World Laughter Day May 3, 2026: Laughter helps you live longer. “He who laughs, lasts.”

 Laughter helps you live longer

“He who laughs, lasts.”

Researched and organized by Dr Abe V Rotor

             You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you are laughing.

Nothing diffuses anger and conflict than a shared laugh.  Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness and resentment.

 

Albert Einstein in a very good mood.  I can virtually hear his laughter.

 A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much. Laughter relaxes the whole body.  A good and hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscle relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.  Laughter boosts the immune system.  Laughter decreases stress hormone and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease, 

  Laughter -

· Boosts immunity

· Lowers stress hormones

· Decreases pain

· Relaxes your muscles

· Adds joy and zest to life

· Eases anxiety and tension

· Relieves stress

· Improves mood

· Strengthens resilience

· Prevents heart disease

 Laughter stops distressing emotions.  You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you are laughing.  Laughter draws you closer to others, which can have a profound effect on all aspects of your mental and emotional health.

Laughter is for Life

Soften the worst blows of life with humor.

"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it." - Bill Cosby

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Light moments, Amadeo, Cavite, author with his students at the University of Santo Tomas  Graduate School. 

1. A judge in sentencing a criminal recently said, "I am giving you the maximum punishment - I am letting you go free to worry about taxes, inflation, and everything else, just like the rest of us."

2. In prehistoric times, cavemen had a custom of beating the ground with clubs and uttering spine-chilling cries. Anthropologists call this a form of primitive self-expression. When modern men go through the same ritual, they call it golf.

3. Not so long three lunatics escaped from a large asylum. Search officers combed the surrounding countryside for twenty-four hours, and they finally brought in five.

4. When the Creator gave out brains, I thought he said trains - and I missed mine! When He gave out good looks, I thought he said books - and I didn't want any! And when He said noses, I thought he said roses - and I ordered a big red one.

5. A young woman boarded a crowded bus. A tired little man got up and gave her his seat. There was a moment of silence. "I beg your pardon?" said the tired man. "I didn't say anything," replied the young woman. "I'm sorry," said the man. "I thought you said 'Thank you.'"

6. A grade-school student was having trouble with punctuation. "Never mind, sonny," said the visiting school board president, consolingly. "It's foolish to bother about commas; they don't amount too much, anyway." "Elizabeth Ann," said the teacher, "please write this sentence on the board: "The president of the board says the teacher is misinformed." "Now," she continued, "put a comma after the board and another after teacher."

7. An American engineer returned recently from a mission to the Soviet Union. The Russians, he reported, were fascinated by the Americans' use of the expression OK. " But what is this Okie-Dokie? one Russian asked him. Before he could answer, another Russian interrupted with, "Don't be a dope. It's the feminine of OK.

8. It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope. (Pope John Paul XXIII)

9. Here's a story about smart kids. "I wonder why people say Amen and not Awomen?" Bobby questioned. His little friend replied, "Because they sing hymns and not hers, silly."

10. Here's a story for the political candidate for the coming election. Voter: "Why, I wouldn't vote for you if you were Saint Peter himself." Candidate: 'if I were Saint Peter, you couldn't vote for me - you wouldn't be in my district."

11. Motorist: "Your honor, I was not drunk.  I was only drinking." 
      Judge: "Well, in that case I an not going to send you to jail for one month - only for 30 days." 

12. A fellow in a lunatic asylum sat fishing over a flower bed.  A visiting doctor, wishing to be friendly asked.
"How many have you caught?"
Answered the not-so-dumb fisherman, "You are the ninth."

13. The many faces of Peace

Peace is often mispronounced and a butt of jokes: fish, feast, piss, fish be with you, phase 1- phase 2, piece of paper, may you rest in peace (good sleep). – (Fr. Jerry Orbos, June 11, 2006) PHOTO Happy children

14. Count
What comes after five? Six, po. 7? Eight, po. Who taught you how to count? My father, po.  What comes next after ten? Jack, po. (Fr. Jerry Orbos, June 11, 2006)

15. Neighbors
"Good morning, madam. I'm the piano-tuner."
"But I didn't send for a piano-tuner."
"I know, It was a committee of your neighbors that called up." 

16. Man - Men
Men can be divided into three classes:

1. The handsome
2. The intellectual
3. The great majority

17. Three things to give to marriage:

1. Industry
2. Inspiration
3. In

18. Kiss
"Best way to quiet a hysterical girl ," said the psychologist, "is to give her a kiss."
"But how do you get them hysterical?"

19. Language 
"So you have just returned from Paris.  Did you have any trouble with your French?"
"No, but the French did."

20. Just to show you
A wife was frying eggs for her husband’s breakfast. Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen, “Careful…
CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD! You’re cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They’re going to STICK! Careful… CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUK! You NEVER listen to me when you’re cooking! Never! Don’t forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!”

The wife stared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? You think I don’t know how to fry eggs?”

The husband calmly replied, “I wanted to show you how it feels like to have you sitting next to me when I’m driving.

Acknowledgment: Jokes, Quotes and One-Liners for Public Speakers by Prochnow H V and HV Prochnow Jr; Speaker's Encyclopedia of Humor by Jacob Braude, Prentice-Hall

 Perk up your life with Wit and Humor

Researched and organized by Dr Abe V Rotor

A little girl approached a great concert violinist after his performance as he was leaving the concert hall and asked him for an autograph.
“I’m sorry,” said the maestro, “but my hands are so very tired from playing.”
“My hands are tired, too,” said the little girl, “and they’re tired from applauding.”

The police sent out pictures of an escaped convict in six different poses. A constable sent the following wire: “Have captured five of them and on trail of the sixth.”

FISHERMAN: "I tell you it was THAT long!  I never saw such a fish."
FRIEND: "I believe you."  

Saint Peter stopped a man who knocked at the Gates of Heaven.
“You have told many lies to get in here,” said the Keeper of the Keys.
“Have a heart, Saint Peter,” said the new arrival. “You were a fisherman once yourself.”

HE: “What was the name of the hotel we stopped at in Detriot?”
SHE: “Wait, I’ll look through my towels.”

WIFE: “A letter came for you today marked ‘private and personal.’”
HUSBAND: “What did it say?”

Her husband can always find the liquor, no matter where his wife hides it. He has a fifth sense.

ANGRY WIFE: “What would you men have today if woman had never been created?”
PLACID HUSBAND: “One more rib.”

You should file your income tax, not chisel it. (Or cut it.)

“What do you mean, you have nothing to live for?” a wife asked her despondent husband. “The house isn’t paid for, the car isn’t paid for, the TV isn’t paid for…”

A father was telling a neighbor how he stopped his son from being late to high school. “I bought him a car,” he said.
“How did that stop him from being late?” the neighbor asked.
“Why, he’s got to get there early to find a parking place.”

Two little girls were in danger of being late for school.

“Let’s stop and pray for God to get us there on time,” said one.
“No, better than that,” said the other, “let’s run with all our might, and pray while we’re running.”

Acknowledgement with gratitude: Speaker's Encyclopedia of Humor by Jacob M Braude Prentice-Hill; Internet cartoon images

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World Laughter Day is celebrated annually on the first Sunday in May, falling on May 3, 2026. Founded in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, this day promotes world peace, health, and friendship through laughter ...

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur - Heritage Zone of the North (RA 11645) in 10 Parts

Town's Fiesta, April 28, 2026

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Heritage Zone of the North (RA 11645)

 

Dr Abercio V Rotor PhD

To protect their historical and cultural integrity, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Cebu's Carcar City and Ilocos Sur's San Vicente town as Heritage Zones. These are provided under Republic Act 11644 and 11645 signed by the President into law last January 14, 2022.

Under RA No. 11645, the heritage zone in San Vicente shall include the “cultural properties declared as National Cultural Treasures and Important Cultural Properties as well as National Historical Landmarks, Shrines, Monuments, and Sites, and such other immovable, movable or intangible cultural properties whether publicly or privately owned.”

Part 1: Old Church of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
Part 2: The Church - zone of peace and holy ground
Part 3 - Return of the Native - "Ur-urayenka, Anakko" 

             (I am waiting for you my child)
Part 5 - Folk Art (Re-enactment of the Passion of Christ)
Part 6 - San Vicente Ferrer Church- 

             Spanish Greco-Roman Architecture in my Hometown
Part 7 - PRRD signs laws declaring heritage zones in Cebu, Ilocos Sur
Part 8 - University of Northern Philippines (UNP) Historic Rotor Residence
Part 9 - Features of the Living with Nature Center, 2026

Part 10 - San Vicente My Hometown, and other Poems 

Part 1: Old Church of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur*

Aerial View of San Vicente Poblacion showing the church's 

location and immediate surroundings, circa 1976

 

Photos of San Vicente Ferrer church from private collection.  

Balikbayan and pilgrims pay homage to the patron saint every Tuesday.

Chapel prior to the building of the church is preserved,  It is presently used 

as classroom of the adjacent San Vicented Integrated School

Original interior of the twin towers

Views taken from the choir loft (kuro) during a Sunday mass.  The church attracts devotees during Holy Week, town fiesta (2nd Tuesday of April), and pilgrims every Tuesday. 

 
Closeup of devotees lighting candles outside the church before the icon saint.  

 

                                                 Ramparts of a fort; detail of façade.

 

Left, view of the grotto from the western tower; right, western arch and door 

are partly seen between the ramparts. Note periwinkle growing like aerial plant. 

Old pillar, once a column against invaders

in colonial times, idle you have been

for centuries, save the tough chichirica*

common herbal yet rarely known and seen.   

 

San Vicente plant or Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) 

*Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) produces potent alkaloids, which are known worldwide as an anti-cancer compound. Periwinkle is also known as San Vicente plant. It comes in several variants or cultivars by the color of their flowers - immaculate white, red, and various shades and patterns of pink, and also purple.

 

                                     

Two statues at the front of church, Virgin Mary and Sacred Heart; 

sideview of façade on the south.

  

                     Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. At the back is a ruin of the church's 

                     western wing. 

* The church is currently undergoing renovation and beautification under 

the initiative and supervision of our parish priest, Fr Felisisimo A Ferrer.

Part 2: The Church - zone of peace and holy ground

San Vicente (My Hometown)

In my childhood I saw detours of footprints

dividing the East and the West, two warring niches

where the zone of peace was the holy ground,

and beyond was wilderness - and the unknown,

beyond the confines of Subec and the Cordillera,

the memory of Diego Silang, and the Basi Revolt

on old meandering Bantaoay River.

In my youth I saw the sun sitting

on acacia stumps and on the tired landscape,

but rising in dreams and visions on the horizon,

and in the wisdom of my forebears,

the old guards of your fort.

Time has stood still since then.

I come to pay homage in your temple,

and into the arms of my people, my roots;

I see the footpath of yesteryears,

now grown and multiplied, and always fresh,

leading from the East and West,

and the many corners of the earth

converging at your portals in pilgrimage. ~

   Stained glass of St Vincent Ferrer, with prayer imploring his mercy, in Ilocano.  Reprint from Light  in the Woods by A V Rotor, Megabooks 1995

Part 3 - Return of the Native ("Ur-urayenka, Anakko" 

- I am waiting for you my child) 

"Now I am home, my father, my hometown. 

I thank you for being a native of this most beautiful 

place on earth." - avr

San Vicente (Ilocos Sur) Parish Church built in the 17th century

I am a modern day Prodigal Son. I spent sixty long years searching and searching for a place I may call my own in the whole wide world. Yes, sixty long years of my youth and in old age – thrice longer the fiction character Rip van Winkle slept  – and now I am back to the portals of my hometown, to the waiting arms of my father.

The proverbial Lamp I still hold flickers, but it is but a beacon in embers now, for it has spent its luminescence in the darkness of human weakness and failures, it beamed across the ocean of ignorance and lost hope, it trailed the path of many adventures and discoveries, and it kept vigil in the night.

And what would my father say? He meets me, embraces me, and calls everyone. “Kill the fattest calf! Let us rejoice.”

San Vicente is my home. It is the bastion of my hopes and ideals. At the far end on entering the old church is written on the altar, faded by the elements of time and rough hands of devotees, Ur-urayenka Anakko – I am waiting for you my child. When the world is being ripped by conflicts or pampered with material progress, when mankind shudders at the splitting of the atom or the breaking of the code of life, when the future is viewed with high rise edifices or clouded by greenhouse gases – my town becomes more than ever relevant to the cause for which it has stood through the centuries - the sanctuary of idealism in a troubled world, home of hundreds of professionals in many fields of human endeavor.

“Kill the fattest calf,” I hear my father shout with joy. It is celebration. It is a symbol of  achievement more than I deserve. But my feeling is that I am standing on behalf of my colleagues for I am but an emissary. Out there in peace and trials, in villages and cities, in all endeavors and walks of life, many “Vincentians” made their marks, either recognized on the stage or remembered on stone on which their names are carved. I must say, it is an honor and privilege that I am here in humility to represent them that I may convey their unending faith and trust to our beloved hometown.

The world has changed tremendously, vastly, since I passed under the town arch to meet the world some sixty years ago. I have met wise men who asked the famous question “Quo vadis?” (Where are you going?) I can only give a glimpse from the eye of a teacher, far for the probing mind of Alvin Toffler in Future Shock, or those of Naisbitt and Aburdane, renowned modern prophets. A teacher as I know, and having been trained as one, sees the world as it is lived; he makes careful inferences, and takes a bird’s eye-view cautiously. He is a conveyor of knowledge, and even with modern teaching tools and communication technology, cannot even qualify as chronicler, nay less of a forecaster. I have always strive to master the art of foretelling  the future, but frankly I can only see it from atop a misty mountain. How I wish too, that I can fully witness the fruits of the seed of knowledge a teacher has sown in the mind of the young.

Limited my experience may be, allow me to speak my mind about progress and developments in the sixty years I was away from home, but on the other side of midnight, so to speak.

1. The monster that Frankenstein created lurks in nuclear stockpiles, chides with scientists tinkering with life, begging to give him a name and a home.

2. Our blue planet has an ugly shade of murk and crimson – fire consuming the forests, erosion eating out the land, polar ice shrinking, flooding the shorelines, and boring a hole in its jacket.

3. One race-one nation equals globalization. But globalization is not the ultimate goal of mankind, and neither shall build for him the dreamworld of Utopia. The shrinking of the gene pool predisposes man, or any species for that matter, to its doom. 

Acculturation is leading mankind to early to its demise. Homogenization is the death sentence amid a bed of roses for mankind. How we have taken the role of God in our hands! It could be the greatest sin of disobedience after the banishment of our ancestors from Paradise because they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

4. Today the whole world is wired, and it travels fast on two feet. Thanks to communication and transportation. The Concord, the first supersonic commercial transport, would take a busy executive around the world and back virtually in three days, sending to the archives Jules Verne's 17th century novel, Eighty Days Around the World. Space tourism has began, and soon people would be traveling to the moon or Mars like hopping from one continent to another. Video-conference, satellite images, kinect sensor, virtual realities, and the Internet, continue to give us more and more access to the enormous wealth of information, through the magic of communication the world over. 

And the greatest human invention - The Tablet like Pocket PC, smartphone, and i-Pod have become available to the ordinary person, thus making him "citizen of the world" in modern parlance. Despite these, scientists are wary about the "diminution of man role amid his own inventions," which leads us to wonder what lies in our future.

5. Man-induced phenomena are too difficult to separate from those of natural causes. We take the latter as an excuse of our follies, a rationalization that runs counter to be rational. Only the human species has both the capability to build or destroy – and yet we love to destroy what we build.

6. The dangerous game of numbers is a favorite game, and our spaceship is getting overloaded. Man’s wants, more so man’s needs, become burgeoning load of Mother Earth, now sick and aging. Will Pied Piper ever come back and take our beloved young ones away from us, as it did in Hamlyn many years ago?

7. Conscience, conscience, where is spirituality that nourishes it. Where have all the religious teachings gone? Governance – where is the family, the home? Peace and order – Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine – another Korea, another Vietnam, only in another place, in another time. And now social unrest continues to sweep over North Africa, the Middle East,  Afghanistan.  And ironically, over the US the richest and most powerful nation.

8. Janus is progress, and progress is Janus. It is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is The Prince and the Pauper. Capitalism has happy and sad faces – the latter painted in pain and sadness on millions all over the world. It is inequity that makes the world poor; we have more than enough food, clothing, shelter, and energy for everybody. What ideology can save the world other than Capitalism?

As I grew older I did not only learn to adjust with the realities of life as I encountered them, but to grasp their meaning from the points of view of famous philosophers and writers. I studied them with the famous lines from William Blake’s famous poem, Auguries of Innocence.

To wit.

“To see the world in a grain of sand;

     And a Heaven a wild flower;

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

     And eternity in an hour.”

                                  - William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

If ever I have ventured into becoming a redeemer of sort, armed with a pen in hand, I too, have learned from Blake’s verse of the way man should view the world in all its magnanimity yet in simplicity. If ever I have set foot to reach the corners of the Earth, and failed, I am consoled by the humble representation of “a grain of sand” that speaks of universal truth and values.

And beauty? If I have not found it in a garden of roses, I dare not step on a flowering weed. And posterity and eternity? They are all ensconced in periodicity, a divine accident of existence – to say that each and every one of us is here in this world by chance – an unimaginable chance – at “a certain time and place” which - and I believe - has a purpose in whatever and however one lives his life. But I would say that a lifetime is all it takes “to see the world” and be part of it. It is a lifetime that we realize the true meaning of beauty, experience “infinity and eternity”. Lifetime is a daily calendar of victories and defeats.

While the world goes around and around . . .

The world like in Aristotle’s time continues to struggle with the preservation of values; the species will continue to evolve as postulated by Darwin though largely influenced by man; culture will express itself more fully since the first painting of early man dwelling in the caves of Lascaux in France.

Trade and commerce will continue to progress, reach a plateau and decline - a normal curve that goes with the rise and fall of civilizations. Yet leaders do not see it that way. Not even the Utopia of conquerors like Alexander the Great whose global economic vision two thousand five hundred years ago is basically the same as those of the great powers of today - United States, European Union, ASEAN.

The great religions will continue to bring man to his knees and to look up to heaven amidst knowledge revolution and growing complexity of living. Man’s infinitesimal mind continues to probe the universe. Never has man been so busy, so bothered, so confused, yet so determined than ever before, trying to fill up God’s Seventh Day.

As I go on reflecting I came across the book of Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, 1994. He warns us succinctly.

“This world, which appears to be a great workshop in which knowledge is developed by man – which appears as progress and civilization, as a modern system of communication, as a structure of democratic freedom without any limitations – this world is not capable of making man happy."  - Pope John Paul II, On the Threshold of Hope

Now I am home, my father, my hometown, my townmates. Thank you for being a native of this most beautiful place on earth.

Take me into your arms once more, dear father. ~

Part 4 - About San Vicente Ilocos Sur  

San Vicente is a fifth class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,720 people.

The municipality is known for its production of beautiful furniture made from narra and other tropical hardwoods, even from old wood previously used in wooden sugarcane crushers and old houses to make reproduction antiques.

Barangays

San Vicente is politically subdivided into 7 barangays.

• Bantaoay
• Bayubay Norte
• Bayubay Sur
• Lubong
• Poblacion
• Pudoc
• San Sebastian

Etymology

The municipality's name came from the name of Saint Vincent Ferrer, whose winged statue was found inside a box entangled in fishing nets. The fishermen consulted this matter to the friars in Villa Fernandina (now Vigan), who identified the person depicted by the statue. The statue was carried to the town's center, where a church was built. From then on, the town formerly known as Tuanong (sometimes called Taonan) became San Vicente.

History

In tracing the history of San Vicente, one always has to start from Vigan. Vigan was established by the Spanish colonizer, Juan de Salcedo on June 13, 1573 up to 1582, there were only 800 residents.

Upon Salcedo’s return in 1574, he brought with them the Augustinian friars in order to teach Christianity to the inhabitants. After Salcedo’s death on March 11, 1576, Franciscan friars replaced the Augustinians in the year 1579. These same friars spread up to San Vicente to convert the people to the Catholic faith.

In 1591, Vigan has already an organized form of government, which included these barrios namely: Bo. Tuanong, Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba and Bo. Caoayan. There were then a population numbering about 4,000 inhabitants.

Between the years 1720 and 1737, the first chapel of Bo. Tuanong was erected. Later in 1748, the Confraternity of Jesus of Nazareth was organized. In one record of the Vigan Convent archives, a funeral that happened on January 29, 1748 at the Chapel Bo. Tuanong was recorded. Two chaplains Bro. Don Agustin de la Encarnacion and Don Pedro Geronimo de Barba were the priest stone the chapel in that year 1748. It is believed that the chapel is the first stone building that sees upon entering the San Vicente Central School from the main road. Bo. Tuanong which belonged to Vigan was the old name of San Vicente.

On June 16, 1751, the chaplain was Don Miguel de Montanez. He was the first priest there and also in the chapel of San Sebastian. It is found out that Barangay San Sebastian already erected.

Hardship in reaching Bo. Tuanong and Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba from Vigan especially during the months of June to October was experienced, due to the absence of dike or bridge. Priests from Vigan reached these places by means of a raft. The problem prompted the separation of these two barrios from Vigan in 1793.

In 1795, it was the initiation of the seat of municipality and the church and Bo. Tuanong became San Vicente de Ferrer. Don Pedro de Leon was the first parish priest and he was believed as the initiator of the construction of the Church of San Vicente.

Source: Wikipedia, Internet;  Poem reprinted from Light in the Woods: Photographs and Poems by Dr A V Rotor Megabooks 1995

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Press Release
January 17, 2022

Part 5 - Folk Art (Re-enactment of the Passion of Christ)

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Dedicated to my kababayan, particularly to the players of the Good Friday passion play. These shots were taken with a palm size digital camera with 7.2 Mega pizels, photos are unedited. 

Calvary scene where the seven last words of Christ reverberated throughout the world - the most revered moment of His life that made Christianity the world's biggest religion ever: 1.2 billion followers two thousand years after - and still growing. 

 

The living icons are natives of the town - artisans, farmers, students, fisherfolk and a host of natural artists, who know too well about the kind of life they portray for and on behalf of Christ in His greatest hour.  

 

The game cock enthusiast offers his hobby and trade; the tippler knows just how sober it is to lose oneself that he may enter into the world of spirituality - an apostle worthy of  partaking in Christ's last supper. 

  

Young centurions dreaming of bringing peace and order in a troubled world, reversing the biblical role into honor and heroism. The re-incarnated Pontius Pilate, allegory of power abuse among today's leaders, softens in the heart of a young boy whose innocence shall grow into the idealism of new young leaders.  

 

Judas Iscariot hanging on a tree, believed to be the haunting strangler's fig or balete, likewise haunts those who turn their back against Christ.  The player broke the omen, indeed a most difficult role in the stage play, by asceticism, an old principle of perseverance with meaning. The difference of a repentant Judas who took his own life with that of a neo-Judas today is that there is redemption in the latter in Christ's own way of human salvation - which is the essence of His coming as the Messiah

Part 6 - San Vicente Ferrer Church

Spanish Greco-Roman Architecture in my Hometown

Dr Abe V Rotor

Detail of Greco-Roman column and frieze of San Vicente Ferrer parish church. European Renaissance art introduced by the Spanish colonizers.

 

I am humbled by my origin, the disparity of temple and hut,

     the finest limestone-marble and rough fired-clay.

of my forebears: one from across the seas, the other in the field,

     the color of my skin, and the language of my heart;

How the two converged in my birthplace, oh! what a wonder;

     designed by periodicity, sanctioned by providence;

built by labor of obedience to God and the colonial masters,

     muted by faith and fear, and behold! a masterpiece.

I saw the Ziggurats, the Pyramids, and the Great Wall.

     and asked how deep is my loyalty and devotion;

if not implanted in the genes - why the Stonehenge -

     was it not a part of the order of creation?

The column and frieze, symbol of glory, of war and peace,

     of triumph and conquest, imprimatur of power,

tapestry of humanity woven by will, faith and destiny;

     and I, I am but a thread, of li’l color and strength. ~

San Vicente Ferrer Parish church, Ilocos Sur, The author's residence

is just across the western perimeter wall (bakud Ilk) of this 17th century church. ~

     Part 7 -  PRRD signs laws declaring heritage zones in Cebu, Ilocos Sur

By Azer Parrocha January 17, 2022, 3:21 pm

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (Presidential photo)

MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed into law two measures declaring heritage zones in the provinces of Cebu and Ilocos Sur

 

President Duterte signed both Republic Act 11644 or the “Carcar City Heritage Zone Act” and RA 11645 or an act establishing a heritage zone within the municipality of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur on Jan. 14, 2022.

In signing RA 11644, Duterte recognized that the Constitution “mandates the State to conserve, develop, promote, and popularize the nation's historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as its artistic creations.

The Constitution also provides that all the country's artistic and historic wealth “constitute the cultural treasures of the nation and shall be protected by the State, which may regulate its disposition.”

"Towards this end, the promotion and preservation of the cultural and historical landmarks that highlight the uniqueness and beauty of Carcar City, including all century-old architecturally significant and historic houses thereat, shall be pursued in the development and management of its tourism industry, cultural heritage and resources," RA 11644 read.

Under the law, Carcar City will be accorded priority development by the Department of Tourism (DOT), in coordination with the provincial government of Cebu, the city government of Carcar, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and its affiliated cultural agencies, and other concerned agencies of the government, subject to the rules and regulations governing the conservation and preservation of heritage zones.

The DOT, in coordination with local governments of Cebu and Carcar City, the NCCA and its affiliated cultural agencies, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will immediately prepare the development plan involving the preservation, conservation, restoration, and maintenance of cultural and historical sites and structures for the enhancement and sustainability of tourism in Carcar City.

The NCCA will approve only those methods and materials that strictly adhere to the accepted international standards of conservation in undertaking conservation and restoration works as provided for in Section 15 of RA 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act. Applicable provisions of Republic Act 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 as amended by Republic Act 11038, will be applied in the management of the protected areas within the City of Carcar in coordination with the DENR.

The DOT, in coordination with the Provincial Government of Cebu, the City Government of Carcar, the NCCA and its affiliated cultural agencies, and the DENR will promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. The Act which originated in the House of Representatives was passed by the House on Dec. 17, 2019, amended by the Senate on Sept. 27, 2021, and which amendments were concurred in by the House on Nov. 23, 2021.

Under RA 11645, the DOT, in coordination with the Province of Ilocos Sur, the Municipality of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, and the NCCA and its affiliated cultural agencies, will also immediately prepare the development plan involving the preservation, conservation, restoration, and maintenance of cultural and historical sites and structures for the enhancement and sustainability of tourism in San Vincente, Ilocos Sur. The NCCA will approve only those methods and materials that strictly adhere to the accepted international standards of conservation in undertaking conservation and restoration works, as provided for in Section 15 of RA 10066.

Within one year from the effectivity of this Act, the Municipality of San Vicente, Ilocus Sur will pass a municipal ordinance to operationalize appropriately the management of its heritage zone, including all the cultural properties designated as intrinsic thereto, in accordance with the development plan and in line with the objectives and provisions of RA 10066 and RA 11645.  The preservation, protection, study, and promotion of the cultural and historical integrity of the geographical area represented by the heritage zone will receive priority development attention, assistance, and funding from the NCCA and its affiliated cultural agencies, and from the DOT and its attached agencies, subject to existing appropriate government rules and regulations. (PNA) ~ 

Part 8 - University of Northern Philippines

UNP Historic Rotor Residence

"This residence is a unique blend of architectural history and artistic expression, offering a glimpse into the family's appreciation for nature and the arts." - UNP 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

The Rotor family's "Living with Nature" Residence by the University of Northern Philippines (UNP) is a testament to the family's deep connection with nature and the arts. 

The residence, constructed in 1903, was originally a composite ordinary residence and has since been transformed into an art gallery that reflects Dr. Abercio V. Rotor's respect for the natural world and the arts. 

The house features imaginative paintings of nature and retains its original historical elements, such as bricked columns and beams. The ground floor includes spaces for the winery company, kitchen, dining, and various store rooms and bedroom spaces, while the upper floor serves as a gallery.

This residence is a unique blend of architectural history and artistic expression, offering a glimpse into the family's appreciation for nature and the arts. ~

            Part 9 - Features of the Living with Nature Center, 2026

Dr Abe V Rotor

Founder and Head, Living with Nature Center

Visit avrotor.blogspot.com and Naturalism – the Eighth Sense

Contact – 09954672990

20 FEATURES

Orientation Outline 

1. Renovated old home

   (survived typhoons, earthquakes, other calamities, WWII) for four generations. 

2. San Vicente Botanical Garden – living gene bank, shrine, outdoor classroom.

3. Living with Nature (Center), advocacy, hands-on, on-site learning

4. Community-based (visits, tours, workshops, research, practicum)

5. Refuge (respite, retirement, recuperation, balikbayan, childhood experience)

French and Belgian tourists lead house guests in January 2026

6. EcoSanctuary - Wildlife habitat, orchard, open field, local ecosystems

7. Natural for healthy and happy living (food, air, herbals, pets, sense of freedom)

8. Family museum (library, archive, souvenirs, achievements, paraphernalia)

  

 

CEO of a local tourist group poses with author, examines a deer head on the wall. 

9. “The Morning After Syndrome” - preparedness for the worst upheaval (COVID-19)

10. Exodus from the City (reversal from traffic, congestion, high cost of living)

 

NCCA (National Commission for Culture and Arts) executive and LGU (Local Government Unit) guides; UNP coed displays a relief religious art work made of recycled materials.

 

Author (left) presents painting and a book (Living with Nature in Our Home and Community) he wrote as gifts to Fr Mars Tan, president of Xavier University, on the latter's visit to the author's home in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur in 2024. Right photo, Japanese guest Takehito Kabayashi (center) poses with author at the Living with Nature Library.  

11. Right brain shift (creativity, hobbies, nature-friendly)

12. Integrated and holistic (The Humanities, back-to-basics, skills development)

13. You are not alone (“So far yet so near,” the world at the living room)

 "Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope.

 Hope breeds peace." – Confucius

DepEd Kidapawan educators and teachers visit the Living with Nature Center

Old friends and acquaintances, professionals in various fields pose at the Center's garden.

14. Ecological prayer (Love God through Nature, Nature is God’s greatest gift)

15. Don’t be a victim of Instant Syndrome (DiY, home garden, cookbook)

 

UNP University of Northern Philippines) students study plant specimens with author..  

16. Save, save from impulse buying, planned obsolescence, ostentatious living.

17. Be simple and practical (countryside living, bayanihan, kamag-anak)

        

Bible month (January 2026) poster making student-contestants display their final works before their parents, teachers and church leaders.  Contestants come from 3 local school SVIS (San Vicente Integrated School), SSNHS (San Sebastian National High School), EMES (Ermita-Mindoro Elementary School)

18. The golden years of life (It’s not too late, you are missing life itself)
19. Yes, you can paint, cook, build your home, do the things you dreamed of.
20. Search for the meaning of life (Learn from Victor Frankl, Schweitzer, Rizal)

 

Bible month poster making contests candid views

    

Globally linked on the Internet avrotor.blogspot.com and Naturalism – the Eighth Sense in 6000 articles to date. Search topic, download, print for your educational use in your school, community, and organization. Linked with 14 books written by AV Rotor, Bannawag magazine, (Okeyka Apong), Radyo Katipunan Ateneo de Manila University, Usapang Bayan, Radyo ng Bayan, other websites. Welcome to the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.  Contact – 09954672990 ~

Part 10 - San Vicente My Hometown, and other Poems 

"Happy  they are who keep alive the inner vision, the music that lights the world."

St Vincent Ferrer is the patron saint of my town. He is also regarded patron saint of builders because of his fame for "building up" and strengthening the Church through his preaching, missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser. His feast day is April 5, celebrated on the last Tuesday of April which is the town fiesta. He belonged to the Dominican Order (like UST), highly educated and held a  doctoral degree. More about St Vincent below.  

Dawn - Child  of Sunrise 

Old church of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2017 

Dawn is the child of sunrise,

azure, crimson, emerald,

curtain of a new day,

a call for all to rise.

Through the church's window,

dawn joins the faithful

in their hymns and prayers,

alongside row by row.

Over the mountain range

a reclining profile rises,

her gown of darkness fades

and soon will change.

Like the dawn I'm a child,

rising up as she rises,

to her ephemeral beauty

devoid of any pride. ~

 Cordillera Mountain and Old Church Profile 2017

                                                   (Photos by the author)

Edge of Awareness 

In my childhood I saw detours of footpaths

dividing the East and the West, two warring niches

where the zone of peace was the holy ground,

and beyond was wilderness – and the unknown

beyond the confines of Subec and the Cordillera,

the memory of Diego Silang, or the Basi Revolt

on old, meandering Bantaoay River.

In my youth I saw the sun sitting

on acacia stumps and on the tires landscape

but rising in dreams and visions on the horizon,

and in the wisdom of my forebears,

the old guards of your fort.

Time has stood still since then.

I come to pay homage in your temple,

and into the arms of my people, my roots;

I see the footpaths of yesteryears,

now grown and multiplied, and always fresh,

leading from the East and West,

and the many corners of the earth,

converging at your portals in pilgrimage.

Memories of My Childhood

Rain and stream end up in Sabangan

Where play the carefree and the young,

Where fish and carabao are but one,

And dreams are far, far beyond.

Childhood is when nobody misses

The morning before the sun rises,

Before the herons stake the fishes,

While the birds sing in the trees.

Frogs don’t croak at the kingfisher;

Rain is read from a friendly dragonfly;

Nests are secrets only to the finder –

These lessons are joy to live by.

War is solved in kites and fishing poles,

In hide and seek and barefoot races;

Faith is in the seasons the sky extols.

And all virtues friendship embraces.

Peals of thunder break the afternoon

Driving the fowls early to their tree;

The boys catch the raindrops. And soon,

Across the field, dash for home aglee.

Summer is short, rainy days are long,

But it is only a passing imagery,

For the young can’t wait, and all along

The years are gone, but a blissful memory.

Long had Freud and Jung foretold

The man is the child of many years ago;

What the seed was and how it grew –

Lo, behold, it is true.

A Place Time Forgot

They just stand silent – these trees, river and hill

The water beams the color of the sky, of autumn or spring,

The breeze clings on mist, dewdrops on a train,

Dying beyond the thought of dying, whispering, hushing.

The seed can wait, unless fishing rods quiver and bend,

And the boys though young forever aim at another prize,

While the girls like flowers in the desert sweetly ask

For rain, and lightning flashing, mushrooms will soon rise.

But do not make haste unless the clock melts at the edge,

Hair turns gray, the air sultry, neon light complain,

Unless the swivel chair creaks in pain, forgetfulness, and chill,

They just stand silent – these trees, river and hill.

Kakawate

You get thorough shaving

twice or many times;

the poorer your master,

the more you get,

You bear the sun and rain

until you regenerate

to the joy of your symbionts,

the gecko and mantis

who, too, protect

your master’s crop.

You twist in ceaseless pain,

resulting in your weird look,

Ah, but your ugliness

is the orchardist's delight

and your master’s luck

that may bring about

your final sunset.

Caleza

They scrambled aboard the carriage one Lent,

Breathless, sardine packed, doldrums silent.

The cochero gave a crispy note,

Nodded his lifelong, partner, mute.

The hame tightened, wood strained,

The wheels struggled and complained.

Rattan striking the spokes was horn:

Like dull sound of a xylophone,

Joining riotous shouts and laughter –

Orchestral potpourri altogether.

The past leaves remnants to the future,

New to the young, but dying bit by bit,

Flickering the last rays of old adventure,

Like the old caleza bidding exit.

                              Church Ruins

Your eyes are empty,

and you sit like the owl.

You are the shell

of a colonial past

to oblivion cast,

save your bell

pealing the essence

of the Rock

that cleanses

the soul.

                              Upland

You are a minuscule

of the Fertile Crescent,

a far cry from Euclid’s measure.

You run along the margin

of the northwestern coast,

were there are no rivers that cross,

and lie at the heels of the Cordillera,

where there are no valleys in which to hide;

but you are a good provider

to a kind and gentle people

tanned with sweat and soil

and tempered with austere living

that speaks of their heart and art:

the geometry of functional beauty.

                                    Bullcart

(Ann and Matt in front of their ancestral home)

They wait for the buffalo

That pulls he cart

As I search the fields,

Cross the rivers,

Gaze over the hill,

Onto the prairies of old, repeating the call

that reverberates \over the plains

where a great civilization relished.

What will I tell my children

now that the buffaloes are gone?

In time they will understand.

Bagworm

on a Duhat Tree at Home

Sheepishly a caterpillar peeps,

from under a pagoda she built;

like the turtle she hides and creeps,

until she finally ceases to eat.

A Venus de Milo she soon emerges,

but without wings she must wait,

as her love scent in the air urges,

a winged moth to be her mate.

She lays her eggs in the tent,

broods on them until they hatch,

and leaves them with heart content;

soon she dies after the dispatch.

The Great Maker has shown

a biology of sacrifice and obligation:

the mother keeps the young and home

for this is the species’ bastion.

Young Musicians

Marlo, Ann and Leo at Home

I imagine young Haydn mimicked

a strolling fiddler with pieces of stick,

a young Beethoven, writing music

from birds and lambs at the creek.

In Messiah, Handel saw God’s image,

while Mozart excelled before the king,

and Chopin, the piano-poet of his age

saw neo-classic music emerging.

Happier are those who play the tune,

than he who stops at the chord,

they who keep alive the inner vision,

the music that lights the world.

Bougainvillea

Wearily I walked the dews of grassy fair,

and hung my foot to flip off the weed,

“Amorseco, you degenerate spear,”

murmured I, as darkness gave up its bid.

The green sprung into life –

birds, buds, chilly air, and all;

and I, whose world always a strife,

found and shred a momentous joy.

A brook in murmuring music called

a flock which came by wing,

as my feet drew close o behold

a spray of petals in early spring.

Flowers lined to greet the world,

one half happy, the other half atear.

“Flowers, your beauty has lured

men to your side to revere.”

Beneath the petals my fingers met

to steal her beauty and hidden pride;

blood stained the thorns, and I, in sweat,

shrank in thoughts ready to chide.

Like a sword drawn to settle guilt,

I rose to strike, but shrinking

and silent, I paused, then knelt

over bougainvillea sweetly smiling.

Legume

Cecille in her Home Garden

You are Nature’s builder,

     a God-sent life-giver;

the sun and air you bind,

     feed life of all kind.

In your care the Rhizobium

     sets chemistry in action,

from the bean or Mimosa,

     to the giant acacia.

Give us our daily meat and oil

     and nourish the soil;

keep Ceres’ bounty,

     Oh, Leguminosae.

                              My Little Prince

                                                   Pao at Home

You came with the Word

To mend a broken world

In the story of a sheep,

As I, too, mended my ship;

But when at last I set to sail,

Resolve never again to fail.

You left me groping for reason

As I stared at cold gray stone.

Now my grief is gone,

Though I’ll never understand

The mystery up afar.

I know you are in your star

In the promise of your laughter

And the joy of this life after.   

                                

Old Bell of San Vicente

I have outgrown the old bell of San Vicente

          my hometown;

Its toll no longer made me sad, for my friends

          have long been dead.

Dancing on its fulcrum its sound brought

          nothing but frown;

And if Angelus is a dirge, what my fate is

          has been said.

‘Til one day I thought I saw an old gate and

          a garden covered with vine

Appeared, and I thought I heard the old bell

          and my cane fell down;

The old bell rang and danced on its fulcrum,

          its call was divine;

I climbed the belfry and through the cloud

          once more saw my old hometown.~

----------------------------------------------------

About San Vicente Ferrer (Internet)

Born	Religious, priest and confessor, called the Angel of the Last Judgment 23 January 1350 Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia
Died	5 April 1419 (aged 69) Vannes, Duchy of Brittany
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Aglipayan Church
Canonized	3 June 1455, Rome by Pope Calixtus III
Major shrine	Cathedral of Vannes Vannes, Morbihan, France Bogo City, Cebu Philippines
Feast	5 April
Attributes	tongue of flame; pulpit; trumpet; prisoners; wings; Bible
Patronage	builders, construction workers, plumbers, fishermen (Brittany) and orphanages (Spain)

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