Frozen in Time?: Las Casas de Acuzar Quezon City

- November 12, 2021, Friday.

- I like going to a lot of places, but ones that fascinate me the most are often those that seem to bring you back to a different time. In Metro Manila, places like Intramuros or Chinatown often come to mind, and they indeed have stood the test of time. However, one place that had been on my mind for a long while was Las Casas de Acuzar in Quezon City.

- People know about Las Casas de Acuzar in Bataan (click here), which has been open since 2010. However, not a lot of people know about it's smaller and younger "sibling" in urban heart of Quezon City, which opened in 2018. Specifically, it is located along Roosevelt Avenue. Las Casas de Acuzar was founded by Jose Acuzar, whose goal was to restore historical houses and buildings. In Bataan, the houses are now museums, lodging, restaurants, or events venues. The one in Quezon City, however, is only open for dining and events.

- I reserved my "tour and dine" package via text, but can also be done through their website (click here). The tour-and-dine package is currently worth Php300 and allows you to enter the premises and have a merienda or snack of your choice (depending on what's available). The snack is usually Philippine rice cakes like bibingka or puto bumbong, plus a glass of freshly made gulaman. For those dining in their restaurants, visitors only need to pay a Php100 entrance fee (per head), and whatever you order in their restaurant. (Best to reserve if you have plans to dine, since there are days when the restaurant is packed.)

- Since I went on a weekday, and on a dead hour, the Las Casas wasn't crowded. What surprised me the most was the size of the place. Perhaps, I kept thinking of the vastness of Las Casas in Bataan, or maybe the photos in its website and photos of friends who have gone prior made the are look wide and spacious. In reality, Las Casas QC was quite compact, with a small plaza surrounded by the houses.

Mabuhay and welcome to Las Casas QC!! (It was a good idea to wear my guayabera for that Hispanic-Filipino look. Also got to bring out my T'Boli brass necklace.)

This is it.

The pink one is Casa Palanca, owned by none other than Carlos Palanca originally built in Binondo in1891. Palanca was one of the earliest prominent Chinoys. The "Palanca Awards," which is sometimes dubbed as the Philippines' Pulitzer Prize, was named after him. On the right, the green one, is Casa Castillo, originally from Pangasinan in the 1910s.

- I took some photos before having my bibingka and gulaman for merienda. The bibingka was also made fresh by the way. While it looked small, the bibingka was packed and made a filling afternoon meal. (And I'm saying this as someone who normally eats a lot.) I ate at the lower level of Casa Castillo.  

Good morning peasants. (I'm kidding I'm kidding!!)

My rich and tasty bibingka!! Both the bibingka and gulaman were not too sweet; perfect for me!

They make the rice cakes fresh!

- I changed into a fresh shirt after having my meal and went crazy taking photos of the nice houses. I took a liking to Casa Monroy, which look like a small mansion ornamented with phoenix motifs. It was owned by Roque Monroy in the 1890s, and was built in Quiapo.

Casa Monroy.

Details!!

- The centerpiece of the whole area was definitely the chapel (which, can be used as an actual chapel.) What I find interesting about this chapel is that, while the other houses are restored or replicas of original houses, the chapel of Las Casas QC was neither restored nor replicated. However, it was inspired from the Pinaglabanan Church in San Juan City, formally known as Saint John the Baptist Parish Church. (The church is called "Pinaglabanan" since the area near the church was where the Katipunan fought against the Spanish in 1896.)     

Chapel interior. There's normally a cross in the middle, at least based on past photos. Not sure what happened to the cross. If you look at the flooring of the aisle, it's a long series of wooden carvings depicting scenes of 

Chapel from the outside.

It does remind me of the many many many churches in Europe.

Saw this outside the chapel. A kindhearted soul wanted to feed the child. LOL.

- You'll notice that I've been pretty much taking pictures of the house facades. What about their interiors? Unfortunately, most of the houses are just mere facades. The interiors are currently being built as they plan to provide lodging just like Las Casas in Bataan. The houses I mentioned earlier, although their lower areas are currently used for dining, their upper floors are actually empty.

This reminds me of the song "Belle" in Beauty and the Beast. By the way, the house behind me is the Casa Garchitorena, owned by Mariano Garchitorena, a former Filipino politician. The house was built in 1833 along today's Recto Avenue.

A nice window from the undated and Victorian-style Casa Arroyave, formerly located along Yuchengco Street in Binondo (also known by its long-time name, Calle Nueva). 

- The main house of Las Casas QC, which is also its most contemporary house, is called Casa Juico. This is where all visitors pass through when entering the premises of Las Casas QC. Built in the 1960s, the house was owned by Felipe Sangil Juico and his family for around 50 years. Felipe Juico was a businessman in the field of travel and tourism. The house was sold to the Acuzars in 2016 to be one of the "casas" of Las Casas de Acuzar. Because of the well-preserved Art Deco design of the house and the old trees in the yard, the house was not torn down and instead was transformed into Las Casas QC. Today, the ground floor houses the main restaurant of Las Casas, called Kusina ni Maria. the second floor of Casa Juico now has several function halls for events.

A replica of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" made by Filipino artisans. I finally "saw" it, since I wasn't able to see the actual one in Vienna.

An Amorsolo painting of Lily Juico, the wife of Felipe juico.

The Art Deco stairs that screams The Great Gatsby.

Despite the bad lighting, I'm kind of OK with this semi-silhouette shot.

Stairs to the function halls upstairs.

The restaurant at the ground floor.

Do come visit!

- Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Quezon City is a remarkable escape from today's fast-paced modernity. The place isn't as "authentic" as Intramuros or Chinatown since majority of the houses were built/brought to serve as neighbors of Casas Juico. However, Las Casas QC does give the curious wanderer a taste of Philippine history during a time of changes, with majority of houses being built towards the end of Spanish rule to the start of American rule in the Philippines. I can't wait to see what Las Casas QC has in store in the near future. Will definitely have to go back to try the food, and perhaps see the houses' interiors once they're done!