Steel and bamboo are two materials that seem opposite in physical characteristics. One is synonymous with strength and the other with flexibility. Superman would not be the same hero if he were called the "Man of Bamboo." (That would be Ka Wayan, a fictional character from an uncompleted novel based on the Huk struggle of the 1940s.) Yes, the Filipino is as flexible as the bamboo but his determination can be described as steely. Many Filipino politicians are in fact known as "Men of Steal" ...but I digress. Let’s look at what readers conveyed.
The long history of the church is outlined in the records of the NHI and referred to in the feature. These narratives acknowledge the efforts of the Augustinian Recollects to build this magnificent house of worship from a simple thatched-roof church to today’s amazing steel Basilica.
The original structure was made of stone. The estate and funds for the church’s construction were donated by Don Bernardino del Castillo of the Royal Infantry Battalion and his wife Doña Maria Enriquez de Cespedes. It was inaugurated on May 5, 1621 with the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel enshrined. Later in the century the church was dedicated to the martyr, San Sebastian.
The next two centuries saw the church barely surviving several catastrophes including fires, earthquakes and looting (the Sangley uprising of 1639 and the British takeover in 1762). From then it slowly recovered and by the mid-1800s the church was transformed into a wonderful three-nave church with a gilded altar, organ and numerous paintings hung from its dome.
Two more earthquakes in 1863 and 1881 saw the church leveled, re-built and leveled again in a relatively short span of time. Church authorities were exasperated over this and recurring looting so they sought a long-term solution. Don Genaro Palacios, director of public works of the Insular Government at the time, recommended a new method of construction – that of using steel, a deterrent to thieves and earthquakes alike. The Agustinians agreed.
Palacios was chosen to design the building. His design was approved on June 14, 1883. Three years later in 1886, the Societe Anonyme d’ Enterprises de Travaux Publics of Brussels, Belgium was awarded the contract to undertake the construction of this grandiose design. One-thousand-five-hundred-twenty-seven tons of steel parts were cast in Belgium and subsequently shipped to Manila in six shiploads arriving in 1888. Assembly of the 50 by 22-meter church and its two 52-meter tall towers took two years. On August 15, 1891 the San Sebastian was inaugurated.
They further report that "Noted Chinese-American architect, I.M. Pei came to visit in order to ascertain if the San Sebastian Basilica was indeed designed by Eiffel. ...Pei made a short trip to Manila in 1978. His host reportedly found his request silly – until the visiting architect told his local counterpart that he had read some information in the Library of Congress in Washington that Eiffel had designed a steel church in Asia, and it could be the San Sebastian Basilica."
The PIA feature states that Pei, accompanied by Architect Antonio Sindiong and Engineer Lamberto Ocampo "...visited the church, and after hours of explaining the structural technology used in building the church, he was sure that it was Eiffel, because of the kind of metal used and the way it was put together." It is also reported that the Library of Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris has Eiffel’s biography and catalogue of complete works, which include "one church in Manila, Philippines, 1875."
The PIA feature, supported by I.M. Pei’s observations and excerpts from some engineering books, contends that Eiffel was the designer of San Sebastian’s framework and that Palacios may still be the main designer or supervisor. Eiffel’s work aside from the Eiffel tower and the Statue of Liberty (internal framework) included numerous bridges and – apparently – several pre-fabricated steel churches.
Eiffel’s steel churches can be found in places like the City of Coquimbo in Chile and Santa Rosalia in Baja Sur, Mexico. Santa Rosalia is an old copper mining town. It was leased from the Mexican government by a French company for 99 years. The company, El Boleo, built the town from scratch.
The church (smaller than San Sebastian) was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel originally for the World Exposition of Paris in 1889, where his tower was the main attraction. It was meant to go to Africa as a mission church (steel was impervious to termites that fed on previous timber churches) but El Boleo bought the church and re-assembled it in Santa Rosalia, christening it Iglesia Santa Barbara.
The dates from the NHI and PIA accounts seem not to tally but nearby bridges (which were also featured in last week’s article) could give some clues to the conundrum. Both the Colgante bridge and the Ayala bridge were projects participated in by Ayala y Compaña. The Puente Colgante was designed by the French engineer M. Gabaud. The Ayala Bridge is credited to Gustave Eiffel’s company but the date accorded is 1872. It may have been that both the Colgante and the Ayala bridges were originally designed by Gabaud but that Eiffel was called in to repair the bridge after it was found weakened (by an earthquake probably) in 1888. This was the same time that the San Sebastian was being built or was in Manila (1888-1891).
More research has to be done. The history of Philippine modern engineering and architecture (the last 150 years) has shown, in these glimpses, to have been at par – technically and aesthetically – with the rest of the world. This has been forgotten because of our failure to keep records and to treasure what we have – that which has not been erased by war, caprice or plain ignorance of cultural heritage.
Dear Mr. Alcazaren,
Warm greetings from Jaro, Iloilo City! (We) are fascinated by your recent article ...on the "Bamboo Eiffel Tower." The "tower" was constructed in Jaro Plaza probably in the early 1890s. Incidentally, Jaro became a city in 1891. I was able to go up the Eiffel Tower in 1985 but had no idea about its bamboo version until I read your article last Saturday and saw the accompanying picture. I shared your article with a leading Ilonggo historian, former Iloilo Province vice governor Demy Sonza and he mentioned some prominent Ilonggos who may be responsible for bringing the design (of the bamboo tower) over.
He mentioned Francisco Villanueva, the first senator (1916) of the Seventh Senatorial District of Iloilo and Capiz, Raymundo Melliza, president of the revolutionary government of the Visayas and Melecio Figueroa who designed the first Philippine legal tender coin. Jaro’s own national hero, Graciano Lopez-Jaena together with other Filipino expatriates in Spain, like Dr. Jose Rizal and the Luna brothers, also saw the world exposition in Paris.
Your picture of the Bamboo Eiffel Tower shows Jaro’s St. Elizabeth Cathedral with its famous belfry. Perhaps the tower was placed there at the Jaro Plaza during the time Jaro was declared a city and it lasted only a few months or years. The belfry was destroyed by the earthquake of 1948 during the February 2nd annual fiesta in honor of the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria. This belfry has recently been restored by the National Historical Institute.
By the way, we call ourselves "Jareños" or "Salognons" – not "Jaroanons." "Salog" is a Hiligaynon (or Ilonggo) word, which means "to catch fish with bare hands or to wade in the water." Jaro used to be called Salog after the Salog River, which was used for transportation and commerce in the good old days. "Jaro" comes from the word "jar"– but, that is another story.
Thank you for bringing our district into focus. Keep up the good work for the preservation of our culture!
Thank you to Engineer Alerta-Lim and other readers for their feedback.
Our Filipino character has been compared to bamboo – strong yet supple, bending without breaking to the uncaring winds of fate. True, we have been buffeted by many natural and social storms yet we have survived. Because of this, we have now steeled ourselves, numb almost, to the vicissitudes of daily life – from the incomprehensible horror of morning reality TV to the terror of tow-truck hoodlums. Politicians, too, are too quick to bend backwards, bend budgets and bend the law.
It is time we took, not the law, but our destiny into our own hands. We need to take the best of this Filipino character, the strength ...not the flexibility – for we have been flexible enough – and use it like Gustave Eiffel did to build modern lives, structures to last and towers to reach as high as we can dream.