The story of the surviving San Cristobal painting in Paete church

I’ve seen the painting before but learned of the story only recently. I was told that the painting that was done first was a Filipino San Cristobal and they added a Muslim.  Because it was  painted on the wall it was preserved. When the Spanish Christian colonizers arrived they painted another one to cover the Muslim San Cristobal. He had softer features and had a shirt on. It was this painting that has been damaged. It cannot be fixed because two groups are fighting on who should be  in charge of the repair.

Paete is the town of my roots and I had come to talk to Mayor Mutuc Bagabaldo about how we could work together to bring more livelihood jobs to the town. I came bringing PAGCOR donations of shirts and umbrellas. I took pictures of the two San Cristobals as documentary evidence of the history (look in my FB timeline). First stop was the Quesada Gallery of Nilo Valdecantos where he has a small cafe and paintings on exhibit. It also offers bed and breakfast if desired.

Mayor Mutuc and I talked on how we could work together to restore the tourist attractions of the little town squeezed between mountain and the bay.

But there are difficulties. The Paete Church is well known for its facade but it has now been covered by a crude stage set up to house students’ programs. Mutuc offered to put the stage behind the church but he he has to have the consent of the bishop who is in San Pablo. The church would have been the main tourist attraction not only because of the story of its two Cristobals but also other artworks in the church and its facade.

Mutuc said that the town was given a land grant  to till hectares of the mountain but so far they have not begun to implement the project because  a road needs to be built to the site where he plans to put up an organic farm.

It is not well known that the yo-yo, a toy which has been played around the world, was invented in Paete. Our last stop was the gallery workshop of Otep Banez with lively paintings of the games we loved when we were children – patintero and tumbang preso. He also had sculptures of houses in Paete made of houses grouped together and topped with what looked like coconuts.

Paete may be a 4th class municipality in the province of Laguna, but it has an illustrious history of woodcarving. It was founded in 1580 by Spanish friars Juan de Placencia and Diego de Oropesa of the Franciscan Order, but the earliest inhabitants were Malays who came from Borneo in “balangays.”

I would have come earlier to relish  the particular Paete cuisine but we were too late. By the time we arrived it was two o’clock and there was no more food to buy except a plate of very small shrimps cooked in coconut milk. There are other dishes you will not taste anywhere in restaurants in Manila.

Jose Rizal describes Paete as a town of “carpenter shops” (chapter VI, Noli Me Tangere). Their woodcarving skills have been passed on to their descendants but there is the problem of materials since their wood has been exhausted.

I was happy to know that Paeteños have passed on their skills of carving and painting to their descendants. The town’s masterpieces are found in churches, palaces and museums all over the world – among them the St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, the Mission Dolorosa in San Francisco, the San Cayetano Church in Mexico, the St. Joseph’s shrine in Sta. Cruz, California, various churches in the Philippines and the Ayala Museum in Makati.

The official town hero is not a statesman nor a soldier but a woodcarver, the master artisan Mariano Madriñan, whose obra maestra, the life-like Mater Dolorosa, was honored by the King of Spain with a prestigious award in Amsterdam in 1882. The town was proclaimed “the Carving Capital of the Philippines” in March 15, 2005 by President Arroyo.

Many descendants of Paeteno carvers have turned to fruit and vegetable carvings for buffet tables of cruise ships and world-class hotels and restaurants. There are still the traditional woodcarvings and taka (papier maché) but these need to be updated for export. Tourism could be greatly improved and I hope Paetenos who live abroad will help in the work to get it done.

Before the Spaniards came, Paete was said to be a peaceful barangay under Gat Lacampauid. The Spanish friars had a tradition of naming towns they built in honor of saints. Paete was an exception. Legend has it that there was once a young Franciscan priest who was tasked by his superior to visit their newly founded settlements alongside Laguna de Bay. The priest knew little about the terrain so he asked a native the name of the place. The latter misinterpreted the young friar, thinking that the former wanted to know the name of the tool he was using. He answered, Paét (chisel) – thus, the name Paete.

Paete is politically subdivided into nine barangays: Bagumbayan, Bangkusay, Ermita, Ibaba del Norte,Ibaba del Sur, Ilaya del Norte, Ilaya del Sur, Maytoong.

The first inhabitants were said to live in Ibaba which is closer to the bay. Now land is found only in the mountains but a unique subdivision can be built for those looking for houses with a view offered by Paete’s topography.