1962 Photos of Taal Lake and Surrounding Communities

Caption in The Chronicle Magazine:  "This is Mount San Nicolas on Taal Lake.  Here, man-made corrals abound.  It also offers an inexhaustible supply of fish which is sold in Manila, neighboring towns.

The images in this historic collection have been taken from an article in the April 1962 edition of “The Chronicle Magazine¹.” They are part of a feature on Taal Volcano and the communities around it entitled “Killer Volcano Now Nurtures Life.” All the photographs in the feature, which are included in this post, were taken by Jose T. del Rosario.

24 Superstitions from San Jose, Batangas

Among the beliefs in San Jose was that a pineapple should be planted with one's eyes closed.

[In this article: Batangas Province, San Jose Batangas, Filipino superstitions, superstitious beliefs, historical data]

From the so-called “historical data¹” of the town of San Jose in Batangas, we feature these superstitious beliefs, some familiar, some not-so-familiar but all will definitely have the reader scratching his pate and asking the question “why.” Unfortunately, the Eustaquio Ramos who compiled the superstitious beliefs did not explain the reasons for these or the consequences if they were not observed.

Focus on Jesus Villamor, the Ace Who Helped Stop a Japanese Bombing Raid on Batangas City

Jesus Villamor in Washington DC with the wives of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Manuel L. Quezon.  Image extracted from a 1944 edition of the Philippine Magazine.

[In this article: Batangas Province, Batangas City Batangas, Batangas airfield, Batangas airdrome, Jesus Villamor, World War II Batangas, Filipino flying aces]

Before the Second World War, there was a landing field maintained by the American colonial government in what is now the city of Batangas. The landing field was loosely referred to as the Batangas airfield or the Batangas airdrome. By late 1941, as tensions in the Pacific heated up leading to the outbreak of war in the Far East, the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC), the forerunner of the present-day Philippine Air Force¹, maintained facilities, including aircraft, at Batangas airfield.

Apolinario Mabini: a Short Biography Translated from “Mga Dakilaḡ Pilipino”

Image source:  LuisTeodoro.com.  Colorized courtesy of Algorithmia.com

[In this article: Apolinario Mabini, Filipino Heroes, Batangas Province, Notable Batangueños, Tanauan Batangas, Talaga Tanauan]

There is probably little in this piece of work that will add anything new to what has already been written about the Batangueño national hero Apolinario Mabini. As with a previous translation of another piece about General Miguel Malvar, this biography of Mabini is taken from a by-now obscure book entitled “Mga Dakilaḡ Pilipino¹.”

Teodoro M. Kalaw’s Version of Juanang Ilaya and other 19th Century Scare Stories Told to Children

Image credit:  Wikimedia Foundation, entitled "Filipina-Spanish mestiza wearing baro't saya."

[In this article: TM Kalaw, Teodoro M Kalaw, Lipa Batangas, Batangas Province, Batangas folklore, Juanang Ilaya, tigbalang, nuno sa punso, ililipad sa Makulot, iki, aswang, asuang, tiyanak, patianak]

The folkloric story of Juanang Ilayaw was already discussed in a previous article on Batangas History, which was based on an ethnographic paper written by one Amparo Reyes in 1925¹. In this version, Juanang Ilaya was a beauteous but heartbroken woman in the then-town of Lipa who would become a recluse and, for some unexplained reason, become transformed into a witch.

Mataasnakahoy: World War II to Martial Law Years

The Central Elementary School in Mataasnakahoy during the term of Mayor Felino Templo in the 50s.  Image source:  Google Earth Street View.

[In this article: Mataasnakahoy Batangas, History of Mataasnakahoy, Kasaysayan ng Mataasnakahoy, Japanese occupation of Batangas, World War II Batangas, Speaker Jose B. Laurel, Ceferino Capuchino, Capas Tarlac concentration camp, Mayor Vicente Matanguihan, Mayor Santiago Luna, Mayor Jose Landicho, Mayor Felino Templo, Mayor Soriano Lubis]

This article is the fourth installment of a series on the history of the town of Mataasnakahoy in Batangas based on a narrative written by Ceferino Capuchino¹. Readers who have not seen the earlier installments may find these archived under the Community History section of the main menu at the top of this page.

Part V: US Military Operations in Batangas from 1901-02 during the Fil-American War

Officers of the United States Army after entering the town of Batangas in 1900.

[In this article: Philippine-American War, Philippine Revolution, Filipino rebels, Macabebe Scouts, Ilocano Scouts, Fil-Am War Batangas, Bauan Batangas, Taal Batangas, Batangas City Batangas, Taysan Batangas, Talisay Batangas]

We continue with the fifth installment of a series running on Batangas History detailing operations of the United States Army in the Province of Batangas during the Philippine-American War. The details are taken from the annual report¹ of the United States War Department from 1901 to 1902.

Miguel Malvar: a Short Biography Translated from “Mga Dakilaḡ Pilipino”

Image taken at the Museo ni Heneral Malvar in Santo Tomas, Batangas.

[In this article: Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippine-American War, General Miguel Malvar, General J. Franklin Bell, Emilio Aguinaldo, Pact of Biak-na-Bao, Philippine Revolution]

A lot has already been written about General Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino General to surrender to the Americans during the Philippine-American War. His surrender in April of 1902 effectively ended Filipino resistance and, therefore, the war itself.

The Rise and Fall of Lipa’s 19th Century “Aristocracy” according to TM Kalaw

Women of the Red Cross Society of Lipa, early 1900s.  Image source:  “The Story of the Lopez Family: A Page from the History of the War in the Philippines.”

[In this article: TM Kalaw, Teodoro M Kalaw autobiography, Lipa Batangas, Lipa coffee industry, Lipa coffee boom, Lipa aristocracy]

In a previous article, Batangas History had already featured the so-called “grandeur” of the then-town of Lipa in the latter half of the 19^th century fuelled by coffee production which peaked in 1887. The article was based on the narrative of the Spanish historian Manuel Sastron¹ and can be found hyperlinked below.

“Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” Composer in Thrilling Escape from the Japanese in Cuenca in 1945

Image sources:  Photo of Josefino Cenizal from Discogs.com.  Photo of Japanese soldiers and tank from the United States National Archives.

[In this article: Josefino Cenizal, World War II Batangas, Cuenca Batangas, Lipa Batangas, Ang Pasko ay Sumapit, WWII escape from Japanese, Free Philippines newspaper]

Filipinos as a rule learn to sing the Christmas carol “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” (Christmas has come) almost instinctively from an early age. In the present day, however, it is all but forgotten that the carol’s melody was composed by one Josefino Cenizal, a multi-sided artistic genius from the town of Tanza in Cavite. The carol’s lyrics were provided by his friend, the late national artist Levi Celerio¹.

100 Old Tagalog Sayings with English Translations Told in Balayan, Batangas

Extracted from the book "History and Description of Picturesque Philippines."  Colorized courtesy of Algorithmia.

[In this article: National Library of the Philippines, historical data, Balayan Batangas, salawikain, Filipino sayings, Filipino maxims, Filipino adages, wisdom from elders]

From the so-called historical data¹ of Balayan, Batangas, we extract these delightful Tagalog sayings complete with translations into English. These historical data were documents submitted by Department of Education districts around the country in the early fifties to help reconstruct local histories destroyed during the war.

Part IV: US Military Operations in Batangas from 1901-02 during the Fil-American War

Image source: Sandra Plummer Collection of the Forth Worth Digital Library.  Colorized courtesy of Algorithmia.

[In this article: Philippine-American War, US Army in the Philippines, US Volunteers, American military operations in Batangas, Fil-Am War in Batangas, Lipa Batangas, Nasugbu Batangas, Batangas City Batangas, Taysan Batangas, San Luis Batangas]

This is the fourth installment of a series of articles providing details of the Philippine-American War – at least from the American point of view – as it was fought in Batangas from 1901 to 1902. The details of these operational actions of the United States Army are taken from annual report¹ of the United States War Department published in 1902.