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403-Article Text-898-1-10-20170811
403-Article Text-898-1-10-20170811
INTRAMUROS
Founded by the Spaniards, destroyed by the Americans
during the war, the walled city is being restored by the Filipinos.
by Esperanza B. Gatbonton
"The land all around this bay, town was situated in the bank of
in the part where we anchored ... the river, and it seemed to be
the port of Menilla, was really defended by a palisade all along
marvellous. It appeared to be its front. Within it were many
A Reprint from "Weekend,"a tilled and cultivated. The slopes warriors, and the shore outside
Magazine of the Daily Express were smooth, and had but little crowded with people. Pieces of
issued in Manila on 4 May herbage. In fact, so excellent artillery stood at the gates,
1980. indications have not been seen in guarded by bombardiers, lin-
this land as were seen there...The stock in hand."
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This was to be the Spanish attacked in 1574. With some " F r o m this fort (Fort Santia-
promised land. On the very luck, it held. go) and the beach near the sea,
same site of this palisaded The succeeding governor, I have dug a deep ditch, 34 feet
town that the voyagers came Francisco de Sande (1575- wide, which fills with the in-
upon, the Spaniards built their 1580), was appalled by the coming tide and even at low tide
city. They enlarged the orig- primitive conditions, of Mani- has sufficient water to float
several vessels used in carrying
inal palisade which the dis- la's defenses. He ordered the
materials to the said work. This
placed indios has built at the riverside staked in and the sea- ditch extends from the sea to
mouth of the Pasig River and side filled in with earth. He the river and at that side around
encircled their new settlement joined the palisades with the entire city in such wise that
with a defensive wall. embankments and raised the latter is an island formed by
The Walls took 300 years to mounds. This gave the garrison sea, river and ditch. In the place
build. Beginning from Legazpi a commanding view of the of the wooden fortress, I am
himself, up until 1872, succes- surrounding area. In those going to build a bulwark to
sive governors-general sought early years, the danger often defend the entrance to the river
came from the sea — from and beach which can correspond
to improve Manila's defenses
to the tower already built; and
— in between fighting off in- raiding "moros," and from
the new fortress will defend
vasions from land and sea: Chinese and Japanese pirates. both sides of the ditch and the
the Chinese Limahong, the At times, these marauders sea. Along the river bank I have
Dutch, rebels from the were joined by the Portuguese, ordered stone breastwork built,
Chinese Parian, and the British. who were primarily interested extending from the old wooden
Each assault showed how for- in dislodging the Spaniards fortress, on one side, to the
midable the Walls were in cer- from the East. ditch on the other."
tain places and how vulnera- The following year, with
ble they were in others. Over another Governor General — The material De Vera chose
the centuries, the Walls be- Santiago de Vera (1584-1590) for his defenses was adobe or
came a sophisticated fortress — and the services of Antonio volcanic tufa, which he describ-
— surrounded by moats and Sederlo, a Jesuit who had once ed as "so suitable that when it
ramparts, bastions and gates worked as a military engineer, is wet, it can be worked like
and look-out towers, which a more lasting type of defense wood and when dry it is very
kept an enemy at bay and the went up. De Vera wrote of strong and durable; and it is
Spaniards safe within. his plans: better than brick for artillery,"
Even Intramuros, the
Spanish city within the Walls,
took on the character of its
Walls — turned in on itself,
smug, brooding on gone glory
and in the end, defenseless
against the outside world.
Until 1852, its eight gates clos-
ed at 11 o'clock in the evening
to open only at dawn.
Lara was so dedicated to re- parts facing the Pasig and con- Typhoons and earthquakes
building the Walls that he gave verted them into a bastioned were constantly damaging
the work his own money and front. Then Plano Bastion(Bas- rooftiles, so that by the end
all his time. He practically tion de Sta Lucia), San Fran- of the nineteenth century, the
lived in a little hut by the cisco and San Pedro were im- familiar red roof, quite often
beach, so that he could al- proved. San Pedro, an out- moss-grown, had given way to
ways be on hand. erwork, became a small fort, more practical galvanized iron.
In the eighteenth century, while San Francisco also be- Intramuros architecture
the bastions of San Andres came an independent unit, not used methods and materials
and San Fernando de Dilao an extension of the curtain familiar to the Spaniards; but
metamorphosed into their (plain span of the Wall con- in spirit it reflected the re-
final stages — a far cry from necting two Bastions). alities of living in the tropics.
the breastwork in Dasmarinas' Work on the most contin- Massive, squarish foundations
plans, but bearing traces of Sil- ued and became more compli- of adobe that hug the earth
va's and Tabora's planning. cated. The Spaniards were gave buildings stability against
The restoration of Fort Santia- confronted with the problems tremors; wood tenoned and
go was undertaken by Fernan- of constructing a ditch on wet dovetailed together could
and boggy soil. They dug as absorb the earth's movement
do de Valdez y Tamon (1729-
close to the wall as possible without splitting. Large win-
1739). Its inner gate used to
while working clear of its dows let in the wind and
carry an inscription dedicated
foundation. At the end of the sunlight; when drawn to shut
to this governor-general, who out the excess sun and rain,
did much to rehabilitate and scarp they built a long slope
way below the water line and translucent capiz shells light-
rebuild the old fort.
Succeeding governors-gener-
al heightened, modified, add-
ed to the Walls. The addition
of the battery of San Gre-
gorio just outside the Bastion
San Diego more or less com-
pleted its development. The Intramuros architecture used methods and materials
British took the city in 1762.
They laid siege to Intramuros familiar to the Spaniards, but in spirit, it reflected the
by training artillery fire on the
Spaniards from the churches
realities of living in the tropics.
of Santiago' and San Juan —
both churches were situated
across what is now Padre
Burgos Drive on General Luna
Street. Afterward, the British
themselves destroyed the two
churches, seeing the wisdom extending to the bottom of ened the gloom within.
of Corcuerra and Pedro the moat. Intramuros homes had all
Manuel de Arandia, who had But the end of the empire the creature comforts of the
repeatedly advocated their was now nearing for the East and imported goods from
relocation. Spaniards. They did no addi- the West. Up till the turn of
tional building, as though re- the twentieth century, popular
The British departure in alizing the futility of hanging shops in Intramuros sold
1764 marked the last phase on to the four kilometers of fineries, wines, cheeses and
in the development of the terrain that the Walls enclos- sausages from Europe. At the
Walls. The Spanish engineer ed. Even the city within, with same time, circumstances
Miguel Antonio Gomez repair- its seven churches and beau- forced the breaching of
ed Real Gate and changed tiful homes, was sadly falling Spanish exclusiveness —allow-
the right flank of San Gabriel. apart. The earthquakes also ing a rich Chinese trader or two,
He made several changes on exacted a heavy toll on Span- or an indio servant or maid
the Parian Gate — starting with ish finances and Spanish to reside within the Walls.
the bridge, which used to be energy. Extensive repairs were
Intramuros After Spain
flushed to the left of the inner cumbersome. Some of the re-
gate. This was moved to the pairs done on damaged struc- By the time the Americans
center and a revellín or outer- tures were done in patches, came, Manila had grown well
work added. Another Spanish without regard for consistency beyond the Walls. Extramural
engineer modified the ram- with the old architecture. development left the Walled
28
City to the friars, to students per cent of the network except that modern "restora-
and to a few aristocratic remained intact, though two t i o n " is a very exacting science
families clinging to the past. of the most beautiful gates that is intrinsically related to
Slowly it became a city of — Sta. Lucia and Fort Santia- archaeology, history and archi-
dormitories and boarding go — were rammed by Ameri- tecture. All three are interre-
houses. Impoverished mestizos can tanks. lated disciplines. The first two
shared the entresuelos of provide the key to past history
grand old houses their owners After a long period of and reconstruction; architec-
could no longer keep up in neglect, Intramuros is today ture objectifies that past.
style. being restored. A presidential To rebuild the Walls, exten-
decree issued on April 10, sive research both by way of
Intramuros Churches still 1979 created an Intramuros documentation and actual
called the faithful to their Administration, which became excavation of the structure is
doors for the pomp and responsible for the restoration necessary. Besides historical
pageantry of Holy Week pro- and administration of Intra- and archaeological researches,
cessions and novenas to cen- muros. Its chairman is the laboratory control is crucial to
turies-old images. The Minister of Human Settle- restoration. In Intramuros,
Recoletos' most famous image ments and Metro Manila where the materials for resto-
was a Paciencia or Christ at Governor, Mrs. Imelda R. Mar- ration are mostly adobe, tiles
the Pillar brought from cos. Its Action Officer is the and bricks, laboratory experi-
Mexico in the seventeenth Minister of Budget Jaime C. ments analyze the composi-
century. The Augustinians had Laya, a history connoisseur tion of each, so that replace-
an image of La Consolacion, of Philippine antiquities. ments for the missing parts
may approximate the originals
as closely as possible. A range
of firing temperatures for the
bricks and tiles used in Intra-
muros is recommended by
laboratory technicians to con-
Restoration is related to archaeology, history and trol the coloring and texture
of the new prototypes.
architecture. The first two provide the key to past
Typing of stones is also
history and reconstruction; architecture objectifies done to determine the "com-
the past. patibility" of stones in terms
of color, texture and porosity.
A porous stone will suffer
placed side by side with a non-
porous type. Take only the ac-
tion of rainwater. The porous
stones will absorb a heavier
and the Dominicans a celebrat- The Restoration Work amount of water than the
ed image of La Soledad (Our non-porous one. If a porous
Lady of Solitude). Intramuros, stone is mixed with non-
despite its decay, kept its The restoration of Intra- porous types, the water will
own charm and its nostalgic muros calls for the reconstruc- not be able to drain off and
air. tion of its Walls and rebuilding evaporate. Excessive moisture
During the Pacific War, In- of the city. The word "res- will cause the growth of harm-
tramuros suffered heavily toration" implies reinstate- ful organisms and fungi. Each
from bombardment and artil- ment to its original state. Thus type of stone also has dis-
lery fire, inflicted by the ad- the immediate goal of the In- tinctive mineral properties
vancing American forces and tramuros Administration is to which, in contact with other
the retreating Japanese army. rebuild and complete the substances, can cause adverse
The Spanish city, which the Walls, in places where no reactions.
Walls had protected from streets or buildings stand. Two types of reconstruc-
threats from land and sea, Work has begun on the revel- tion are being done in Intra-
proved vulnerable to attack lin of the Parian. Puerta Isabel, muros. One is the restoration
from the air. When the bom- Bastion de San Diego, Puerta of structures which are in
bings stopped, there were Sta. Lucia, Bastion de San An- ruins. The other is the recon-
only shells of buildings and dres and Fort Santiago. struction of buildings and
debris. The Walls themselves Rebuilding the Walls might structures that have com-
fared much better. Some 75 seem fairly easy work to do — pletely disappeared. Each type
poses specific challenges to the tion, waterproofing of the
restoration team, which structures and the extensive
consists of archaeologists, use of dessicants. Better
researchers, architects and answers might be in the years
builders. Intramuros is a symbol of the ahead. When that happens, the
Where existing structures restorers of Intramuros will
are concerned, the actual
Filipinos - the builders of also be better qualified to
condition of the building has the Walls. iudge their usefulness.
to be fully evaluated. Is it
structurally sound? If not, Why restore Intramuros at
how can it be reinforced by all? In the short time that
modern methods of construc- restoration has been going on,
tion, without altering the various 'Critics have come for-
character of the building and quires of them a very strong ward to criticize the Philip-
its appearance? In judging its sense of discipline and history. pine government's decision to
architectural members, one restore the Walls. The most
asks the questions: which be- The Walls in the Modern Era common remark is that a
longs to what period, and how In the process of rebuilding, developing country such as
integral is each part to the one very hard but vitally re- ours should not spend money
spirit of the original struc- levant question is: How does on restoration, and should
ture? one adapt these structures to pour it instead on projects
modern use and modern that will materially and
These questions cannot be demonstrably benefit the grea-
answered precipitately, but times? Even the electrification
of these ancient structures ter part of our national com-
must be thought out with great munity. Besides these, critics
deliberation. For mistakes creates problems. Wiring that
will deface the structure is add, Intramuros is a colonial
made now will create diffi- symbol.
culties for the future, af- unacceptable, so that what
fecting the entire pattern of would have been a fairly
historical detail. straightforward installation in Rationale for Rebuilding
Undoubtedly, there will be any other building becomes a
errors along the way. Hence problem in restoration work. All of these points may be
the full documentation of The adaptation of the Walls to valid — but the reasons for
each building by way of pic- modern use has to take into restoring Intramuros transcend
torial record and field docu- consideration the character of them all. The Walls may be
mentation is done religiously, the structure itself. And in the regarded as a colonial symbol,
so that mistakes can easily case of those portions of it because they were made for
be corrected. In matters where that are being renovated into a our conquerors. But they are
questionable decisions had museum site, one needs to as much a symbol of the
been taken in the past, docu- evaluate as well the artifacts Filipinos themselves — the
mentation may explain why that such a museum will house. builders of the Walls — signi-
such a decision was reached As they are, the bastions, fying the fortitude and great-
— and, justifying future gen- fortins, and gates are not ideal ness of spirit of the thousands
erations in feeling some com- locations for museums. of workers who labored to
passion for those who made it. build it. And whether we like
Atmospheric pollutants — it or not, the Spanish colonial
In the second type of res- dust and carbon monoxide period shaped us to be the
toration, where the plans of from car exhausts — and a people we are today.
buildings are based on archi- high degree of humidity neces-
val records, determining the sitate a drastic correction of Perhaps because we are
accuracy of given details the museum environment. The constant victims of war and
creates difficulty for the archi- introduction of dehumidifiers destruction, we often fail to
tect. He has to think instinc- and airconditioning should see how relevant the past is to
tively into the construction normally solve the problem. our present condition. "Colo-
methods of the past and eval- But they do not. Most of the nial" architecture met that
uate details from the con- specimens involved — church challenge of relevance with
text. In both cases, restora- vestment, images of saints, greater success than we are
tion requires great humility icons, architectural details — doing today. This is one rea-
from the architects and buil- never existed in a dry atmos- son why a whole block of
ders for their sensitivity and phere. A sudden change, period architecture will go up
creativity must always be sub- instead of doing them good, in Intramuros as part of the
servient to the character of the can hasten their deterioration. restoration project.
structure itself. Restoration re- One settles for cross ventila- Continued on page 45