Julita, Leyte

I do not mean that title to be about two women. Yes, Julita is a common woman's name in the Philippines, and, there are many people in this country named Leyte (or Lettie), but this story is about the town of Julita in the province of Leyte! I just passed by, actually!

Note: "Julita" is a name of Spanish origin, the first syllable is pronounced as "Hoo".

Ah, although I was roaming coastal towns, this one is not really by the coast but just near. And it was included in my itinerary, so 'wag na mag-reklamo. Enjoy reading nalang!

I went to have a few words with someone at the center of town. So I got to see this...

You guessed it. That's their municipal hall as of now. It is under reconstruction - yep, after the wrath of Yolanda. At right edge of photo is a drawing of how it will look when done.

I hope they'll keep that unique black marble slab that tells "how Julita got its name"...

It is not only informative, it's also a good conversation topic, especially for the visitors!

Hey, amid the scattering of scaffoldings and construction materials, Jose Rizal is fine!

And nice to know that this statue faces the public (plaza), unlike in other places where it faces the municipal hall - as if saying "hey municipal employees, umayos kayo ha?" hehe!

Also nice to know that this town has a public library, that withstood Yolanda and others!

My witty driver said "the question is, if it is really being used as a library". Whatever hehe! Though if they're using it as food storage now, I would not complain. These are trying times. Look at that yellow-colored sack on lower-right corner of photo. I looked closely as our vehicle passed by. It does not seem to contain food. Baka libro. OMG! Oh well...

After the library, I saw this and said "uy, me pasugalan! fiesta ba dito?". Driver laughed...

Nagpupusngak hin tawa, he said "pasugalan talaga? perya lang sir, peryahan"! So I asked what's wrong with "pasugalan", and he said "pasugalan" is like an "illegal gambling den"!

Even I laughed at the realization haha! And come to think of it, this witty driver says he had been to Metro Manila just once, while I lived in that godforsaken place for about forty years, yet, his grasp of Tagalog is better than mine! Well, more of, politically correct!

Oh btw, for those of you not in the know yet, "perya"[Tagalog], comes from the Spanish word "feria". Both "perya" and "feria" mean the same - "a Hispanic market festival often in observance of a religious holiday" says Merriam Webster. And the "perya" anywhere in this country, always features those betting (gambling) games like "sa pula, sa puti" etc.

Maybe after all those years of living in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, I still think 'originally' in Waray, and my lowly brain converts the words into the language that I am speaking at that moment hahaha! Example: "huygo"[Waray], or "huego"[Spanish], means "sugal"[Tagalog]. Now, these 'perya' things are called "huygohan" in Waray. Therefore, my subconscious brain converted it to "pasugalan" and that came out of my mouth, hahaha!

Okay, enough of that "peryahan"! My driver said this town's fiesta is 2 weeks away.

I said let's peep at their church. So we turned to circle around as it is located to the left of Jose Rizal and the municipal hall - our right flank facing the monument and building.

But as we turned left on the main road, this nice house grabbed my attention...

Now that is the way to renovate! A house in the olden style, obviously originally made of wood. If you look at it closely, everything except the windows and roof are already made of concrete. But, it still retains a colonial era charm, especially the capiz shell windows!

Oh okay, the church!

Probably not as devastated by Yolanda, right? And those trees make a beautiful accent...

This made me remember a friend in Metro Manila, who, years ago, dreamt of making his daughter do the wedding march on a red carpet even from outside the church, before the usual "walk down the aisle"! This church would have been fit for that extravagance!

Well, sorry na lang, we did not know Julita in those days! The daughter now has 3 kids!

This is how the inside looks... simple, breezy and bright. Yan ang simbahan!

I do think some of the pews are too worn out and need some help. Donations please!

Ah, those folks up front (church choir?) were practicing songs when I entered. But as I stood on the aisle, they abruptly stopped. One of them (probably the priest?) turned to me and said "please go ahead, take pictures of our beautiful church"! Naawod lugod ako!

Outside, near the municipal hall, this is how the church looks... simple yet beautiful...

To the extent that, my driver, who was all along walking behind me, said this did not look like a catholic church! That got me thinking for some while, but yes, I realized, he had a point. This church has nothing ornate in its façade, no statues outside and no bell.

Oo nga ano, no bells at all! And to think that this church even has 4 bell towers instead of the usual 2! Look closely, there are only two loud speakers, one on each of the taller "bell towers", but no real "lingganay" (bell)! Thus, we should call them "speaker towers"!

Hmm, we may not just be conscious about it, but, who knows, we could be entering the dawn of new church architecture - where new churches won't anymore have bell towers. It's possible and plausible, especially nowadays when everything is most expensive.

Alright, let's leave Julita and move westward to the next town in my itinerary - Burauen!

This is the Dulag-Julita-Burauen Provinicial Road. Part of a network of fine back-roads.

A quiet road at almost noontime. Even tricycles are few. Maybe everyone is at lunch...

Ayan tuloy... even adults ride "topload"! I wonder how many kph that thing moves hehe!

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