bucaio

Monday, April 01, 2013

Bisita Iglesia - Coastal Cavite - Tanza

Holy Cross Church

Calle Sta. Cruz, Tanza, Cavite

The church in Tanza sits at the end of Santa Cruz Street, fronting the small town plaza, away from the bustle of the highway where many commercial establishments and restaurants have sprouted. It is an imposing edifice in the Baroque style, the facade, like most of the churches in this Bisita Iglesia, is nondescript.

Historical Significance

Emilio Aguinaldo and Mariano Trias took their oaths as the president and vice president, respectively, of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines on March 23, 1897, in the convent of the Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) church.

Seafood paella, individual portion at Calle Real Puregold

Pit Stop

A hundred meters back along Calle Sta. Cruz is the Calle Real Restaurant, which serves homey Filipino dishes and several variants of paella, including a squid ink version. Above the restaurant is a finely preserved ancestral house called Casa Tahimic, which is worth checking out.

Directions

From the last Bisita Iglesia church - Rosario
About 5 kilometers south-southwest.
By Private Vehicle
- From Rosario church turn onto Gen. Trias Drive by the municipal hall going to SM Rosario. Go straight until the Centennial Road, then turn right onto the Antero Soriano Highway. A few hundred meters on will be the Tejero bridge, after which is the Tanza public cemetery. Turn right by the yellow-walled side of the cemetery onto Calle Sta. Cruz, and go straight. The church is at the dead-end of the street.
By Public Transportation
- Walk to the front of the Rosario town plaza and board a baby bus going to Tanza. The bus goes right at the gate of the Tanza church.

From Manila
By Private Vehicle
- Tanza is about 34 kms. out of Manila, traversing Coastal Road (Pasay City & Las Pinas), Cavitex (Manila Cavite Expressway), Centennial Road (EPZA Diversion Road), and the Antero Soriano Highway. The Centennial Road ends at General Trias where it is crossed by the Gen. Trias Drive and continues as the Antero Soriano Highway. A few hundred meters after the junction is the Tejero bridge, right after which is the Tanza public cemetery. Turn right at the first corner by the side of the cemetery, which should be Calle Sta. Cruz. The Tanza church is at the dead end.
By Public Transportation
- Air-conditioned buses with signboards Naic/Ternate/Maragondon get passengers starting from Plaza Lawton (Liwasang Bonifacio) in Manila, traversing Taft Avenue, turning to Quirino Avenue, then left onto Roxas Boulevard and then on to the Coastal Road, Cavitex, Centennial Road and the Antero Soriano Highway. Get off at Calle Sta. Cruz, right at the foot of the Tejero bridge and by the Tanza public cemetery. Flag a jeep or baby bus going into Calle Sta. Cruz, which go right at the gate of the Tanza church.

The Other Churches in the Coastal Cavite Bisita Iglesia
St. Michael the Archangel Church, Bacoor
St. Mary Magdalene Church, Kawit
Holy Cross Church, Noveleta
San Roque Church (Nuestra Senora Soledad de Porta Vaga Shrine), Cavite City
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Church, Rosario

Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church, Naic

Bisita Iglesia - Coastal Cavite: Naic

Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

P. Poblete Street, Naic, Cavite

The parish church in the municipality of Naic is the largest church in the province of Cavite, and the only one built in the Neo-Gothic style. It was one of the jubilee churches in Cavite during the last Jubilee Year (2000).

It was unfortunate that when we got there the facade was undergoing a facelift, covered in a spiderweb tangle of scaffoldings. But the convent, to the church's right side, and its maginificent courtyard more than made up for our disappointment.

The convent, or at least the dining and receiving areas, had large capiz windows that were opened to let in the brisk breeze. Looking inside and seeing the waxed hardwood floors and the heavy narra furniture I felt transported to the time of panuelos and karitelas drawn over cobblestone streets.

In this convent was written the morally instructive book Urbana at Felisa (p. 1864) by the former parish priest Modesto De Castro. The book was celebrated in its time, and affords present readers with a look into nineteenth century societal structures.

The colossal stone blocks making up the outer walls belie the church's age, having been built by the Dominicans in 1796. A patio is lined with meditation benches, and surrounded by bas reliefs of all the mysteries of the holy rosary. All around flowering ornamentals explode in a riot of vibrant colors, growing lush in an arbor shading a walkway. Mayas dive and lunge from the roof, unmindful and unafraid, their ceaseless chattering joining the pigeons and hens with their broods in a rupture of joyful clamor.

Inside the church beautiful stained glass windows adorning the walls all around let in light, highlighting the elegantly carved wooden altars in the sanctuary and both sides of the transept. The reason why this is a piligrimage church need not be explained to me - I would make the journey to experience again the serenity I felt inside the church and in the convent patio.

*With a clean public CR at the convent patio.

Historical Significance

Casa Hacienda de Naic (beside the church)
- where Andres Bonifacio was tried and imprisoned
- where Emilio Aguinaldo designed his flag "Sun of Liberty," and when he became the first president this is where he established the four departments of his cabinet.

Pit Stop

Across the covered court are refreshment carts selling Naic's muche, neon orange-hued thick discs of fried rice dough filled with sweetened mashed mung beans (monggo). Nice afternoon crispy treat newly fried, but the dough tends to harden after a few hours.

Directions

From the last Bisita Iglesia church - Tanza

About 13 kilometers south-southwest.

By Private Vehicle

- From the gate of the Tanza church turn right onto San Agustin Street to go back to Antero Soriano Highway, passing by Felipe Calderon Elementary School and the Tanza National Comprehensive High School, and an Iglesia ni Cristo church.Turn right at the junction where Mc Donalds is across the street, then go straight along the highway, and onto the Naic-Ternate Road. The church is beside a covered auditorium/basketball court.

- By Public Transportation

Walk to the town plaza in front of the Tanza church and flag a jeep with the signboard Bacao-Binakayan, or a baby bus with the signboard SM Rosario/Cavite City, or tell a tricycle driver to take you to where you can catch a ride to Naic. Get off at Antero Soriano Highway (on the same side as Jollibee/Lots'a Pizza/Puregold, across the road from McDonalds), and flag a bus with the signboard Naic/Ternate/Maragondon. Towards Naic buses turn left at the junction by a Petron gas station. Get off at Petron, then board a tricycle for Naic church.

From Manila

By Private Vehicle

- Naic is 47 kms. out of Manila, traversing Coastal Road (Pasay City & Las Pinas), Cavitex (Manila Cavite Expressway), Centennial Road (EPZA Diversion Road), and the Antero Soriano Highway.

By Public Transportation

- Air-conditioned buses with signboards Naic/Ternate/Maragondon get passengers starting from Plaza Lawton (Liwasang Bonifacio), traversing Taft Avenue, turning to Quirino Avenue, then left onto Roxas Boulevard and then on to the Coastal Road, Cavitex and the Antero Soriano Highway. Get off at the fork to the Naic poblacion by a Petron gas station, then board a tricycle for the church.