Arts

The House of the (Creative) Spirits

I clambered up the steps of Casa Rocha-Suarez to catch up with my friends who were already up on the caida of the house-cum-heritage-center during the tour component of the 1st International Conference on Heritage Houses and Vernacular Architecture. But as I was about to step onto the stairway myself, my feet freely trod on nimbly as though the very soul of the house came whispering into my ear: ssllohhww-lhy. I flushed, realizing my disrespect and proceeded into the sala with the gentlest of strides.

Every first-time encounter with centuries-old things and beings is, to me, always a humbling experience, not only because they’ve withstood the tests of time but moreso that they could, I know, outlive me as they have my great, great grandparents.

They tell tales of opulence and prudence, the interiors of the Casa Rocha-Suarez.

But I was not particularly interested on the people that dwelled here nor the parties they hosted. I marveled more on the artisans who put the pieces of this structure together and into this living museum of 19th century Boholano artistry and craftsmanship.

I wondered of the strong arms that felled the huge tree trunks that now served as sturdy posts of this ancestral house. I wondered of the rough hands that carved the wooden corbels that jut out from the upper posts of the house like proud shoulders of a young illustrado. I wondered of the delicate fingers that shaped the house’s furniture pieces, trunks, lattice vents, ventanillas and barandillas. I wondered in wonder.

Of the nameless individuals, unsung craftsmen, whose identities I never will know.

But no matter. Their genius lives on.

It may be that these heritage houses have been dwelled by such illustrious families that they need to be preserved. It may be that these heritage houses are such treasure troves as they contain some of the most precious antique pieces to be had that they need to be protected. It may be that these heritage houses are historical records of the lifestyle of the affluent during their heyday and possibly up to now that they need to be conserved.

But what struck me, just then, was that these houses, legacies that they are, passed on from their enterprising original owners to their heirs, these houses are, above all, enduring inheritance from their brilliant artists and artisans to us, their successors – a testament to the artistic and creative bloodline of the Boholanos that goes way back. And I take personal pride in this. As every Boholano should.

I exited the living space of the Casa Rocha-Suarez and paused at the caida to look back at the grandiose sala to perhaps snap a memory of its beauty in me. I bid my farewell: thank you for this gift. And slowly descended its steps.

(May 2006)

Tags: bohol, casa rocha-suarez, heritage, house, philippine architecture, tagbilaran