El Baúl Collection

01/10/2026

It’s one of those Spanish imports so deeply woven into our culture that you forget it ever came outside. Kapeng Barako traces its roots straight back to the seeds those friars encouraged the people of Lipa to plant.

12/09/2026

Something worth examining in the treasure trove of our family lore—the quiet presence of Chinese ancestors—mga ninunong Instik.

11/09/2026

09/09/2026

We practice most of these traditions without knowing where they came from. Which funeral or "lamay" custom do you find most interesting?

05/09/2026

We stopped building the way we used to after the Spanish era. In traditional houses (bahay-na-bato), the ground floor was reserved for utilitarian purposes rather than living quarters. Later, we adopted single-storey homes built directly on the ground—homes that were not designed to cope with flooding or our hot climate.

31/08/2026

𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗔𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗡, 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗟!
Sa gitna ng matinding ulan, naalala natin na marami sa problema natin sa baha ay bunsod ng matinding katiwalian. Problema na ito noong nabubuhay pa si Marcelo H. del Pilar.

Tinuruan niya ang kaniyang mga kababayan na magpahayag ng saloobin sa panahong limitado ang kalayaan. Nakita siyang lider ng mga Pilipino sa Europa at naging patnugot ng pahayagang La Solidaridad. Hindi na siya nakauwi ng Pilipinas dahil sa suliraning pinansyal at kamatayan.

Ngayong ika-176 na anibersaryo ng kaniyang kapanganakan, gunitain natin si Plaridel at ipagpatuloy natin ang laban niya para sa katuwiran at kalayaan.

. .

May saysay ang kasaysayan. Ikalat pa natin:
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🤙 Usap tayo paano pa natin mapapalakas ang public history sa [email protected]

31/08/2026

The Abra Mountain Development Education Center, Inc. (AMDEC) was founded on July 15, 1947, as the Abra Mountain High School, by the Convention of the Churches of Christ of Northern Luzon, now the Northwest Luzon Conference of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), in cooperation with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches. It was Pastor Pablo Bringas who encouraged the MCC to establish a school in Lamao, Bucloc.

The houses of Capitan Lubuangen and Isabel Valera were initially used as classrooms. Mrs. Marcos J. Bisquerra, from Bangued, served as the first Principal, with Deaconess Pia Libed and American teachers Irene Eschliman and Wilmer Heisey comprising the first teaching staff. The first Board of Trustees consisted of Pastor Pablo Bringas, President; Pastor Lorenzo Sangoy, Vice President; Pastor Cipriano Sevilleja, Secretary; and Victorino Haboy, Capitan Lubuangen, Juan Paligutan, and Capitan Boyyoy, as members.

Apo Dalunag, Marcos, Salabao, and Magayam donated the land on which the school was established.

On September 16, 1948, Irene Eschliman became Acting Principal. In February 1949, Pastors Norwood Tye and Paul Kennedy prepared the school plant.

Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield planned and supervised the construction of the two-story building. ”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

In 1949, Norwood Tye became the Director of the school, while Helen Pada, from Vigan, assumed the position of Principal.

The Bucloc Beacon, the student publication of the school, carried the following words:

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺.”

© 𝘌𝘭 𝘉𝘢𝘶́𝘭 𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯̃𝘰

29/08/2026

26/08/2026

PEÑARRUBIA, Abra — The municipal government of Peñarrubia is integrating traditional Tingguian weaving into the local senior high school curriculum to preserve the indigenous craft among younger generations.

Under the initiative, Peñarrubia Integrated School, the town’s sole public high school, now offers courses in natural dyeing, hand embroidery, and traditional weaving featuring cultural designs of the Tingguian, or Itneg, people.

To support the program, the municipal government allocated public funds to purchase tillar, or weaving looms, along with threads and raw materials for student use.

"We hope that there will be more of our youth who will take interest in making the culture alive," Mayor Geraldine Balbuena said.

Abra’s textile tradition is distinct within the Cordillera region for its hand embroidery, known locally as kinamay.

The patterns reflect agricultural life and spiritual beliefs, including sinanpagay (rice plant motifs), sinantao (human figures), sinankalasag (protective shields), and sinantukak (frogs associated with rain rituals).

The process relies on natural dyes derived from local tree bark and plant leaves rather than synthetic chemicals.

Community elders and local institutions are providing technical support for the educational effort. The Agaid family, which operates the Itneg School of Living Tradition in Barangay Namarabar, continues to teach community members and visitors the traditional techniques.

The revival effort coincides with expanding commercial interest in Tingguian textiles. Local artisan Luis Agaid Jr., a cultural master at the Itneg school, recently produced 1,000 hand-embroidered patches for Japanese retailer Uniqlo's global collection, showcasing kukko geometric motifs that symbolize agricultural productivity.

Town officials noted that formalizing the craft in schools ensures that historical traditions evolve into sustainable livelihoods for future generations, bridging ancestral heritage with contemporary fashion markets.

(Photo courtesy of Provincial Government of Abra)