Lay witness to my so-called fundamental existence.

Two old paintings of San Cristobal.

Or Saint Christopher. Same size, same concept but done differently. They were paintings on the wall, a few meters from the church’s entrance. The left painting was done on the adobe wall by a certain Luciano Dans in the 19th century. The saint with the little niño had oriental, indio features. The one on the right was rendered on wooden planks. The subject had european features.

Old murals of a figure that was taken off from the list of saints. But still, they are preserved in the very walls of the church in Paete. The artworks are two of the most interesting if not important paintings in the love-hate story of Christianity in the Philippines. The Franciscan missionaries didn’t like the depiction of a ‘native-looking’ saint. Hence they commissioned another painting of St. Christopher to hide the earlier painting. The painting on the left was said to be discovered only at the time when a restoration of the church began.The paintings can be found en la Iglesia de Santiago Apostol (church of St. James the Apostle) in this sleepy town of Paete in Laguna.

The town took it’s name from a local word which means ‘chisel’. It’s a small town, tucked between the lakes of Caliraya and Laguna de Bay and cradled by the extension of the Sierra Madre mountains. It is several hours away from Manila. It takes pride as the ‘carving’ capital of the country. The pait (chisel) became the primary symbol. Carving became the main form of life in Paete.

The local government and tourism office are pushing for activities to showcase the craftmanship of Paete. Widely known for their skills in carving, Paete is being pushed to highlight it’s once glorious woodcarving industry. Once glorious. The town has seen better days. Revival of its once glorious past is a tough act to do. A tall order.

Paete is now packaged as a place where a tourist could see a lot of things related to carving. The focal point is the church. Its façade alone is one of the most intricately carved edifice in the country, surpassed only (in my own opinion) by Miag-ao Church in Panay. The tour guides would say that the church is of the Philippine Baroque.

A closer look on the façade, one could see how the craftmen of Paete managed to carve intricate details to an otherwise plain stone church.

Paete is known for its finely crafted religious icons. Some of these icons ended up in several churches abroad, reaching as far as The Vatican and Latin Mexico. The religious statues varied in size yet they all have a uniform fine finish that were undeniably that of Paete.  One of the highlights during Holy Week, Paete has this unique celebration of the Passion of Christ. People knew of the moving statues of saints and other characters of the Stations of the Cross as they are paraded in the narrow streets of the pueblo.

The local government wanted to associate Paete with almost anything that involves carving. Tourists are then led to these:

Carving on ice blocks

Carving using farm produce

The visit to Paete culminates at a craftman’s atelier where he would demonstate his skills in the art of carving. The shops are scattered around town and are not actually clustered in one street. We were led to a small street behind the church where one craftsman willingly showed his knack for wood sculpting using the pait.

There’s a conscious effort to sustain this dying craft of Paete. A tall order indeed. The town is facing the harsh reality that supplies for timber is down. People could not just easily get wood from the Sierra Madre because of the log ban. It is dying because the skills are not handed down to next generation. Agriculture remains to be the major activity in town. People prefer to grow lanzones rather than learn and develop the skills in carving.

It is said that Paete used to be known for its papier mâché horses. They call it the taka, akin to piñata but only smaller and less colorful. It was once featured in a local children’s show. I remembered how the taka was made. Layers of paper and glue, one after the other, until the horse was formed. Some horses are painted in blue, some in red or yellow. It was for kids. It was a thriving business. Until it was murdered by several selfish businessmen who turned it to mass production.

The bakya (wooden slippers) business was big in Paete. So was abaca. But we won’t be able to find these items in town anymore. They, along with the taka, had become objects of Paete’s glorious past.

Next stop: Pakil, Laguna