Paete church.