As part of the 13th Pulilan Mandala International Art Festival from 8 to 10 May, organizers Jefarca Arts and Historical Society Inc., together with the provincial government of Bulacan and the local government of Pulilan, recently unveiled a monument honoring one of the town’s enduring legacies from the American colonial period.

The Posong Malaki monument was unveiled on the second day of the three-day festival at its site across the municipal hall. The ceremony was attended by Pulilan Mayor RJ Peralta, Vice Mayor Imee Cruz, former Mayor Maritz Montejo, festival organizer Andrew de Guzman, Bulacan Provincial History and Heritage Division head May Arlene Torres and historian Ian Alfonso.

The monument features a replica of a water pump installed during the American colonial period as part of the government’s health and sanitation program across the country.

Completed in 1913 under the term of presidente municipal Gregorio Calderon, the pump was built by the then Bureau of Public Works. For decades, it served as a source of drinking water and as a public bath and laundry area for residents. It remained in use as a water source until 2006.

Before it became known as a poso — the Filipinized term for water pump, derived from the Spanish foso, meaning “well” — the area was a natural spring locally called Posong Buhay.

De Guzman said the monument was built to recognize the important role of the poso in the history and culture of Pulilan, Bulacan. It “became a meeting place and a common area for its residents where relationships and community bonds were formed,” he said. He added that the poso also “became a silent witness to the history of the town and to the growth of Pulilan as a prosperous town.”

A mural of memory

One of the few monuments of its kind in the country, the Posong Malaki monument is among at least two known examples. The other, inaugurated in 2020, stands at the Manolo Fortich Centennial Plaza in Bukidnon.

The Pulilan monument is complemented by a mural designed by rising Bulacan visual artist Mark Quizon and executed with fellow Baliwag artist Nathan Lopez. Rendered in Quizon’s signature tones, the mural presents the layered history of the site, from its beginnings as a natural spring to its transformation into a public water pump. It also depicts residents bathing, fetching water, washing clothes and carrying out daily chores around the poso. In the background is a rice field, reflecting Pulilan’s agricultural identity — an identity gradually being reshaped by industrialization and land conversion.

The festival

Established more than a decade ago as an annual event, the Pulilan Mandala International Art Festival mainly honors the agricultural heritage of Pulilan. After its 2024 staging, it has since become a biennial event.

The festival is supported by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Department of Tourism Region III, the provincial government of Bulacan, and the local government of Pulilan.

More than a hundred local and international artists, including participants from France, India and Australia, joined this year’s festival, which featured art exhibitions, lectures, murals, performance art and other activities.

Another highlight of the festival was the unveiling of the bust of Dr. Reuben R. Cañete at the Pulong Kabyawan Agricultural Farm. Created by sculptor Carlito de Jesus, the bust honors the late writer, artist, art critic and educator from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Cañete was a member of Jefarca and had been named an adopted son of Pulilan.