Take a selfie with Lady Liberty in Pangasinan
We start the year with another feature in our continuing series on Philippine parks and plazas. Since January 2016, we’ve looked at over three dozen plazas and parks from towns and cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanist ao. The selection has been fairly random, the result of opportunities that have come from travels associated with my day job as a design consultant. It is important to document our plazas and parks before they all disappear or are compromised by rapid urbanization.
We ended 2016 with a visit to coastal Lingayen in Pangasinan. This week we motor down inland, 16 kilometers south to San Carlos, the largest city in terms of population in the province. It is also in the geographical center of Pangasinan and hence an economic and cultural crossroads.
Originally known as Binalatongan, the town has a long history, starting as one of the province’s oldest settlements. It grew slowly throughout the Spanish period but bloomed in the American period aided by the fact that it was connected by railway to Manila and points north. In contemporary history, the town modernized with the province and was turned into a city in 1965. Today the city is known for its bamboo products and other handicraft, pottery, furniture and fruits, specifically San Carlos’ sweet mango.
The city center is configured in the classic “Laws of the Indies” church and plaza configuration. Unlike most other traditional urban centers in the country, which are squarish in geometry, San Carlos’ plaza is a longish rectangle of about one hectare in size.
The plaza is bordered on its north side by the Saint Dominic de Guzman Church, with its large convent (now a school — the St. Charles Academy) on its Eastern flank and the city’s busy public market on the western side. The church is a large Philippine baroque church, with origins over four centuries ago. The current edifice, made of brick as chief building material, was completed in the late 18th century by Fr. Cristobal Ausina.
Across the church is the City Hall complex. The structure is a modern edifice, apparently replacing or built over an older structure. (I could not find any picture of the original.) Today it is bordered by a small mall, and commercial structures typical of provincial centers; including the requisite McDonald’s and Jollibee.
The present plaza appears, however, to have shrunk from this original size to about half a hectare. The Eugenio Pérez Memorial building and a multi-purpose court take up half of the original area. The rest of the plaza survives with its focal points made up of two American-era monuments. The first is that of Dr. Jose Rizal and the second is a replica of the famous Statue of Liberty. (I featured this unique landmark in an article I wrote on the Philippines’ statues published in this column in 2001.)
The Statue of Liberty is the taller of the two monuments and sits in a fountain fed by several dolphins. Dr. Jose Rizal is on a lower plinth. Both statues are a little worn around the edges and appear to have been painted over several times. Lady Liberty is in white while; the good doctor has been rendered in full color, as is the practice in Philippine towns today. I am ambivalent about this polychromy, but I remind myself that the original Greek statues were not white but painted in full color (albeit with more care than Dr. Rizal’s today).
San Carlos Plaza has obviously seen several makeovers over the decades. Archival pictures show a 1960s modern- renovation. From my reckoning (looking at the mishmash of hardscape finishes, outdoor furniture and other elements), there appears to have been at least three layers of renovations since. When I visited, the plaza was rimmed by tiangges, which have become the bane of Philippine plazas nationwide. I do not know whether these are permanent, but they serve to block access to the plaza and contribute to the general visual cacophony.
For the above reasons, I rate San Carlos Plaza a 6.5 out of 10. There are too many extraneous elements and additions. The plaza could do with an overall clearing and cleaning, along with resolution of pedestrian-unfriendly finish levels and more harmony overall with proper paving materials and outdoor furniture. The plaza’s landscape could also be improved with more shade trees and greens to frame the two heritage monuments. The settings for these two could also be simplified and enhanced.
San Carlos is an interesting stop in any visit to Pangasinan province. It is a historical place with key personalities in the 19th century, late Spanish-era. More contemporary celebrities are also from here, like Fernando Poe (both Senior and Junior), along with music-maker supreme Ryan Cayabyab.
Start the year right. Visit the city for its Spanish-era church, a dose of local cassava cake, mango, heritage and a selfie with Lady Liberty.