An llustrated history

MANILA, Philippines – A few years ago, in one of my many trips to Ilocos Sur, I met Damaso King, the province’s late historian, who told me a story about how Vigan was saved by love during the Second World War. I was accompanied by Ilocos Sur Gov. Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano to that story-telling meeting with King who regaled us with his knowledge of the province’s lore. Savellano, inspired by the story and the rich history of his province, made a promise to himself that he would one day sit down to write a book about Ilocos Sur. It had been his dream ever since he was a child to capture in a tome his province’s rich cultural and historical heritage.

A few weeks ago, Savellano made sure to fulfill his promise when he launched his first book Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History at the Ayala Museum in Makati. Savellano said the writing of the book did not come about from an idea hatched overnight or mulled over in one serendipitous moment.

“It began with a childhood dream, as I wondered how things came about and how events and personalities conspired to shape a province and its destiny. Looking for something concrete to validate that dream, I found that there was none but heavy historical data that either bored me or put me to sleep. This book is a culmination of that lifelong dream, nurtured by a natural curiosity about the past and expectations of a brighter future,” Savellano said, adding, however, that Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History is not the definitive history of Ilocos Sur. “That book will still have to be written.”

Unlike many history books, Savellano wrote an easy-to-read yet well researched tome replete with full illustrations painstakingly executed by The STAR chief cartoonist Rene Aranda and UP Fine Arts professor Bim Bacaltos. The coffee table book was designed by Benjo Laygo and Nanie Gonzales with the editorial supervision of Inquirer’s Ester Dipasupil. Naty Guerrero was the project coordinator.  

“Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History peels back layers of the past of Ilocos Sur, tracing its geological origins, early relations with the Chinese and the Japanese, its Spanish past — from being a Spanish ciudad in the 16th century to its eventual separation from the Provincia de Ilocos to become Ilocos Sur in the 19th century. The latter development was proof that Ilocos Sur had the right to stand on its own,” said Dr. Ma. Luisa Camagay, former chair of the History department of UP Diliman. She diligently collated and crosschecked the historical data contained in the book.

“The book, likewise, documents the colonial experience of the province under the United States and much later, under the occupation of an Asian invader, the Japanese. It ends with the present and cites significant economic and progressive developments in the province,” Camagay added.

Reading the book is like unearthing a precious find — one ogles at it and gets mesmerized by its capacity to illuminate historical data without subjugating one to boredom and without shortchanging one for the book’s historical accuracy. Every page of this history book contains stories that are scholastic in discussion yet with a very understandable tone. In many times its prose becomes lyrical, too.

Apart from the easy-to-read text, the poignant and provocative action illustrations done by Aranda separate this tome from the rest of the history books that I have read before. Aranda meticulously did more than 130 illustrations in the book sans the aid of a computer but with his own genius and dexterous hands.

A sense of victory is palpable in Aranda’s illustration depicting the legendary Ilocano fighter Diego Silang when he won his first battle against the Spaniards in Balaywak, Cabugao on Dec. 24, 1762.

Anger and vengeance, however, are clearly manifested in the movements of Gabriela Silang when Aranda illustrated how she took over the reins of “Free Ilocos Revolt” from her husband Diego, following his assassination.

Those two illustrations are moving enough to make it to the cover of the book.   

On the other hand, Bacaltos’ understanding of Ilocos Sur’s faith, features and figures is evident in his more than 60 “still” illustrations of the province’s churches and centuries-old buildings. The strokes he used in his drawings are bold and penetrating that his numerous church illustrations seem to evangelize the message of the book.

Indeed, Ilocos Sur: An Illustrated History is an interesting read and a visual treat that will indeed rouse one’s curiosity for the province’s cultural and historical wealth.

(E-mail the author at [email protected])