Cutay, Rawan G.

12 STEM B
”CASA MANILA”
In the year 1981, Casa Manila Museum was constructed, under the
direction of Arch. Ramón Faustmann. It is located at Intramuros and is also
known as “Manila House”, given the word casa which means house. It was
a replica of a San Nicolas house that was once located in Calle Jaboneros
in the late 1850s. It is classified as a lifestyle museum aimed at showcasing
the domestic lifestyle of a native principalia during the Spanish regime
(Sorilla IV, 2021). Casa Manila was a vision of the former First Lady Imelda
Marcos who dreamt of a museum that would showcase the rich heritage of
the “bahay na bato” or the Philippine ancestral house of the
Spanish colonial period (The Urban Roamer, 2020). It helps how its visitors
imagine what it was like to live in Intramuros in the years immediately
before the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and to be rich then. It also triggers
the luxurious feeling, it recreates the vibe of good books, good music, good
company, in a house that breathed luxury and grace. It has a patio, azotea,
overhanging wood gallery. caja de jiero, baul, siesta places and many other
things that can be found in an old Filipino Home. In the midst of the hustle
and modernization of Metro Manila, it is a city that is almost preserved in
time. Surrounded by its signature stone walls, Intramuros stands out as a
time capsule of Manila’s rich and varied history. Casa Manila is the
imposing stone-and-wood structure which is the venue of functions
meetings and dinners of high-class citizens were held before (Newsflash).
Through the efforts of the government, Phililippines would finally
commence on the restoration and redevelopment of one of their earliest
projects, the construction of a museum called Casa Manila. Lately, the
Intramuros’ administrator surveyed and saw that the Casa Manila became
dark and dreary after a long month of lockdown, that’s when they decided
to renovate it and make it open for the public visitation.  “We wanted to
revive interest in Casa Manila that had been closed for almost a year
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Typically, it showcases the native
furniture and areas of a lovely Filipino home. The museum preserves and
promotes the Filipino culture and lifestyle. It portrays how beautiful the
Philippines was, even before the modernization.
 The 40 year old Filipina House will make you feel as if you are
revisiting the past through a portal leading to history. “It is a wonderful way
to preserve the memory of an era that is slowly being put in the back of the
minds of the Filipino.” (Click the City, 2008)