If I could make another film, I would entitle it 'My City, My SM'

MANILA, Philippines - Buena vista!” (meaning “beautiful view” in Spanish) were the first two words uttered by Fr. Juan de Plasencia and Fr. Diego Oropesa, two Spanish Franciscan friars, as they stood at the foot of Mt. Banahaw marveling at the site of what would become the city of Lucena many centuries later. That was in the late 1580s. Soon, a settlement was built in the area called “Buenavista.”

In early 1879, the name Buenavista was changed to Oroquieta, in honor of the then Spanish Governor Domingo Moriones Murillo, a Marquis of Oroquieta, a barrio in Spain.

Due to its location near the sea, the barrio of Oroquieta was incessantly attacked by the Moros (Muslim pirates) that led the villagers to erect fortresses around the settlement to protect the inhabitants. The name Oroquieta subsequently became known as Cotta, meaning “fort.”

Realizing that many more lives might be lost, some of the natives decided to establish an extension of the settlement in the uplands, away from the seashore and far from the Moro raiders. This move resulted in a life of peace and serenity among the natives in following years.

Soon, new settlers moved in and took residence in this progressive settlement that eventually became a township as the population grew in size. 

In 1878, another Franciscan priest, Fr. Mariano Granja, established his own parish in this township and improved its geographical planning and design, modeling it after a town’s design in his native Spain.

With his impressive accomplishments, an Orden Real Superior Civil was issued in November 5, 1879, changing the town’s name to Lucena, as a tribute to Fr. Granja whose birthplace was generally believed to be in Lucena in Andalucia, Spain. 

With the town’s inhabitants showing their tenacity and self-sufficiency, Lucena was declared an independent municipality of Tayabas (now Quezon province) on June 1, 1882.

The history of Lucena is a colorful one. Unfortunately, not many of its own natives were aware of its interesting historical past — until now. Thankfully, a civic-minded Lucenahin and councilor of the city, Benny Brizuela, thought of producing an independent digital film based on its history, aptly called Buenavista.

It stars well-known TV and stage names like Eddie Garcia, Delia Razon, Ricky Davao, Roy Alvarez, former Ms. International 2005 Precious Lara Quigaman, Luis Alandy (whose ancestors hail from Tayabas) and Lucena natives Neil Ryan Sese and Noel Evidente (with screen name Diego Malvar). (The film will be shown starting June 9 at SM Cinemas as part of the Philippine Independence Day celebration.)

Directing this epic film is also a true-blooded Lucenahin, yours truly. I don’t know what exactly drove me to accept this film project. Maybe it was the challenge of directing another epic film (after Fausta). Or maybe the chance to direct an impressive stellar cast. Or the opportunity to learn the real history of Lucena. It was a daunting task, but proved to be a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

 The directing part was a walk in the park but the research prior to my writing the script was truly an eye opener. Many thanks to Ryan Palad, a Tayabas native and presently the curator of GSIS Museum, who loaned me some books in his collections and to Lourdes Africa, a Lucenahin and my former history teacher whose thesis on the political and social history of Lucena was an invaluable source of my research. As I turned page after page of precious notes on our city’s history, it amazed me how colourful our city’s history is.

Oh, how I love this city, where I was born and raised! The city that nurtured and molded me into what I am now. A lover of arts… of music. (Even the thundering noise of tricycles passing by is music to my ears!)

And people. Especially people! Lucena is truly a melting pot of people of every conceivable size, shape, color and accent. They came from nearby towns and provinces originally just for a visit, but opted to stay permanently once they experienced the attractions of this city and what it has to offer them.

And the food! You’ll never go hungry in this city. I can’t think of any other city in the country that I have visited that has a restaurant at almost every other corner. Whether they belong to popular chains of fast food restaurants or to the numerous hole-in-the-wall turo-turo, Lucena knows how to satisfy everyone’s taste buds and budgets. Even some restaurants of my childhood days are still around and I never fail to visit them at least once a month to fill my cravings for Lucena’s popular delicacy — the chami!

I am a witness to the incredible growth of this city, especially in the last decade. As the city’s population grew, the demand for more housing, more schools, more hospitals, more restaurants, more entertainment places also grew. At the height of the booming development of Lucena, an exciting new player set up shop in our midst: SM Supermalls! What a relief!

Now I don’t have to endure the four-hour drive to Manila just to go shopping. Everything I need, practically, is here. From housewares to clothes, pharmacy, appliances, salons, bookstores, restaurants, groceries and — especially my favorite place to visit — the cinemas! Yes, four movie houses under one roof. If that is not a real treat, well, I don’t know what is!

Since it opened for business, there is no doubt our very own SM City Lucena has become a melting pot of sorts. Where the promdis and the sosyals are shoulder-to-shoulder during bargain sales; where the highlanders and the lowlanders meet inside beauty salons; where long-lost friends, ex-lovers and relatives meet and greet along the busy hallways of the mall; and where kids turn the supermarket into one big playground. Truly, this place is a remarkable venue where exciting things happen. (Not to mention the weekend gigs by celebrity guests at the entertainment center.) Literally, they’ve got it all for us!

I could very well say that SM City Lucena is now surely but slowly becoming a big part of our city’s history. Maybe someday, when I write another story for a new film about its history, I will entitle it “My City My SM.”