This beautiful Filipino heritage house is D’s favorite among all historical houses and buildings in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. It was moved here in 2014. At first sight he was captivated by it, and he’d kept coming back to take photos at different times of the day. I was impressed by the colored gothic arches on its balcony. This house reminded me of my high school bestfriend’s home.
Casa Hagonoy was built in 1936, owned by Tomas and Consuelo Santos of Hagonoy, Bulacan. When the Japanese colonized the Philippines in 1943, Tomas Santos was pressured by the municipal council to take over as Mayor after the incumbent was abducted by the Hukbalahap, a socialist guerilla movement formed by farmers to fight against the Japanese. Tomas Santos refused and suffered a heart attack, and he died at his home on the day of his supposed inauguration.
The second floor balcony was where Consuelo mourned her husband’s passing, and she waited for him there every night for a year. Her friends and relatives held dance parties on the balcony to console her. These days, the balcony of Casa Hagonoy gives a vantage point of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar’s Sanctuario De San Jose, Hotel De Oriente, and the Umagol River.
Making Each Day Count 
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