GASAN: HERITAGE AND HISTORICAL TREASURE

Gasan is an old, serene town with houses that have withstood the test of time and nature. More than 400 years old, it is the second oldest town in Marinduque, next to Boac, the capital town. Because of its peaceful and solitary atmosphere, the sleepy town has been regarded as a haven for tourists and retirees. In the poblacion (town proper) there are several old houses that had been the dwelling place of some illustrious families and respected town leaders of the bygone era. Some descendants and relatives of those families still live in the old houses while others (those who have migrated abroad or work in other places) have entrusted the maintenance of their ancestral homes to caretakers and kind neighbors. But there are old houses that are decaying, seemingly abandoned and left to crumble with time. The Alcantara house, for instance, is now in ruins and has been left to a forgotten time and place near the old Nieva Bridge in Barangay Uno. The oldest house in Gasan is located in Baran...

Gasan poblacion (town proper) lies on a delta formed by two major rivers, the Tiguion and Matandang Gasan rivers. To reach the poblacion from the outside (either north or south side), one has to cross the Nieva Bridge. The Nieva Bridge is a pair of bridges built at the end of the 19th century by American colonizers. An iron plate was once attached to a post in the north Nieva Bridge with the names of people and date of the construction engraved on it but it was removed (or stolen?) after public attention shifted to the newly constructed bridge. The Nieva bridge in the north side of town is now used only by pedestrians and bikers when a new one (stronger and wider) was built beside it during the 90s. The other pair of the Nieva Bridge (in the south, in Matandang Gasan) was also replaced with a sturdier bridge and the ruins of the old one just lay beside, deep down the river bed. The Nieva Bridge in the north is most remembered by students of Marinduque Midwest School (now a college) wh...

Cultural heritage is passed down from one generation to the next, who are expected to consistently perform the same traditional acts to protect and preserve their culture. Mrs Emerlita Sevilla is a schoolteacher but her retirement from work did not deter her from educating people about the Moriones tradition and Gasan culture. She pioneered the setting up of the first butterfly farm in the province and placed Gasan as a landmark in the nature preservation map. But more than this, Mam Emer strives to promote Moriones Festival and other cultural heritage of Gasan with all her effort. She has a "pasalubong" store where she sells souvenir items and mementos that carry the spirit of the Moriones Festival. She said, "it is a way of promoting this". The most unique among the items in her pasalubong store is the wooden ref magnet, which she herself has designed. She said she has a farm where they grow trees that they cut into small tiles, then polished and hand-painted with...