Buri Handicraft

Probably one of the many fun things we did during the trip was when we visited the Buri Handicraft Association Inc. located at Brgy. Diclum, Tobias Fornier. There we were taught of the basics in buri weaving. To tell you, the workers there are super experts and their hands are so fast! If only we had more time there but sad to say we only had an hour to interact with them.

Buri Handicraft's finished products.

Ate Monika teaching us how to rara.

She has learned the techniques of buri weaving ever since she was young. She told us that she knew what to do just by merely observing her mother and now as a mother herself, she sees potential in her kids for this field. She has been weaving buri products for more than 20 years now. "Kung gusto mo guid maka balo magrara, mabal-an mo guid. Hindi mo mapilit ang hindi.(non-verbatim)" was one of the things she said that I can still remember while we were conversing with her. 

They sell these stuffs here at a very low price compared to the ones you see here around the city. Unfortunately, I haven't bought anything since I was so engrossed with what Ate Monika was teaching us.

Due to the lack of time, Ate Monika was not able to finish the product she was trying to make for us but she let me have it and I finished it during the ride to our next destination. The finish product is shown in the picture below. 

Colonial Church of Saint John

Anini y church or the Parish of St. John of Nepomuceno is located at Anini y, Antique. It is the only surviving Spanish church in Antique. It courageously stood the test of time. It was originally built by the Augustinians Friars and is generally made of corals and stones. 

For me, the interior, however, is something you wouldn't imagine given the exterior of the church. You probably would expect something grand but no, it is very simple and it's better off that way since it gives you a more relaxing feel and maybe that was their way to give emphasis to the sanctuary. The entire back wall of the sanctuary was covered with large pebbles and in a way I questioned my self "Can they keep that dust-free?" silly, you may say, but what do you think?

The Sanctuary

Sira-an Hot Spring

The Sira-an Hot Spring is located at Anini y, Antique. When we got there we were told about the story of the Nogas Island and surprisingly, the story was not yet complete. They have a main swimming pool and mini bathtubs that overlook the sea. Many believe that the hot spring water gives a therapeutic effect to the body.  

The colorful cottages in Sira-an Hot Spring

This is where the main source of sulfuric hot spring water comes from. 

I personally touched the water myself and it was not as hot as I thought. Sadly even though this site is, i think, one of the most visited destination it lacks proper maintenance. I hope the management would realize this and act on it.

San Joaquin

What we did on our next stop was fun. Have you tried playing Amazing Race in a cemetery? Yep, that's right. Whenever we hear or think about cemeteries, we automatically play a morbid image in our minds which made cemeteries scary but after you get to see a cemetery like this, you can tell your self "Ah, cemeteries are not as scary as I've imagined. Actually, cemeteries are not scary at all!"

The capilla, also known as the Campo Santo, the cemetery's crowning glory.

There were six (6) stations during the race, after every station, three (3) puzzle pieces were given to each group that gets through. At the end of the race, we are to complete the puzzle with the pieces we earned and tadaa! Below is the image of the completed puzzle.

One (1) kilometer from the cemetery is the San Joaquin church. Unfortunately when we got there it was under renovation so we never really had the chance to get "up close and personal" with the church and we didn't have the chance to see its interior. Nevertheless, it was still worth it. The church of San Joaquin was built using limestones from the mountain of Igbaras. So imagine carrying stones from another place just to build a church, surely that was a lot of work and that's why this church should be preserved and maintained not only because it's a place of worship but also because of the efforts the people put into this to construct a long time ago.

San Joaquin church

Miag-ao Church

Our first stop for the day was the majestic church of Miag-ao. It was almost an hour trip from Iloilo City Proper but what you get to see there is priceless. What welcomed us there was the very artistic architecture of the church.

This is the breathtaking front view of the Miag-ao church. 

As what you can see, the motifs used for the facade are very Pinoy. It is decorated with trees/shrubs found in the Philippines: Coconut, Papaya and Guava trees. The large stone image of their patron saint, St. Thomas of Villanueva, stands at the center. The facade is also decorated with the sculpture of St. Christopher carrying the Child Jesus.

But aside from its history, its creative details and its over-all beautiful architecture, what makes the people of Miag-ao proud of this church is that it's one of the few churches in the Philippines that made it to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Istorya-Kanta Kinaray-a

The last part of out itinerary for the day was the Antique Heritage Tour Soft Launching Program: Istorya-Kanta Kinaray-a with Sir Dante Beriong and Sir Sammy Rubido. 

I just had to take a photo of the University of Antique's auditorium ceiling. It's something you won't usually see in city university's auditoriums. You can really say that Antiquenos are really creative.

 

The program started with a song and dance number from Sir Dante Beriong, his good friend Sir Sammy Rubido, the reigning Lin-ay Kang Antique and the students of the University of Antique. 

The rest of the night was filled with singing, dancing, interacting, and fun. OKM (Original Kinaray-a Music) is truly something Antiquenos and we Filipinos should be proud of! The songs they played for us were all inspired by true to life happenings not only in Antique but in the country or even in the world. What I learned was that to create beautiful music, you must have the right words and the proper melody, only then you can relay the message of you song to your listeners. After every song, questions were thrown to us and whoever can give the correct answer will be given a CD of Sir Sammy which was his newly released third album. I envy those who got the prize but still, this experience was something I will always remember. Kruhay!!

Patadyong Weaving

Our next stop involved another type of weaving, the patadyong weaving. The Bagtason Loom Weavers Association are the expert in this field. They are located at Bagtason, Bugasong. Patadyong is a multi-colored cloth slightly shorter than the malong. 

We were introduced to the different steps in making the patadyong. The steps in making the patadyong were very intricate, no wonder it would take a long time before you can finish one. Compared to the ones you see in the city, where patadyong are made using high-tech machineries, the Bagtason Loom Weavers Association's patadyongs are all handmade and goes through very complex procedures. 

Finished patadyongs

The prices of their patadyong may be a little more expensive but it is only just for the efforts that were put together to finish the cloth.

When was the last time you saw someone used a patadyong? Who was it? Before modernization came about, patadyongs were used as skirts, towels, blankets and etc. But what I found interesting with the use of patadyong is it can be used as a mobile toilet. Cool, right?