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FROM TOP: DANITA DELIMONT/GETTYIMAGES; MALVIKA BHATTACHARYAVigan is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site for its conserved, centuries-old
colonial architecture in Asia.
From left:
Bougainvillea
decorated streets of
Vigan; the age-old
tradition of Burnay
is alive in Vigan.and Vigan was established as a seat of
Spain’s economic and religious power.
The legacy remains to this day at the Plaza
Salcedo in the centre of town. Along one arm
of the plaza stands the 16th century St Paul’s
Cathedral, with its ornate interiors and
ancient patterned tiles—the oldest church in
Northern Luzon. Along another arm of the
plaza is a shopping centre, with modern fast
food restaurants like McDonald’s and local
chain Jollibee, built in colonial-style, low-
roofed structures, to maintain the architectural
homogeneity of the city.
Calle Crisologo is the oldest and best-
preserved street in town, lined with candy-
coloured villas and antique stores. Now that
I’m here, I do as the tourists do and climb into
a kalesa with Christopher at the wheel. He
introduced his sturdy mare as Veena, and we
trotted along in a carriage through the streets
of this town, winding past 18th- and 19th-century
buildings, built in wood and brick.
Just off the street, the Syquia Mansion
remains one of the best-preserved mansions
in the city, built in 1830. The ancestral home of
Alicia Syquia, wife of sixth Filipino president,
Vigan-born Elpidio Quirino, is now a museum
dedicated to the presidential family. Grand
artefacts fi ll the mansion—Murano mirrors,teak four-poster beds, Capiz shell windows—
giving us an insight into how the rich and
famous once lived.ORIENTAL ARTS
Vigan’s story doesn’t start and end with Spanish
settlers. The city’s multi-ethnic vibe draws
from Chinese, Filipino, and Mexican infl uences,
alongside the European.
In the 14th century, Chinese traders brought
with them the art of pottery using locally-
sourced clay, seawater, and sand. The age-old
traditional art of Burnay jar making remains
in Vigan even today, at the Pagburnayan run
by second generation Chinese descendent,
Fidel Go. Heaps of blackened jars of every size
lay at the entrance of the potter’s factory—
some tiny enough to fi t in my palm; the others
large enough to fi t me. Deep in the interiors
of the factory a hulking carabao, a Filipino
water buff alo, named Kevin, is at work in a pit.
His keeper leads him in circles, as the massive
creature tramples over clay and sand, mixing
it for the potter. In another corner,
a potter masterfully spins the clay into
beautiful jars. Locals believe burnay pottery
is sturdier than terracotta, and traditionally
these were used to drink tea, or as regular
household items to store water, ferment fi shBEYOND
Discovery