XCI. Tall Tales from Taal, Part Six: The Montenegro House

Having been to five Taal ancestral houses and a church, supposedly all in the same morning, one would likely already be quite tired and hungry by now.  Fortunately, it's lunch time, and lunch is in yet another ancestral house in town.

The Montenegro House is the home of Taal cultural activist and head of the local heritage group, Mr. Dindo Montenegro.  On my second visit in December 2006, the group I was with had arranged for Mr. Montenegro to be our tour guide, and the program included an authentic Taal lunch in his home, which was adjacent to the Basilica, with a view from the front window like this:

As the objective of this visit was entirely culinary, I didn’t get to pick up background details about the history of the house itself, although it appears to be a relatively modest structure, probably originally dating to the mid- to late-19^th century.

It is interesting in that it appears to be made up of two halves, much like today’s duplex townhouses in urban residential areas all over the country.  I did not get to ask how this came about, but perhaps two siblings from long ago decided to share the lot area and the attendant construction costs.

The right half, which I didn't get to enter, had a wooden picket fence-style gate in front of a drive-in garage, as seen in the above photo. The left half, which is Mr. Montenegro's residence, is entered via a small pedestrian gate, in the lower left-hand corner of this next photo.

and, once one gets past the friendly native-rice-cakes vendors crouched in the shade of the fence, is accessed via a long flight of concrete steps, probably originally wooden, and broken up midway by a short landing.

The visitor is welcomed by an appropriately welcoming sitting area, which functions as the antesala, with two long identical settees set at right angles to each other.

Making a sharp U-turn to the right brings one to the small sala, with more seating available, and from where the view of the adjacent Basilica earlier seen can be had.  There was a suite of living room furniture, including a three-seater settee,

a pair of rocking chairs facing each other across the front window,

armchairs and a round table,

and, for further period interest, a green demijohn on a small square table.

Against a wall elsewhere in the sala was this large Venetian-style mirror,

hanging above an antique upright piano

which our little Vladimir Horowitz here

discovers was made by Riese-Hallmann of Berlin

and imported and distributed by Felipe Yupangco & Sons of “Manila, P. I.”

Beside the piano was a writing table, on which was placed the guest register

and an oil lamp.

Not far away was a pillow rack, now functioning as a display stand for trinkets.

The sala area was lit from above by this unusually still complete Art Deco chandelier, its five arms supported by long-antlered reindeer.

There were two bedrooms.  One, which I was not able to enter, was nearer the dining area.  Adjacent to this was the other one, probably the larger of the two, and was accessed from the sala area via this doorway.

The room was illuminated by this Art Deco-period light fixture,

had a tree-trunk post in one corner,

and was furnished with two beds.  One bed was relatively plain, but the other was of the prolific early 20^th century type with headboard and footboard, both with wood-inlay-and-carving.

There was also an interesting adult-sized potty throne on standby.

But by far the most interesting piece in this bedroom was this very old medium-scale processional image of the Señor de la Paciencia, depicting Christ while mocked by the Jews in Pontius Pilate’s presence.

The obviously ancient image was housed in a wood-and-glass urna

and placed on this typical Batangas altar table, probably contemporary with the image,

resulting in this simple but most admirable family altar, the first proper one we’ve seen in a Taal ancestral house thus far.

Back outside, the antesala and sala areas were divided from the dining area further down by a pair of arches

which were in turn divided by a central pillar

on which was hung a beautiful vaguely Impressionistic portrait of the house itself.

A further delineation between the living and dining areas was provided by this plant stand, with the plant below rather than above, standing beside the foot of one of the aforementioned arches.

The living and dining areas were separated from the more private bedroom spaces via walls topped with these calado (tracery) panels

ensuring that air circulated freely throughout all parts of the house.

The floors of the dining area and the rear part of the sala were made up of wide planks of alternating light- and dark-colored hardwoods, perhaps molave for the light and ipil or balayong for the dark.

The dining area too is generously furnished, with a platera,

a console table (as serving table),

a wash stand with basin and mirror,

an arched-topped chest on which guests may park their small bags,

and a long gallinera on which big bags may be placed, and bigger guests may sit.

The space was lit by this fixture, now sadly missing its shades.

The dining table itself was moderately long, comfortably seating ten, and perhaps twelve in a pinch.

It had hefty carved legs

and an elaborately designed support structure underneath.

Chairs from at least two different sets were available for our group to sit on while dining.

Because we were a big group, additional tables were set up for some of us.

Although I do not recall exactly what was served (not being a very picky eater; if it’s certifiably edible, I’m game), the authentic home-cooked meal that we had was expectedly sumptuous, so it was probably healthier to keep walking around and exploring the rest of this ancestral house.

Just off the dining area, down a passageway next to the bedroom that I did not get to enter, was the toilet-bath, still largely in its early 20^th century incarnation.

Behind the dining area and separated from it by a row of frosted-glass panels, seen in the distance in this next photo,

was a third bedroom, with a simple aparador

and this steel double-deck bed being put to good use.

Further down was the Montenegro family kitchen, the source of our just-completed hearty repast.  It had cabinets full of utensils,

and recycled sala seating for weary cooks.

Behind the main house, downstairs from the kitchen via these stone steps

was a shed in the middle of the yard, where members of the household could just sit ad relax, on a reupholstered settee among other places.

Back in the main house, still-digesting guests may position themselves on either one of the two rocking chairs by the front window

and take a look at the Tall Basilica some more

before thanking and saying goodbye to our gracious hosts, the Montenegro family.

(Continued here.)

Originally published on 4 October 2009.  All text and photos copyright ©2009 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Original comments:

johnada wrote on Oct 6, '09 you are merciless, lol, you have pics down to the bathroom. that is exactly how horowitz played the piano, unconventional style

arcastro57 wrote on Oct 6, '09 amazing how the contents of the house are still there, intact--right down to the plancha on the writing table. And that Paciencia is my kind of thing.

rally65 wrote on Oct 6, '09 johnada said you are merciless, lol, you have pics down to the bathroom. that is exactly how horowitz played the piano, unconventional style I thought that the kid even LOOKED like a boy Horowitz.

rally65 wrote on Oct 6, '09 arcastro57 said amazing how the contents of the house are still there, intact--right down to the plancha on the writing table. And that Paciencia is my kind of thing. So many people have been asking me about that Paciencia. I hope the Montenegro family holds on to it firmly!

arcastro57 wrote on Oct 8, '09 Yes, of course, considering I see an antique dealer already in the house!

rally65 wrote on Oct 8, '09 arcastro57 said Yes, of course, considering I see an antique dealer already in the house! Fortunately, the antique dealer is not really into santos, but we had better stop calling attention to this particular image lest other dealers get "too interested."

antigualla wrote on Oct 11, '09 What I find most interesting in this Montenegro house is the set of furnitures which had a uniform design. Clearly, the owners ordered it from the same shop, and clearly too, they had really preserved the set. The potty throne like chair is really an unusual thing. Literally, "nakaupo sa trono" as we now use the term to mean exactly that. Congratulations and thank you for sharing another of your rare finds, Leo. More! Hahaha.

rally65 wrote on Oct 11, '09 antigualla said What I find most interesting in this Montenegro house is the set of furnitures which had a uniform design. Clearly, the owners ordered it from the same shop, and clearly too, they had really preserved the set. A few times over the past couple of years or so, complete matched sets of antique living room furniture -- consisting of arm chairs, side chairs, settees, and tables -- would be offered for sale by various antique dealers. They're often quite reasonably priced too. Pity we don't have the space for them any more.

rally65 wrote on Oct 11, '09 antigualla said The potty throne like chair is really an unusual thing. Literally, "nakaupo sa trono" as we now use the term to mean exactly that. It probably wasn't all that unusual in affluent households from the 19th to the early 20th centuries, but I belatedly realize now that I have never come across one offered for sale by an antique dealer. Could they still be in active use today, I wonder.

arcastro57 wrote on Oct 12, '09 I found a wooden kiddie potty chair being offered by Patrick once. But knowing Patrick, he'd sell anything including petrified poop.

rally65 wrote on Oct 12, '09 arcastro57 said I found a wooden kiddie potty chair being offered by Patrick once. But knowing Patrick, he'd sell anything including petrified poop. But no adult-sized ones yet? Might be useful for retirement. Ha ha ha.

pasonanca wrote on Nov 26, '09 Yesterday and today I lucked into your site - a most impressive, very imaginative, and pleasantly nostalgic, to allow an old kababayan like me who will forever yearn for the things which seem to interest you and thus indulge my desire to return home....but will never do. Maraming salamat po.......pasonanca.

rally65 wrote on Nov 26, '09 pasonanca said Yesterday and today I lucked into your site - a most impressive, very imaginative, and pleasantly nostalgic, to allow an old kababayan like me who will forever yearn for the things which seem to interest you and thus indulge my desire to return home....but will never do. Maraming salamat po.......pasonanca. Thanks for the appreciation. Why not make plans to return home even once every few years? Certainly beats just reading about these things! In any case, please check back here regularly, and thanks again.

kdvi wrote on Jun 29, '10 I just chanced upon your site and I am very impressed. Thanks for the tour of ancestral houses.

rally65 wrote on Jun 29, '10 kdvi said I just chanced upon your site and I am very impressed. Thanks for the tour of ancestral houses. Thank you very much for the appreciation.

nickmedina2006 wrote on Oct 5, '10 I must say that am truly proud to know the Montenegros of Taal, Batangas! Dindo and his brothers Cocoy & Ike are all good family friends since then. I considered the ancestral house as my second home dating back early 60's when I used to spend weekends with the whole family of the Montenegros & Dioknos! It was wonderful to note that the house is well taken cared of and hopefully to visit the Montenegros soon! What you've written bring back memories and you did well with your detailed format with matching visuals! Cudos!

rally65 wrote on Oct 5, '10 Thanks for the visit, and for sharing your reminiscences of this house and its residents.