Post by Neil Allan C. de Leon on Jan 28, 2008 23:02:35 GMT -5
Tourist Destinations
The Las Piñas Historical Corridor Project
In an effort to prime Las Piñas as a tourism and cultural site to attract local and foreign investors, the Las Piñas Historical Corridor Project was created. The program was initiated by Senator Manny and Congresswoman Cynthia Villar and Mayor Nene Aguilar with the end in view of restoring and preserving old historical and cultural landmarks in the city.
The project began with the signing into law in 1995 of Republic Act (RA) 8003, which sought to restore and preserve old historical and cultural landmarks in the city: the Las Piñas Church and Bamboo Organ, Las Piñas Bridge, the Father Diego Cera Bridge, the Old District Hospital, and the Asinan Area.
The Battle of Zapote Bridge on February 16, 1897 was one of the turning points of the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The clash proved to be the signal event that turned the tide against Filipino revolutionaries, but it was one also of the epic battles of the Revolution when Filipino gallantry and heroism shone its brightest in the face of superior Spanish forces.
Nature Church
The Las Pinas Nature Church is built on a 4000 square meter mango orchard, consisting of the church proper, school buildings, a confessional and counseling center and a wide expanse of a well-maintained park and garden. Church architecture was designed by one of the country’s noted architects Bobby Mañosa. Just at the back of the altar is the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (PEA) Chapel where devotees religiously make their daily 24-hour vigil to the exposed Blessed Sacrament.
Las Piñas Church and Bamboo Organ
The Bamboo Organ made this city famous.
This centuries-old instrument is a result of the ingenuity of Fr. Diego Cera, who was parish priest of Las Pinas in 1795, during the Spanish occupation.
It is housed in the St. Joseph Church, the construction of which Fr. Cera also initiated. The construction of the church started in 1797 and took 30 years to complete, with the help of 300 families who pooled their resources.
The organ was installed in the church in 1832. It measures 5.17 meters tall, 4.17 meters wide and 1.45 meters deep. It has a total of 1,031 pipes, 902 of which are bamboo.
It was made out of the hundreds of bamboo poles which Fr. Cera buried in the sand for a year to it be treated by salt water to preserve and protect it from termites.
Of these bamboo pipes, 747 are classified as speaking flue pipes, 36 as blind flue pipes and 119 as axe blind pipes. The 129 pipes are made of metal, with 122 speaking reed pipes comprising the trumpets. The seven other speaking reed pipes are for the “bird stops.”
It had a special tube also made of bamboo, which was designed to imitate the song of the birds when a small quantity of water was poured therein.
A strong earthquake that shook Las Pinas in 1882 destroyed the St. Joseph Church and the organ but its complete restoration was completed only after 200 years in December 1962.
In 1973, a decision was made to ship the organ pipes out of the country to the Johanes Klais Orgelbau firm in Germany for restoration to their original state.
On March 13, 1975, the restored Bambbo Organ arrived in the Philippines and three days later, it was back in place in the restored stone church. In 1976, the Bamboo Organ resounded as it had always been known before a mesmerized audience of the annual international Bamboo Organ festival.
Today, the organ is about 80 percent original.
The Las Piñas Historical Corridor Project
In an effort to prime Las Piñas as a tourism and cultural site to attract local and foreign investors, the Las Piñas Historical Corridor Project was created. The program was initiated by Senator Manny and Congresswoman Cynthia Villar and Mayor Nene Aguilar with the end in view of restoring and preserving old historical and cultural landmarks in the city.
The project began with the signing into law in 1995 of Republic Act (RA) 8003, which sought to restore and preserve old historical and cultural landmarks in the city: the Las Piñas Church and Bamboo Organ, Las Piñas Bridge, the Father Diego Cera Bridge, the Old District Hospital, and the Asinan Area.
The Battle of Zapote Bridge on February 16, 1897 was one of the turning points of the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The clash proved to be the signal event that turned the tide against Filipino revolutionaries, but it was one also of the epic battles of the Revolution when Filipino gallantry and heroism shone its brightest in the face of superior Spanish forces.
Nature Church
The Las Pinas Nature Church is built on a 4000 square meter mango orchard, consisting of the church proper, school buildings, a confessional and counseling center and a wide expanse of a well-maintained park and garden. Church architecture was designed by one of the country’s noted architects Bobby Mañosa. Just at the back of the altar is the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (PEA) Chapel where devotees religiously make their daily 24-hour vigil to the exposed Blessed Sacrament.
Las Piñas Church and Bamboo Organ
The Bamboo Organ made this city famous.
This centuries-old instrument is a result of the ingenuity of Fr. Diego Cera, who was parish priest of Las Pinas in 1795, during the Spanish occupation.
It is housed in the St. Joseph Church, the construction of which Fr. Cera also initiated. The construction of the church started in 1797 and took 30 years to complete, with the help of 300 families who pooled their resources.
The organ was installed in the church in 1832. It measures 5.17 meters tall, 4.17 meters wide and 1.45 meters deep. It has a total of 1,031 pipes, 902 of which are bamboo.
It was made out of the hundreds of bamboo poles which Fr. Cera buried in the sand for a year to it be treated by salt water to preserve and protect it from termites.
Of these bamboo pipes, 747 are classified as speaking flue pipes, 36 as blind flue pipes and 119 as axe blind pipes. The 129 pipes are made of metal, with 122 speaking reed pipes comprising the trumpets. The seven other speaking reed pipes are for the “bird stops.”
It had a special tube also made of bamboo, which was designed to imitate the song of the birds when a small quantity of water was poured therein.
A strong earthquake that shook Las Pinas in 1882 destroyed the St. Joseph Church and the organ but its complete restoration was completed only after 200 years in December 1962.
In 1973, a decision was made to ship the organ pipes out of the country to the Johanes Klais Orgelbau firm in Germany for restoration to their original state.
On March 13, 1975, the restored Bambbo Organ arrived in the Philippines and three days later, it was back in place in the restored stone church. In 1976, the Bamboo Organ resounded as it had always been known before a mesmerized audience of the annual international Bamboo Organ festival.
Today, the organ is about 80 percent original.