Antique Vigan
Over the summer, we were able to take a trip up the northern part of Luzon. But of the places we went to, the one which kept me spell-bound was Vigan.
Upon entering Vigan, we were greeted by the scent of horses. As cars are not allowed to drive through the area except the main road, kalesa's eagerly wait for tourists who would rather take a guided tour or a ride than discover the area themselves.
We opted to take a walk, so th
at we could get appreciate the whole area at a slower pace. Also, it gave us the chance to walk into stores and buy a couple of souvenirs.
Speaking of stores, aside from the various shops which sell local handicrafts and beautiful wood works such as benches and sculptures, there are also a number of antique shops in the area. One particular shop we entered even sold genuine photographs of complete strangers from a bygone era.
It scared me at first, but soon I decided to look through the photos. It appalled me more that people could sell such personal items. A number of photographs had very touching messages written on the back... things like, "to keep you company in our time
apart" or "thank you for your friendship" and other very personal messages which I did not bother finishing to read (because I felt like I was reading someone else's letter).
The shop was filled with other things which could either make you nostalgic or make you uneasy: silverware, old statues, chinese boxes, pipes and even furniture. For me, the shop was a house of memories, embodied by these trinkets which once belonged to someone else. For this reason, I thought I should leave it where it was rather than be its new owner.
The streets of Vigan induce a feeling of nostalgia; for that moment it seemed that I was brought back to the Spanish era, a strange feeling of "home" which in reality I had never really been part of.
The cobblestone streets, the wooden houses and the lampposts all contribute to this feelin
g of being thrown into a past which we can thought could only be imagined through the textbooks and photographs. Seeing the architecture and how everything has been placed, it's not hard to imagine what kind of ideas were valued at the time. Being there for the few days that we visited this Cultural Site has brought me to realize the beauty of a preserved memory.
Hopefully, many more can come to visit and experience for themselves the unnerving feeling of being an active participant in a historical site.
All photographs are property of the author. Please do not use them without her permission.