Last 2011, Philippines secured a spot in the New 7 Wonders of Nature for the Puerto Princesa Underground River to join the Amazon River of South America, Ha Long Bay of Vietnam, Iguazu Falls of Argentina and Brazil, Jeju Island of South Korea, Komodo Island of Indonesia, and the Table Mountain of South Africa. This is part of the campaign of The New7Wonders Foundation to recognize the beauty of nature at the same time brings out the pride of every country with the beauty they have in their respective nations. And now, we are taking another step in putting another Pinoy pride in the map of the world that will be a truly tourist attraction for everyone to visit and appreciate.
This year, The New7Wonders Foundation opened the voting for the category of the New 7 Wonders Cities to recognize not only the beauty of various cities in all parts of the world but also discover the cultural heritage and the history it shares not only to the residents but also those guests who walks in the streets and touches the wall of every houses and buildings in the place. Vigan City is Philippines’ entry for the New 7 Wonders Cities and competing with other 20 cities from USA, Japan, Korea, India, Spain, Thailand. The voting is on-going at the www.new7wonders.com/en/cities.
And Vigan City is a perfect choice to include at the New 7 Wonders Cities and here are the 5 reasons:
- The Vigan food and delicacies – Philippines is known for diverse cuisine as their range of food and delicacies varies in different locations including Vigan. The place is known for their fusion of Western and Eastern influences dating back from the Colonial Period where it can be enjoyed through their local sausage that has a distinct taste of garlic and sugar cane vinegar. They also have the version of lechon kawali or pan-grilled pork known as bagnet which is very crunchy in the outside layer and juicy inside. It can be enjoyed tomatoes, onions and bagoong (local Anchovy). And it can be an additional ingredient to all-time favorite Pinoy dishes like sautéed mongo beans and pinakbet. With the meticulous way of cooking and preparation, Bagnet can last up to two months and the taste will improve as days pass by. And lastly Vigan is also known for their Tableya or cocoa tablets that can be enjoyed as warm chocolate drink or for champorado/porridge.
- The craftsmanship of Vigan – aside from the delicacies we always wanted to take home with us after visiting Vigan City, there are products that we surely love to display in our living room, kitchen and even in the offices showing the cultural heritage of Vigan. There’s the labba, a rattan made or “uway” woven in a zigzag design basket that Bigueños believe that by putting their first harvest of the year in a labba their next harvest would be more bountiful. There’s also the abel blanket, a meticulously woven cloth in Vigan that can be used as tampong or a sack to easily placed their belongings. Next are the molded products like the burnay and terra-cotta or red-clay craft. And lastly the Vigan furniture that comes in various designs that are worth bringing home.
- The Vigan Ancestral House – the Vigan houses were built on a larger scale than its Asian counterparts. The lay out and partitioning of the Vigan house were designed for specific purposes. One enters the puerta (main door), which is wide enough to accommodate the width of the caruaje (horse-drawn carriage) and high enough for the carroza (shoulder-borne and later on, carriage-mounted religious images), into a zaguan or hall on the ground floor. The inhabitants of the house can let visitors in by pulling a string from the second floor to open a puertita (smaller door) hinged to the main door. Horses for carriages were tethered in the caballoreza (horse stable) at the rear of the ground floor. Shops and bodegas (storage rooms) take up the rest of the space on the ground floor. Until know this beautiful ancestral places continues to tell the story of Vigan from throughout the years.
- Evolution of the Vigan House and Town Planning – being true in preserving history and culture. Aside from the ancestral homes you can actually see how the Vigan homes undergo evolution and yet maintaining the historical concept. Some materials changes at the city cope with the nature from the weather, earthquake and fire making the structures stronger and longer to stay. Aside from the houses they also improve town planning by rehabilitating and preserving buildings that survived calamities and war. Adding modern to touch to make it stronger but maintaining the cultural look to continue the legacy of the place.
- UNESCO World Heritage List – lastly, Vigan City is included at the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1999 because of its unique fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning.
With all that reasons Vigan City is a good choice to be included at the New 7 Wonders Cities where aside from the great food, products and ancestral houses it has also breathtaking view of nature from the stone walls and streets that we will surely fell in love with. So don’t miss to include Vigan City in your vote at the New 7 Wonders Cities vote now by visiting www.new7wonders.com/en/cities.
