Cora Relova: Life, art & architecture in historic Pila

The town of Pila, Laguna is a mere 80 kilometers from Manila yet seems a world away from hustle and bustle of city life. As you take the SLEX to Calamba, a smooth ride on the expressway gives way to the well-paved roads of the national highway, taking you past the towns of Los Baños, Calauang, Victoria and finally, Pila.  

At first, the highway is marked by roadside eateries and convenience stores but farther along verdant fields come into view, rows of potted plants and flowers line the way and at a distance, a view towards Mount Makiling. Not far from this gentle landscape lies a town that is steeped in history and culture that it was once conferred the special status of la Noble Villa de Pila (the noble town of Pila) by the Spaniards in 1610, in recognition of the people’s refined manners and genteel customs. It is said that only four other towns in the Philippines were accorded this honor in the 16th and 17th centuries: Cebu, Vigan, Libon in Bicol, and Oton in Panay.

 I recently spent an afternoon with Cora Relova, a descendant of Don Felizardo Rivera, the man responsible for moving the town to its present site and the town’s chief architect and visionary leader. Pila was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute in 2000 and is protected by a Heritage Bill signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

Cora Relova often welcomes friends and history lovers to Pila. She leads heritage walks around the town upon request.

Pila is one of the few places in the country that preserve the Spanish colonial town planning system, and reflect a rich and varied heritage seen in the town center where a Philippine baroque church of the Spanish period still stands, and houses in the chalet style of the American period survive. Cora is among the founders of the Pila Historical Society Foundation, which works to preserve and protect the town’s cultural and historical landmarks. Centuries before the Spaniards came to our shores, Pila was already an important center of trade and culture. Excavations of the Laguna de Bay area in the 1960s yielded Chinese porcelain, ceramics, scholar’s tools and writing implements that date back to the 12th century. 

It appears that the Pileños were avid collectors of art — acquiring important pieces from the Sung and Yuan dynasties. The artifacts discovered at various burial sites were once given as provisions to the dead to accompany them in their journey to the afterlife. Some 250 to 300 specimens recovered from The Esso-Elizalde excavations of the 1960s were donated to Pila by Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Elizalde, and are housed in an old school building that was recently refurbished and presently serves as the town museum.

The town’s main plaza is surrounded by homes built in the early 1920s that still bear traces of the colonial style — of pastel and cream colors with verandas open to the square. The square is bounded by the municipal hall, the Church of San Antonio de Padua, the Liceo de Pila and the ancestral homes of the town’s leading residents.

The municipal hall of Pila – a heritage building from the Commonwealth period restored under the leadership of Mayor Edgardo Ramos.

Before heading to the town we stop for lunch at Cora’s rest house, where interlinked pavilions front rice fields, and the grounds are planted with wild flowers, kalachuchi, kamias and cotton trees. Cool breezes flow into the living area as we feast on local favorites, and family recipes of Cora’s 93-year-old mother, Loring del Mundo Relova — baby shrimps simmered in coconut milk and topped with fresh kamias, atsarang ubod, chicken and glass noodle soup with fine herbs and lima beans, steamed vegetables with a coconut and garlic dip. We end the meal with fresh basil tea and a delicately prepared banana spring roll. Cora spends most of her time in Pila coming to Manila only three days a week. “ I don’t miss the amenities of modern life: we have them all here — Internet, WiFi, cable TV, mobile phones, groceries, restaurants, schools, gyms and salons. We even have our own museum! Even better we have no government bureaucratic red tape, traffic gridlocks and our church has been around for hundreds of years to take care of the communities’ spiritual needs.”

Though she makes her home in this rustic and minimalist abode, her rock is the family’s ancestral home on Rivera Street fronting the old town square. It is for her a “ living museum” and a storehouse of memories — of a happy and idyllic childhood. The plaza was her playground and around the periphery stood the homes of her extended family and friends.

“You had this safety net all around you, you always felt secure and loved by everyone — including the townsfolk,” she says. “Life was peaceful in the 1950s in Pila. We were fortunate to be spared from the devastation of the war,” Pila was one of the first towns to be liberated by the guerillas in January 1945 and was spared from the clashes of Japanese and American forces.

A view of the living room — walls in dark wood provide a rich contrast to the light colors of the furnishings and colorful accent pieces throughout the home.

Cora remembers evacuees from Manila came to Pila during the war. “Even in those days, we shared happy and congenial moments with them.”

The Rivera house was built in the 1920s during the Commonwealth period. The architectural style, Cora tells me, is American chalet with touches of Spanish design elements seen in the woodcarvings on the ventanillas that allow for good cross ventilation. The house is an evolution of the bahay na bato, which is rooted in the concept of the bahay kubo. 

It sits on a corner lot and is intimate in size and scale as it is in setting. The gracious interiors blend Philippine period furnishings, Chinese decorative accent pieces, silver ornaments and wood paneling from Paete, Laguna. Cheerful botanical prints cover the European style sofa and side chairs of the sitting area.

Small vases situated throughout the living and dining areas hold sprays of local flowers in white, purple, red and bright pink. Cora points out that nearly all the furnishings in this home are Philippine-made, most of it from the time of her grandmother.

The veranda with a view of the town plaza

Last Christmas, Cora rented the house to an Indian couple as a bed and breakfast and led heritage walks around the town. Diplomats and friends visit Pila to see one of the few places in the Philippines where history still lives in the streets and neighborhoods.

In the late afternoon, we sit by a nook facing a side street and the town square. School children are making their way to the plaza to play games, and others are huddled together in animated conversation. “It’s heartening to see that the old plaza is still a center of life for many of our young people,” says Cora. The Pila Historical Society raised funds to clear structures that detracted from the beauty as well as the purpose and historical relevance of the plaza. It is, after all, a model of the Spanish colonial town planning system — the center from which all other structures radiated — the school, municipal hall, church and large old houses. 

Today, you see hawkers with roving carts plying local snacks, cars parked around the periphery, some tricycles around the fringes of the plaza. “We are all working to ensure that the plaza remains a recreational venue for the townspeople — a place to spend leisure time and a throwback to earlier years. ”

On one end of the plaza stands the municipal hall, a heritage building from the Commonwealth period that has been faithfully restored by incumbent Mayor Edgardo Ramos. On the opposite end is the Church of San Antonio de Padua, an edifice of old stone and stained glass windows, reconstructed stone by stone from the old town location in Pagalangan to its present site in Nueva Pila in the early years of the 19th century. 

Cora Relova at home — always willing to share stories of Pila’s proud heritage.

We enter the church through the side entrance. A forecourt of flagstone steps leads to the main hall. Inside, the interiors are of white walls and an altar in solid dark wood. Just outside, a baptismal hall has been converted into a place of prayer where worshippers can sit in silence before the Blessed Sacrament. Whether you are from Laguna or Manila, it is a blessing to feel connected to one’s heritage even for a few hours. Pila has done this for me and the remembrances of this brief visit will stay with me always.

Back in Cora’s house on Rivera Street we take an afternoon snack of locally - made puto, quesong puti and bibingkang kamoteng kahoy bought at the nearby market. As we sit by the window, people walking by wave at us and exchange greetings. Reflecting on life in Pila, Cora says, “Until this house became a heritage site, it was just a charming home – my little spot in the world and my paradise on earth.”

Not many people feel that way about their homes or their hometowns. No doubt the townspeople feel much the same way. Pila has long been known by another name, Bayang Pinagpala — a town blessed by a long and noble heritage. And if you come and visit Pila for an afternoon, memories remain of an old town that has every reason to stand proud. The Pileños and their leaders have worked hard to preserve a storied past. In a world where everything is fast changing yet looking more and more alike —that is a rare treasure and a gift.   

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For tours in historic Pila, call Cora Relova at (049)559-0382.Your comments are welcome. Please e-mail tonettemartel@gmail.com.