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Surprises of Himlayang Pilipino
Himlayang Pilipino is a 37-hectare memorial park located in Barangay Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora, Quezon City. It was known back then as St. Peter Memorial Park but was later changed to its current name due to the company owner’s idea of making the whole place a historical site other than a normal memorial park. Himlayang Pilipino is known for having sculptures portraying some of the most famous people and events from Philippine history and legends. Some of these sculptures are Emilio Jacinto, Gabriella Silang, Malakas at si Maganda, Florante at Laura and many more.
Himlayang Pilipino might be your typical memorial park but let me tell you some of the most interesting resting places I found while touring around this cemetery’s vast, green plains with the help of Mr. Eugenio Sami, a veteran security guard of Himlayang Pilipino.
Melchora Aquino, also known as “Tandang Sora,” was known as the “Mother of Balintawak” and the “Grand Woman of the Revolution” for playing an important role in the Philippine Revolution back in 1896. Himlayang Pilipino is proud to say that her remains were buried within their grounds. The shrine of Tandang Sora is located just below the Himlayan chapel (which is located at the center of the park). Her shrine consists of two, large, rectangular tablets parallel to each other slightly enclosing her stone casket inside. The rectangular tablets’ exterior were adorned with bronze-painted, life-size sculptures depicting some of Melchora’s heroic contributions. According to Kuya Eugenio, these stone crafts were sculpted by Florante Caedo, a well-known artist in the country who was also responsible for some f
amous sculptures around the city such as the Boy Scout Shrine in Tomas Morato. Aside from that, what caught my attention the most was what Kuya said next: “Nakita mo yang mga kasama ni Tandang Sora sa eskulpto? Mga staff yan ng Himlayan.” It was quite surprising to realize that the faces accompanying Melchora Aquino were actually based from real people. According to Kuya, Florante Caedo wanted to pay tribute to the staff of the cemetery and because of that, he sculpted their faces on the shrine.
Though it was quite exciting to find out these fascinating facts about the shrine, I felt the opposite as I actually went inside. Melchora’s grave was made of pure, white marble which was not really appealing to the eyes for black, melted wax from several candles were already oozing on its surface. Some of the bronze letters, nailed on the surface, that spelled her name and important dates were already missing. Above the letters were plastic flowers that were about to fall apart covered with dust. Broken light bulbs were also all around the place. It was a saddening sight.
After a little tour in Tandang Sora’s shrine, the Chinese mausoleums caught my attention next. Most of the Chinese mausoleums were adorned with large, clear glass windows. They were bordered with steel fences which exhibited an array of intricate designs. The outside walls of the mausoleums were decorated with large, red Chinese characters. For some mausoleums, their interiors were designed with Chinese lion sculptures that seemed to guard its dead from outsiders. It’s funny how these mausoleums looked more like a series of houses rather than a series of resting places for the dead. Mausoleums in Himlayang Pilipino were mostly owned by Chinese people. These mausoleums were often grouped by family names or clans and were often enclosed by a wall, separating them from other mausoleums. I guess this just shows how the Chinese people give importance much importance to their beloved dead that they are willing to purchase such huge lands and pay a lot of money in ensuring their departed ones’ security.
After a long walk observing several mausoleums, Kuya Eugenio showed me Commander Lahi’s mausoleum. Commander Lahi wasn’t at all
familiar to me and even to Kuya Eugenio. All he knew was he was once a famous leader of a cult called Christ-Discovery Crusade which believed that the Holy Trinity is not true and that God can only be in one form. The infamous cult was known in attacking the Roman Catholic Church and its teaching about the Holy Trinity. Regardless of his background, it can’t be denied that this man was very wealthy for his mausoleum was considered as one of the most expensive ones in Himalayang Pilipino. His resting place was painted with blue green and the same color, tinted on his steel-framed glass windows. The entrance of the mausoleum was guarded by a sculpture of an eagle about to eat its prey. The inside was adorned with porcelain figurines while a large portrait of him hanged on the wall facing the door. This mausoleum also has a living room which was decorated with well-crafted wooden chairs and a glass center table. To be exact, it was way more like an office than a mausoleum.
Not so far from Commander Lahi’s mausoleum was the mausoleum of Doy Trinidad. From the outside you could see his huge picture hanging on the wall and it was very obvious from the way he looks that he was very young when he died. He looked probably like a four to six year old boy who came from a wealthy family. Beside his portrait was a prayer made by his parents (Francisco and Cecilia Trinidad) expressing their sorrow and plea to God to guide the soul of their son. Sad, I just said to myself. This mausoleum caught my attention not because of curiosity but because it literally gave me goosebumps. Just below the young boy’s portrait was his grave surrounded by dozens of old toys: creepy, big-eyed dolls, dusty toy cars, and many more. The way the dolls stare will give you the creeps. The surroundings were also very dirty like the poor boy wasn’t visited for months and added to that, the steel-framed glass doors were padlocked. It was as if the place was already off-limits for visitors. Then, later that day, I just learned from some people there, that the mausoleum was rumored to be haunted by the young boy’s ghost and endless cries were often heard by security guards and janitors who were tasked to survey the area for the night.
In the end, it felt good to realize that Himlayang Pilipino was not really a typical, boring cemetery but rather, a memorial park possessing little, thought-provoking stories and surprises.
Himlayang Pilipino might be your typical memorial park but let me tell you some of the most interesting resting places I found while touring around this cemetery’s vast, green plains with the help of Mr. Eugenio Sami, a veteran security guard of Himlayang Pilipino.
Melchora Aquino, also known as “Tandang Sora,” was known as the “Mother of Balintawak” and the “Grand Woman of the Revolution” for playing an important role in the Philippine Revolution back in 1896. Himlayang Pilipino is proud to say that her remains were buried within their grounds. The shrine of Tandang Sora is located just below the Himlayan chapel (which is located at the center of the park). Her shrine consists of two, large, rectangular tablets parallel to each other slightly enclosing her stone casket inside. The rectangular tablets’ exterior were adorned with bronze-painted, life-size sculptures depicting some of Melchora’s heroic contributions. According to Kuya Eugenio, these stone crafts were sculpted by Florante Caedo, a well-known artist in the country who was also responsible for some f
amous sculptures around the city such as the Boy Scout Shrine in Tomas Morato. Aside from that, what caught my attention the most was what Kuya said next: “Nakita mo yang mga kasama ni Tandang Sora sa eskulpto? Mga staff yan ng Himlayan.” It was quite surprising to realize that the faces accompanying Melchora Aquino were actually based from real people. According to Kuya, Florante Caedo wanted to pay tribute to the staff of the cemetery and because of that, he sculpted their faces on the shrine.Though it was quite exciting to find out these fascinating facts about the shrine, I felt the opposite as I actually went inside. Melchora’s grave was made of pure, white marble which was not really appealing to the eyes for black, melted wax from several candles were already oozing on its surface. Some of the bronze letters, nailed on the surface, that spelled her name and important dates were already missing. Above the letters were plastic flowers that were about to fall apart covered with dust. Broken light bulbs were also all around the place. It was a saddening sight.
After a little tour in Tandang Sora’s shrine, the Chinese mausoleums caught my attention next. Most of the Chinese mausoleums were adorned with large, clear glass windows. They were bordered with steel fences which exhibited an array of intricate designs. The outside walls of the mausoleums were decorated with large, red Chinese characters. For some mausoleums, their interiors were designed with Chinese lion sculptures that seemed to guard its dead from outsiders. It’s funny how these mausoleums looked more like a series of houses rather than a series of resting places for the dead. Mausoleums in Himlayang Pilipino were mostly owned by Chinese people. These mausoleums were often grouped by family names or clans and were often enclosed by a wall, separating them from other mausoleums. I guess this just shows how the Chinese people give importance much importance to their beloved dead that they are willing to purchase such huge lands and pay a lot of money in ensuring their departed ones’ security.
After a long walk observing several mausoleums, Kuya Eugenio showed me Commander Lahi’s mausoleum. Commander Lahi wasn’t at all
familiar to me and even to Kuya Eugenio. All he knew was he was once a famous leader of a cult called Christ-Discovery Crusade which believed that the Holy Trinity is not true and that God can only be in one form. The infamous cult was known in attacking the Roman Catholic Church and its teaching about the Holy Trinity. Regardless of his background, it can’t be denied that this man was very wealthy for his mausoleum was considered as one of the most expensive ones in Himalayang Pilipino. His resting place was painted with blue green and the same color, tinted on his steel-framed glass windows. The entrance of the mausoleum was guarded by a sculpture of an eagle about to eat its prey. The inside was adorned with porcelain figurines while a large portrait of him hanged on the wall facing the door. This mausoleum also has a living room which was decorated with well-crafted wooden chairs and a glass center table. To be exact, it was way more like an office than a mausoleum.Not so far from Commander Lahi’s mausoleum was the mausoleum of Doy Trinidad. From the outside you could see his huge picture hanging on the wall and it was very obvious from the way he looks that he was very young when he died. He looked probably like a four to six year old boy who came from a wealthy family. Beside his portrait was a prayer made by his parents (Francisco and Cecilia Trinidad) expressing their sorrow and plea to God to guide the soul of their son. Sad, I just said to myself. This mausoleum caught my attention not because of curiosity but because it literally gave me goosebumps. Just below the young boy’s portrait was his grave surrounded by dozens of old toys: creepy, big-eyed dolls, dusty toy cars, and many more. The way the dolls stare will give you the creeps. The surroundings were also very dirty like the poor boy wasn’t visited for months and added to that, the steel-framed glass doors were padlocked. It was as if the place was already off-limits for visitors. Then, later that day, I just learned from some people there, that the mausoleum was rumored to be haunted by the young boy’s ghost and endless cries were often heard by security guards and janitors who were tasked to survey the area for the night.
In the end, it felt good to realize that Himlayang Pilipino was not really a typical, boring cemetery but rather, a memorial park possessing little, thought-provoking stories and surprises.
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