Ancestral houses of Batangas: A lineage tour with substance

You can never go wrong with a place that holds stories, a century worth, when visiting San Juan, Batangas. More than an extension of historical milestones and a pivotal fight for freedom, such places hold memories of our culture.

Barako Publishing’s Ciara Marasigan Serumgard and Farrah Rodriguez are on the frontlines preserving these memories in a recently published book.

Barako 77: The Story of Environmental Activism is a legacy book, three generations in the making. This story from 1977 shares “an almost forgotten piece of history.”

The day after their book launch held at Acuatico, they led their guests on a tour of ancestral houses in the area -— Casa Leon, Casa Soledad, The Apolonio Marasigan House and The White House -— as they put into frame the very treasure of the Batangas getaway.

Casa Leon belongs to Leon Mercado. Known as “Kapitan Leon,” the Katipunero from San Juan joined the Revolution at age 17, studied in Letran and was fluent in Latin and Greek.

After the revolution against Spain, Leon also participated in the Philippine -American War (1899-1902). During the war, it is said that he captured an American soldier and spared his life. In exchange, the American soldier taught Leon how to speak English.

When the Americans left, Leon became a successful farmer and was known as the “Coconut King of Batangas.” He died in the 1960s.

Meanwhile, Casa Soledad found at the corner of Mojica Street and De Villa Street, Casa Soledad is one of the grand heritage houses that has retained its traditional “bahay na bato” Spanish architecture. The house is named after Soledad, one of the four children of the original owners, Santos Lopez and Maria Mercado (a relative of the national hero, Jose Rizal).

Soledad Lopez’s siblings were Don Miguel Lopez (a former mayor of San Juan), Arsenio Lopez and Leonor Lopez. The house initially belonged to Leonor, the youngest of the siblings, but Soledad eventually acquired it after getting married.

Casa Soledad still proudly displays its massive wooden pillars and ceiling beams. Noteworthy among its treasures is a life-size foto-oleo (oil-paint enhanced photograph by Sun Studios) of Leonor wearing a Filipiñiana dress adorned with actual sequins. Additionally, keep an eye out for precolonial jars excavated from an archaeological site in Calubcub Segundo. The fourth-generation Lopez-Tioseco siblings now manage the mansion.

“The heritage houses of San Juan, Batangas, such as Casa Leon and Casa Soledad, are testaments to the resilience, creativity and vision of the proud Batangueño people,” Marasigan Serumgard says. “But I am sure the older generations whom they honor are the ones exceedingly proud of them.”

“We successfully initiated the passage of an ordinance in honor of the legacy,” she added.

Both Marasigan House and White House offer significant veracity by displaying authentic house elements all belonging to the pre-colonial times. Cafeño Manila is located in the Marasigan House, while a vast array of art exhibits from renowned San Juan painters helps The White House continue to thrive.

Visiting San Juan in Batangas allows one to dive into an unforgotten time.