Where past, present and future meet

MANILA, Philippines - In Nasugbu, Batangas lies a place that’s a threshold between the past and the present. But far from being a tragic miscellany of lost tradition and apathetic modernities; it’s a place where the past, present and future, quite simply, meet.

“The lore of Bamboo Beach was born in World War II,” shares Bingle Razon-Puyat, (Colonel Jose Razon’s youngest daughter). She relates that as Filipino and American forces in Corregidor were heavily besieged by Japanese forces, Colonel (then Captain) Razon was sent on a special mission personally approved by President Quezon. “As with all wars, it was long and tedious with the troops steadily running out of food. With this, Col. Razon was sent to obtain rice and other provisions.” Col. Razon eventually landed in Bamboo Beach where he hid until it was time to depart with the supplies which the civilians helped him gather.

But Col. Razon never forgot the place where he found refuge and sustenance amid the ravages of war. For relaxation, Col. Razon and his friends, Enrique Brias and Jose de Mendezona, purchased some land adjacent to Bamboo Beach.

“My earliest memory of Bamboo Beach was holding on to the hand of Col. Razon — my father,” says Bingle. “He was a fun-loving man who loved people and the beach so he would often bring his family and friends from Nasugbu’s Wawa wharf to Bamboo Beach.”

She remembers that at her father’s beach parties, a simple batya, loaded with beer and soft drinks under mounds of ice, would be floated out to guests while they were still in the water. Meanwhile, amongst the shady trees beyond the beach, a lechon and a huge tanguigue would be roasting side by side. These would be served for lunch, together with pesang manok, juicy prawns and freshly cooked rice, on a long bamboo table covered with banana leaves.

Bingle also recounts several anecdotes about the people who shared ties with Bamboo Beach. She relates that Enrique Zobel, visiting from his Calatagan ranch once landed his helicopter right on the beach. Meanwhile, Andres Soriano Jr.’s yacht, the Seven Seas, often dropped anchor within the cove. 

For more information about Kawayan Cove, please contact 843-9136 to 38 and 843-8820.