proudly presents:

The Unique & Historically Significant

Bamboo Church,

Las Pinas, Manila

Written by: Fergus JM Ducharme & photographed by: Rommel C Legaspi

On November 5, 1795, the Archbishop of Manila assigned Las Piñas, then a small town

of farmers and fishermen, to the Augustinian Recollects to establish a new church.

Fray Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen, a native of Spain, traveled from Mabalacat,

Pampanga province and arrived on the town on the day after Christmas of 1795. Soon

after, he started building the church made from adobe (volcanic) stones in the

Earthquake Baroque architectural style.

The new parish priest was a very gifted man. He was a natural scientist, chemist,

architect, community leader, as well as organist and organ builder. He also built the

organs for the Manila Cathedral and San Nicolas de Tolentino Church, the main

Augustinian church in the old walled city of Manila.

In 1816, when the stone church was almost complete, he started building the organ

made of bamboo and completed the instrument in 1824.

Father Cera served as the parish priest of Las Piñas till May 15, 1832, when he could no

longer perform his duties due to severe illness. He died on June 24, 1832, in Manila.

During the construction period, the natives of Las Pinas were mostly fishermen, farmers,

laborers, embroiderers, and others engaged in small businesses.

Despite the condition of the parish, Fr. Cera set a goal to construct a temporary chapel

and convent near the seashore made out of nipa and bamboo. The inhabitants, which

were only 1200 before, saw his dedication and in return helped him in construction by

means of manual labor or donating construction materials.

From perishable materials, the natives, together with Fr. Cera, aspired to establishing a

stone church. It would serve as the inhabitant's protection from outsiders and natural

calamities.

In 1797, Fr. Cera bought the present site of the church for only one hundred and fifty

pesos. There was an existing house standing at that period, which belonged to the

Recollect estate. He initiated and drew architectural plans for the stone church. While

the foundations were being laid, big store rooms were built to keep construction

materials. After three years, Fr. Cera requested for polistas or townspeople to start the

actual construction of the church.

The request was granted and they were only given free food, equivalent to their

compensation. In 1813, religious activities were held temporarily at the old chapel. in

1816, the church's roof was completed and painting of walls began. With the cooperation

of all 300 families in the city, the stone church was finished in 1819. It resembles solemn

simplicity - truly an Earthquake Baroque architectural style.

The church had three naves, a dome, side altars with Romanesque-styled tables, crypt

stones each with a replica of the "Nuestra Señora dela Consolacion" on one side and St.

Augustine on the other, a baptistry with a stone altar, and two sacristies with two wall

closets each and a table with six drawers in one, and a tower with three posts topped by

a spire.

An antique statue of St. Joseph and life-size statue of the dead Christ were also among

the first religious objects owned by the parish.

The stone church and the parochial house was destroyed by three earthquakes in

January 18, July 29, and September 30 of 1829. Don Jose Rueda, former

Gobernadorcillo (1925) of the town of Las Piñas concisely described the damages

wrought to the church. According to him, the two arches were cracked, two naves and

walls were destroyed, and the whole roof of the church including its cross beams and its

dome were ruined. All the wooden structures inside the church were left standing in the

midst of the rain.

Fr. Cera did not only solidify his name in building the stone church, but also in terms

of architectural restoration.

Jose Sequi, Archbishop of Manila, after visiting Las Piñas Church on October 29,

1831, was reported to have been amazed by Fray Cera’s restoration work and

expressed his heartfelt feelings as follows: "After I have seen the beautiful church of

this place which was the work of the parish priest and also the very delicate

adornments done in spite of the poverty of the town, and for his (Cera's) effort to

procure the best for his church even without the help he needed, the Holy Mother

Church is rendering unto him the utmost gratitude and concern.“

Between 1971 and 1975, with the help from the community and neighboring towns,

the church was restored to its 19th-century look by Architects Francisco Mañosa and

Ludwig Alvarez

On December 3, 1972, the restored church was inaugurated. The newly renovated

church included such features as capiz chandeliers, aged bricks, old statues, a

bamboo ceiling, a choir loft with antique balustrades of carved wood and potted

native palms.

The Story of the Bamboo Organ.

Fray Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen, an

Augustinian Recollects. And native of Spain, he

served as the parish priest of Las Piñas from 1795 to

1830.

He has been portrayed as a gifted man, a natural

scientist, chemist, architect, community leader, as

well as organist and organ builder.

He had previously built organs in the Manila area with some organ stops made from

bamboo, he chose bamboo for most of his organs for both practical and aesthetic

reasons. Bamboo being abundant in the area and used for hundreds of items of both a

practical and artistic nature.

Cera began work on the organ in 1816, while the church was still under construction.

He gathered and buried the bamboo he would use under beach sand. This ‘burial’

apparently happened October and December 1816. The good Father, as a natural

scientist he knew that bamboos to be used had to be aged to ensure that it was be

tough, mature, and enduring. In 1817, he unearthed the bamboo and his work began in

earnest.

It took almost 5 years to get it to the stage where the organ was playable.

At first, Cera attempted to use bamboo for one hundred and twenty two pipes. This

experiment failed and eventually the bamboo pipes were used ornamentally on the back

side of the organ. The instrument was finally completed in 1824, after Fr. Cera had

decided to make the trumpets using metal, musical characteristics of which he could not

replicate with bamboo.

In the late 1830s, within a span of one week, three earthquakes occurred (July 14, 18,

and 20) and heavily damaged the organ. In October 1882, a massive typhoon hit the

country causing the rise of flood water, reaching within the church's vicinity. Dismantled

portions of the organ were found adrift in the flood waters around the church. After this

most recent incident, the Gobernadorcillo and other prominent residents of Las Piñas

pleaded help from the central administration in Manila.

During Cera's lifetime, disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons damaged both the

church and the organ. Fr. Cera himself was the organ's first "restorer.” Down through the

years, natural disasters continued to take their toll; the organ was unplayable for years.

In February 1883, repairs on the organ were carried out through the combined

contributions of the government, town residents, and the Archbishop.

A total of two hundred seventy pesos was the cost of the repair.

In 1888, Fr. Saturio Albeniz headed the project of improving of the organ. The project

was not fully completed, further degrading the condition of the organ. In 1891, the organ

repaired once again.

In 1909, an attempt was made to sell the organ and substitute it by a harmonium.

However, "Capitan Pedro" opposed this, and paid for the repair work. Unfortunately, only

two stops were rehabilitated. Although highly deteriorated it continued to attract tourists.

The administration of Las Piñas Church shifted to the C.I.C.M. (Congregation of the

Immaculate Heart of Mary) or Belgian Fathers. Fr. Victor Faniel showed deep

appreciation of the organ's historical value. During his term (1915-1920), he initiated

Historical Facts - a pamphlet featuring substantial historical data about the bamboo

organ. This was published in order to solicit voluntary contributions for the repair of the

organ. In 1917, the organ was reassembled by the Las Piñeros. However, the repair

works were not conducted in an expert manner.

In April 1932, Fr. Paul Hubaux, C.I.C.M. saw the difficulty of pumping air and physically

manipulating the bellows. He had installed a one-horse power Wagner electric motor in

order for the bamboo organ "to be heard again in full and sufficient volume."

In 1960, H.E. Friedrich von Furstenburg, the German Ambassador to the Philippines,

offered a donation of 150,000 DM to have the organ completely renovated on the sole

condition that the work was to be done in Germany. The risks of transporting the organ

from Manila to Germany and back temporarily shelved the restoration project.

In 1962, the Historical Conservation Society offered its services to restore the organ, in

anticipation of the second centennial anniversary of Las Piñas. A total of Php 4,975.00

was donated for the instrument alone. However, lack of funds only allowed partial repair

works by Mr. Jose Loinaz.

An organ builder, Fr. Hermann Schablitzki, S.V.D., also attempted to conduct repair

works to the bamboo organ. The condition of the bamboo organ reached its "terminal

stage" - disconnected horizontal trumpets and bass pipes, three functional stops put of

twenty-three, leakage of air from the chest, and piling of disconnected pipes inside the

bamboo organ.

In 1970, Fr. Mark Lesage, C.I.C.M., and his assistant, Fr. Leo Renier consulted with

several authorities on the bamboo organ. The experts all appeared to be in full

agreement on the need for total restoration.

It was agreed that the crucial and sensitive work was to be shifted to Johannes Klais Org

elbau (firm) and Hans Gerd Klais, one of the best organ builders in the world which had

already garnered extensive experience in restoring Spanish style organs.

During the inauguration of the Las Piñas Church in 1972, Klais visited and assessed the

bamboo organ. He remarked that the organ could still be repaired, but only in if the work

was completed in the Company’s factory in Germany.

An estimated cost of 200,000 DM (Php 460,000 at that time) was needed, excluding

transportation tickets for the technician, and other expenses.

In March 1973, two technicians, Joseph Tramnitz and Joseph Pick, arrived at Las Piñas

and dismantled the organ. The repair of the bamboo pipes was done in Japan under Mr.

Tsuda who had previously trained under Mr. Klais himself. The other parts of the organ

were shipped to Germany. A special room, called KLIMAKAMMER, was built in his

factory - having same temperature and humidity of the Philippines to prevent shrinking of

bamboos.

Work on the instrument started in February 1974 and on February 18th,1975 the organ

was once again ‘showcased’ to the world.

It had eighty six completely new pipes - 33 were trumpet pipes and 53 were bamboo

pipes. At a one-hour concert at the Philippine Embassy at Bonn, Germany, world-

renowned organist Wolfgang Oehms played the bamboo organ.

After that historic event, the launching of the first long-playing album of the bamboo

organ was released. T

he restored bamboo organ returned home in March 13, 1975. Through the courtesy of

Sabena Airlines, the musical instrument's restored parts were ferried from Europe to

Manila.

On March 16, 1975, the bamboo organ was received joyous welcome from the people

of the Philippines. The joint restoration of the church and organ was a triumph of local

and international cooperation.

A Bamboo Organ Inaugural Concert was held to mark its return to the Philippines.

Wolfgang Oehms was the featured performer, complemented by the Las Piñas Boys'

Choir and the Cultural Center of the Philippines Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro

Luis C. Valencia, and the Maharlika Rondalla.

He played standard European compositions and two Filipino works; excerpts from

Misang Pilipino by former dean of Philippine Women's University College of Music,

Lucrecia R. Kasilag (later became a National Artist) and commissioned Parangal by

organ, rondalla, brass, woodwind, and percussion by Prof. Alfredo S. Buenaventura, the

composer himself conducting.

Since then, the church has been the scene of many concerts and festivals. The Bamboo

Organ is described by many international organ masters as one of the finest old organs

in the world. Its construction of bamboo is noted as being one of the major factors that

gives it a truly unique and lively sound.

The National Museum of the Philippines officially declared the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ

a National Cultural Treasure on November 24, 2003. A panel of experts evaluated the

instrument and were unanimous in their decision, since it is the only 19th century

bamboo organ in the Philippines that has survived and still functioning.

We want to thank the following for their contributions to this article:

Photos provided by: Arch. Rommel C Legaspi,

Other materials and some photos provided by: www.wikipedia.org

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