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Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar- A Colonial Historical Resort

Bagac, Bataan, Philippines

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Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a beach resort, hotel, convention centre and heritage destination located in Bagac, Bataan, Philippines. Jose Acuzar, the owner of New San Jose Builders, Inc., started to rebuild Spanish colonial-era mansions in Bagac in 2003. He was born in June 19, 1955, a Filipino business executive who is the founder of New San Jose Builders. He also serves as the Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development from July 2022 until term completed. In March 2010, the area was opened to the public as the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. It was placed under the management of Genesis Hotels and Resorts Corporation.

The main attraction of the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is the different heritage houses, which were shifted from outside Bagac, Bataan. The houses were disassembled from their original location and reconstructed inside the location of the Las Casas Filipinas. This method called heritage conservation, is an attempt that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness has been argued among conservationists since they believed that their original communities could have benefitted from the structures had they been restored on site. The heritage park's advocate Gerry Acuzar claimed that he went with the method in order to save the structures from decay and neglect. The heritage park was acclaimed by the Department of Tourism in 2021 under Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for its preservation efforts.

The houses included in the Las Casas Filipinas were evaluated for their historical, cultural and architectural merit. Most structures dates back to the Spanish colonial era, but some buildings were built later such as the Casa Lubao which was built in 1920 during the American era. The heritage park also include a torogan, literally a 'resting place' or 'sleeping place', is a traditional ancestral house built by the Maranao people of Lanao, Mindanao, Philippines for the nobility. A torogan was a symbol of high social status, such a residence was once a home to a sultan or datu in the Maranao community. Nowadays, concrete houses are found all over Maranao communities, but there remain torogans a hundred years old. Maranao royal family house from Lanao in Mindanao is a predominantly Muslim Filipino ethnic group native to the region around Lanao Lake in the island of Mindanao. They are known for their artwork, weaving, wood, plastic and metal crafts and epic literature. The Darangen, are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Iranun, and Maguindanao, all three groups being represented as speaking Danao languages and giving name to the island of Mindanao. They are grouped with other Moro people due to their shared religion.

Among the notable houses shifted to the heritage park are - Casa Bizantina, Casa Hidalgo, Casa Jaen I and Casa Unisan. Casa Bizantina, is a heritage house museum originally located at San Nicolas, Manila. It was transferred and reconstructed in 2009. It was designed by a Catalan architect Joan Josep Jose Hervas y Arizmendi, in 1890. It is the only existing building designed by the Architect Arizmendi in the Philippines. In addition to that, it was cited by Tribune magazine in 1939 despite its neglected state.

Casa Hidalgo is a heritage house originally located in Quiapo, Manila, owned by Rafael Enriquez, a Spanish peninsular and painter (1850–1937). The house was built in 1867, one of the first projects of Architect Felix Roxas y Arroyo. Some of his notable works were Paterno House and Zamora House in Quiapo, Manila and the 1867 Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros, Manila. However, a carving on king post, stating "1807", indicates that the house was built before Rafael Enriquez occupied the house. This was discovered in 2006, wherein the house was dismantled and relocated at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

Casa Jaen I is a heritage house museum originally located at Jaen, Nueva Ecija built during the 1900s. Being the second house of the Esquivel family at Jaen, Nueva Ecija, it served as the venue for the homecoming of his son, Emmanuel Frias Esquivel, who studied in the United States. Their first house, which is also located at the same municipality, was built in 1890. It won a House Beautiful Award in 1917 by the Sunday Tribune. Other houses that have won the award were the El Nido, or Eugene Arthur Perkins residence in 1927 and La Casona, or Jacobo Zobel Mansion in 1928 , all designed by Andres Luna de San Pedro.

Casa Unisan is a heritage house museum originally located in town of Kalilayan in Tayabas province, which Unisan now is Quezon at present. It was built in 1839 by Don Antonio Maxino. The house was claimed to be the first bahay-na-bato of the municipality. In 2007, the half-ruined house was sold to Jose L. Acuzar by a remaining family member. Unfortunately, the rest of the Maxinos were massacred by bandits, or tulisan.

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar also accommodates a small church known as the Sanctuario de San Jose, other features includes the Napiya Spa, a swimming pool. The Tulay ni Lola Basyang is a bridge that crosses the Umagol River and is a replica of the old Puente de España in Manila. The Puente de España, or the Bridge of Spain, was a bridge that spanned the Pasig River in the Philippines, connecting the areas of Binondo and Ermita, Manila on Calle Nueva, now E.T. Yuchengco St., within central Manila. The span was the oldest established in the country before it was damaged by flood in 1914. The bridge was replaced by the Jones Bridge that was started in 1916 and completed in 1921, located one block downriver from Puente de España on Calle Rosario, now Quintin Paredes St.

References:

Las Casas Filipinas - a New San Jose Builders project". Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

Orejas, Tonette (29 April 2012). "Where memories, heritage line the streets". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 March 2021.

"Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar reopens – The Manila Times". Manila Times. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021..

Quismorio, Ellson (31 January 2021). "DoT chief cites Las Casas' way of preserving local historical sites". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 7 March 2021.

"Tales of love, lust, and murder at Las Casas Filipinas". GMA News Online. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2021.