Visita Iglesia: National Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu (San Mateo, Rizal)

Of the many titles given to Mama Mary, the one that always makes me wonder is her title as Our Lady of Aranzazu. Aranzazu what? Is it a place? Is it a thing? Is it related to Zazu, the servant of the Lion King? The trigger of my questions is the church in San Mateo, Rizal known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu.

The source of the Marian title of Our Lady of Aranzazu is mystical because it is connected to an apparition of Mama Mary in 1468. This mystical event happened in Oñati, Spain where a young shepherd saw the Virgin Mary standing atop of a thorn brush. The shepherd was so surprised that he exclaimed “arantzan zu?”, which means “You among the thorns?”. Mama Mary instructed the shepherd to build a shrine for her at the site and also promised protection and blessings for the townspeople.

Nuestra Señora de Arantzazu (source: National Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu)

The shrine that was built honoring Mama Mary is now the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu in Oñati, Spain. This church is significant to the Jesuits because the founder of their Order, Saint Ignatius de Loyola, had a night vigil in it while on his way to Montserrat. It is inferred that this is the church where Saint Ignatius took a vow of chastity. This is the reason why Our Lady of Aranzazu has a special place in the hearts of the Jesuits.

The devotion to Our Lady of Aranzazu came to San Mateo when the Jesuits took over the mission from the Augustinians in 1696. Five years later, in 1705, Padre Juan Echazabal changed the patronage of the church and the town from San Mateo to Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu.

The National Shrine stands out because of the orange bricks on its facade and the big bell tower on its side. The current structure of the church is the result of the repair 

Also located outside are the old bells of the church.

The grey bell tower contrasts the orange wall of the church.

I was amazed by the outside view of the church. But I was more amazed when I took a look inside.

I was welcomed by a red carpet and flowers. Coincidentally, there was a wedding later in the afternoon.

Our Lady of Aranzazu stands at the center of the altar with the Spanish shepherd and his sheep at her feet.

At the side of the altar are the images of Saint Joseph and who I believe is Saint Matthew, the other patron of the town.

The church of San Mateo is one of the oldest churches in this part of Rizal Province. Thus, it was a silent witness to the history of San Mateo and even the whole province. The church is known to be the place where a Katipunero leader Pio Valenzuela was imprisoned. This church became the refuge of Spanish soldiers and officials during the Philippine Revolution. It was also damaged during the Philippine-American War and the Second World War.

In the side chapel near the entrance of the church I saw the most revered image of Our Lady of Aranzazu.

The image depicts Mama Mary standing on a thorny bush with the cloud on her feet and the silver crescent moon. Below her is the shepherd and a rectangular golden bell. This bell is part of the apparition of Our Lady. It was found in the bush together with the original statue of Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu after the apparition as a proof that Mama Mary appeared in that place.

I think that San Mateo is unique and special because its parish church is the only church in the Philippines that is dedicated to Our Lady in Aranzazu. The other religious site in the Philippines dedicated to Our Lady of Aranzazu is just a chapel in Colegio de San Juan de Letran. San Mateo is also special because the image of Our Lady is miraculous. The devotees said that Our Lady of Aranzazu saved them from floods. During a typhoon, the devotees processed the image of Our Lady and they claimed that flood suddenly subsided in the areas where the image went.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu made an official relationship with the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Arantzazu in Oñate, Spain by establishing a Gemellaggio Spirituale or "Spiritual Twinning".

I am glad that I finally visited the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu. The truth is that I studied in San Mateo during high school and all those years I did not visit the church. I played basketball in the town plaza but I never took the time to say “hello” to Mama Mary and Our Lord. Looking back at that time, I am glad that I somewhat “improved”. I now know the value of going to the church, of praying to Our Lord everyday, and of asking Mama Mary and the saints for intercession. May Our Lady of Aranzazu help us to get over the flood of problems in our lives like the way she saved San Mateo from floods.

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A prayer in honor of Our Lady of Aranzazu

O loving Mother, who stand on the thorns on the mountains of Aranzazu! Like a watchman guarding all sinners. Stir our wills to relieve and remove in our hearts and souls the bad seed of sin, and substitute it with the beauty of God's grace. Then those who shall long dwell in hell because of sin will be brought to live in the heavenly home. We are grateful for your mercy; we implore you to show us your protection for we are surrounded by wicked motions that dwells in our souls. Clothe us with the true vestments of purity and bind us to the grace of holiness, so that we may gloriously reach heaven and there endlessly praise God. AMEN.

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Visita Iglesia is the Filipino tradition of visiting churches during the Holy Week. This virtual Visita Iglesia is my own tradition wherein I post about one church each day of the Holy Week.

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References

1. Sanctuary of Arantzazu and  Our Lady of Aranzazu in Wikipedia

2. Brief Histroy of the DSPNSDA Church and The History of the Devotion and the Jesuits of San Mateo in Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu

3. The San Mateo Church: the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu in Dominus Est

4. Revisiting Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu of Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu of San Mateo, Rizal - the Miraculous Lady on a Thorn tree in Pintakasi

Our Negosyo Goal Achieved: Bargain Hunting in Taytay Tiangge

My Beloved Wife Lei’s online business took me to unlikely places just to find items being sold for the lowest price. I entered a decrepit building in Carriedo area to get buy lady’s bags direct from the bodega. I even scoured both 168 Mall and 999 Mall in Divisoria for various items.

Lei’s search for low priced garments brought us to the increasingly popular place for bargain hunters: the town of Taytay, Rizal.

Taytay is now considered as the “Garments Capital of the Philippines” not only because of of the tiangge but because of the sheer number of garments manufacturer in town. In fact, Taytay Business License Processing Office reported that there are 190 registered garment manufacturers, 52 remnant-cloth sellers, 29 registered ready-to-wear retailers, and 4,000 surveyed flea-market sellers this year. Taytay Tiangge is way smaller than Divisoria but it has 4,000 tiangge sellers!

The garments and textile industry of Taytay was kickstarted by the town’s mayor from in the 1950s to 1960s. That municipal mayor is knowledgeable of customs procedures and has connections to suppliers of remnant textiles or aged textiles in New York.

In the past, Taytay’s garment manufacturers bring their products to Divisoria and Baclaran. This set-up was changed when the municipal government and garment manufacturers’ groups such as Baclaran Garment Producers Inc. (BAGPI) and I Love Taytay Garments Producers Inc. (IGPAI) built the Taytay Tiangge to lessen transportation cost and improve the local economy. Now, it is the buyers and resellers who flock Taytay to buy affordable garments.

My Beloved Wife Lei, who is an online seller, got wind of the affordable clothes from Taytay so she decided to go visit Taytay tiangge during the long Halloween vacation. And I can say that she is pleased with her great haul of affordable and resellable clothes.

How to Go to Taytay Tiangge

Map of Taytay Tiangge (source: Google Maps).

We went to Taytay Tiangge by going first to Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall. The terminal of jeepneys going to the towns of Rizal is located beside the mall is this where we rode a jeepney going to Binangonan that passes through Taytay Palengke. We paid 20 pesos each for the jeepney fare. We reached Taytay Palengke, where Taytay Tiangge is located, after 45 minutes.

Taytay Tiangge is not hard to find because it is located beside Mang Inasal. Visitors can also enter through the arch of Club Manila East.

Our Taytay Tiangge Experience

Lei’s goal is to buy affordable garments at BAGPI but we were immediately distracted by the sheer number of shops selling various clothes. Lei already bought shorts and shirts from these shops before we decided to move on to BAGPI.

BAGPI is a large warehouse of rented out to hundreds of small garments manufacturers and vendors. We were told that only clothes made in Taytay are allowed to be sold in BAGPI.

Just like my usual experience in Divisoria, my feet ached because of long hours of walk as Lei searched for the best bargain. She passed through every aisle and checked almost every shop. My Beloved Wife was not disappointed because she got good quality but affordable items like this one:

My Beloved Wife enjoyed her shopping in Taytay Tiangge so much that she decided to return to that place the next day. Her target for the second Taytay Tiangge is IGPAI, which is another big garments tiangge. But before we reached reached we checked out other tiangges like the My Seoul and BAGPI (again) where Lei bought some shirts for her store and pajamas for the kids.

We also entered Octagon Fashion Strip, where the garments are more expensive but more fashionable. This is where shoppers can buy some Korean style apparel.

We entered IGPAI before we ended our long day of shopping. Here, Lei searched for sando shirts ordered by a customer. We also found plenty of bargain clothes in IGPAI.

My Beloved Wife Lei left Taytay satisfied with her successful bargain hunt. I felt happy for her despite me experiencing aching feet because of the nonstop walks all around the tiangge.

All in all we had a very good experience in Taytay Tiangge. Lei found very affordable and good quality garments. In fact, some of the clothes that we found are half the price of the ones we saw in Divisoria and Baclaran. This is very good for Lei’s online business.

I am sure that we will return to Taytay Tiangge and I have to ready my feet for that.

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NOTE: The mayor who kickstarted the garments and textile industry of Taytay was not named in the Business Mirror article, which is my source of info on the history of Taytay Tiangge. That unnamed mayor is probably Manuel I. Santos who served as Taytay’s mayor from 1952 to 1960.

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Information about Taytay Tiangge came from the following sources:

BOI meets Taytay garments, textile manufacturers and stakeholders in Business Mirror
Taytay, Rizal in Wikipedia
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One-Nighter in Baras, Rizal: The Spectacular View in Punta de Fabian

The little town of Baras is well below my travel radar. It is virtually unknown to me and I never expected to spend a day or two in this town. But there I was, marveling at the spectacular view of Laguna Lake.

Aside from Laguna Lake, I also had a bird’s eye view of the lowlands of Baras, Tanay, and beyond.

And where did I have this good view, you might ask. Well, the place is none other than the only resort in Baras: Punta de Fabian.

Punta de Fabian actually began as a private refuge of Teresita Fabian Pamintuan, who was recuperating from breast cancer. She built a simple house where she can breathe some fresh air and commune with nature. She eventually opened her refuge to relatives and friends, and finally to the public.

The simple house atop the crags transformed into a full blown resort that brags an infinity pool that have a good view of Laguna Lake.

Punta de Fabian is one of the few resorts in Rizal with infinity pool.

I got an opportunity to visit Punta de Fabian because of a workshop organized by the office. Apparently, the resort is a popular venue for team building and corporate events. People from Philippine Airlines were at the resort as the same day as our workshop.

Aside from the infinity pool, Punta de Fabian has another swimming pool.

I also discovered a maze, which is perfect for team building.

I have no complaint with the room and I had a good sleep.

The room is fairly clean and very spacious. It is average compared to the rooms in other hotels that I slept in.

The only weird thing that I noticed in my room is the big rock jutting out of the wall. My co-worker’s room is weirder because of a very big rock jutting out of the floor. It creep the hell out of that co-worker. 

Punta de Fabian also has a hall, which is perfect for weddings. I bet many couples will want a photo with the panoramic view of Laguna Lake as the background.

The infinity pool is quite enticing but I decided not to dip in the water. I was content in enjoying the spectacular view. 

All in all, I had a good experience with Punta de Fabian. The hotel staff assisted and serve us well. Although the food that they serve and the hotel room are average by my standards, the spectacular view of Laguna Lake made up for everything.

The windmills of Tanay is visible from Punta de Fabian. Sadly, we don’t have time to visit them. Baras also boasts of having the oldest church in Rizal province. And then there’s the Masungi Geo Reserve. I missed plenty of interesting spots! I guess this is enough reason for me to go back to this part of Rizal. 

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How to Go to Punta de Fabian

I reached Punta de Fabian by riding a Pililla/Tanay bound van at the van terminal located in front of Starmall EDSA. Just ask the driver if he will pass in front of Punta de Fabian.

I traveled for 3 hours from Starmall to Punta de Fabian.

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