PUBLISHING DATE: OCTOBER 2014
(Original Submission)
Image by Jilson Tiu
BAHAY BAYANI
We are left with traces that attest to Manila’s formidable position in the colonial era. The streets of Binondo, Sta. Ana, and Quiapo, once the reflection of the country’s seat of power, may lose what little the past has bestowed. But in Ariston Bautista Street stands a nugget of history amid urban decay: the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista. Built in 1914 and now celebrating its centennial year, the abode is more than just a preserved colonial house.
The 1900s saw a shift in Filipino society as the turn of the century gave way to American imperialism, the Philippine-American War, and the country’s independence. And Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was in the center of this transformation. Its owners Dr. Ariston Bautista and his wife and painter Petrona Nakpil have opened their doors to key figures in Philippine history. Widow of Andres Bonifacio and Lakambini ng Katipunan Gregoria de Jesus and her husband Julio Nakpil, brother of Petrona, Katipunan Vice-Presiding Supremo, and noble hymn Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan composer, have also resided in the house. Dr. Bautista himself was a propagandist and friend of Dr. Jose Rizal. He distributed Rizal’s prohibited novels despite possible arrest from doing so. He was one of the first professors in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and developed a cure for cholera. Indeed, the home’s progressive architecture for its time isn’t the only important aspect of the heritage site. The residents’ legacies co-accountable for the shift in our history are as significant as the brick and mortar.
The Bautistas’ forward thinking and deviant nature apparent in their nationalistic causes are echoed in the home’s design. The house is a notable blend of the colonial Filipino house (Bahay na Bato) and the Viennese Secession. Typical in this period where houses decorated with flowers depicted in relief or in tracery, an Art Nouveau influence. The Bautistas, after receiving a Viennese furniture set from the Prietos, took inspiration from its pronounced verticality with subtle curves and minimalistic accents. The man entrusted to communicate this motif was Arcadio Arellano, one of the first and greatest Philippine architects. Arellano was behind the famous buildings Gota de Leche and Casino Español and was known to favor indigenous and original concepts. Viennese Secession, the architectural theme of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, was majorly unknown then. The end result was a likeness to the 1920s Art Deco and 1930s reductionism, or the elimination of surface decoration.
Viennese Secession began in the late 1890s and is broadly explained as the use of geometric forms into the designs. Austrians Hoffman, Olbrich, and Wagner were the pioneer Secessionist architects that used linear ornamentation, generally called eel or whiplash style, on the building facades. Throughout the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, one will notice the influence in the flattened, elongated curves of the ceiling frames, abstract tulip renditions in the callados, artistic lyres of the ventanilla grills, and rows of recessed squares on wooden walls, stair railings, and window grills. As with many Filipino houses of the era, space was further ringed with space. Apart from the expansive rooms, the doors that separate the dining rooms, antesala, and sala slide and can be pushed to the sides to create vistas spreading from street to estero.
In 2011, The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) declared the house as a cultural property. NHCP, in its mandate, is responsible for the home-museum’s restoration, preservation, and conservation. However, it is the privately owned Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation, Inc. in charge for its upkeep. Run by the descendants of the original owners, the foundation “exists so that Bahay Nakpil-Bautista flourishes as a recognized architectural masterpiece, a nationally significant historical site, a center for community activities and urban revitalization, a forum for nation-building, and a platform for projecting Filipino art and culture internationally.” The foundation aims to promote the nationalistic and artistic legacies of Dr. Ariston Bautista, Julio Nakpil, Francisco Nakpil, Gregoria de Jesus, and other relatives. This is done through preserving their property, documents, and works of art and encouraging the study of their lives and achievements. The foundation has helped deserving disadvantaged individuals and families in the name of Dr. Bautista and the Nakpils’ philanthropic spirit. They endorse community activities that foster nationhood and help revitalize the city. The foundation is also active in using the house as a platform for showcasing Philippine arts.
Today, the foundation has turned the house into a museum and events place. It hosts a sculpture shop on the ground floor and a small Filipiniana library. The rooms can be rented out for seminars and workshops. The Museo ng Katipunan showcases historical mementos relevant to the time and the family. The Dambana ni Oriang section are paintings that depict the life of Gregoria de Jesus with Andres Bonifacio and Julio Nakpil. The Bulwagan ng Katipunan section presents artworks of Katipunero soldiers, vitrines displaying the Kartilya ng Katipunan, and oculi symbolizing the women in the Katipunan and the music in the revolution. Three chairs where Bonifacio, Mabini, and Rizal sat when Liga Filipina was founded are in the museum as well. One will also find shelf exhibits of the Katipunan story along with a timeline of the Philippine Revolution vis-à-vis the democratic revolutions in Asia and the West. The foundation welcomes artists to use the space for exhibits. This year, the foundation celebrates the home’s 100th anniversary with a permanent exhibit entitled “Bahay Nakpil-Bautista: Tahanan ng mga Katipunero (1914-2014)."
Bahay Nakpil-Bautista demonstrates how heritage plots can have modern purposes that benefit the surrounding communities and the country all together. It is an ideal that several privately owned foundations that intend to revive Manila’s historical appeal share. A view from any of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista’s windows is a testament to the neglect Manila has faced. Sadly, just a few blocks from the home-museum and within Quiapo are old structures battling deterioration, some used as warehouses or boarding houses for the poor. Despite government agencies delegated to care for these dying edifices, the effort seems not enough. Private groups such as the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation have taken the stand to help protect such infrastructures. Travel blogger and president of the Heritage Conservation Society Ivan Henares believes that Heritage Zones that are also named Tourism Enterprise Zones will increase motivations for tourism businesses in the area. City of Manila tourism consultant and Viva Manila founder Carlos Celdran uses his walking tours and activities to raise awareness, promote local businesses, and encourage creative use of public spaces in the city’s historic locations. 98B Collaboratory, an artist community, is another group active in the Manila urban renewal movement directed to revitalize Escolta.
Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation and like-minded groups’ projects have proven that it is not merely about letting an old structure endure, but also about invigorating commerce and instilling pride and nationalism in the community. It is not just the government’s business to care for our vanishing legacy; it is our duty as well. And if we are concerned enough, we may be honored with more Bahay Nakpils. As those who lived in this majestic home long ago, may we also believe in Jose Rizal who once said, “He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.”
