One of the first things that an elementary student learns from his Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies), class is that the Filipinos proclaimed their independence from Spain on June 12, 1898 at the balcony of Emilio Aguinaldo's house in Kawit, Cavite. Because of this, said municipality, is considered the birthplace of Philippine Independence. It was formerly known as Cavite el Viejo.
According to its Facebook page, "The name Kawit is derived from the Tagalog word kawit (hook) which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hookshaped shoreline along Manila Bay extending to the tip of Cavite City. Legend, however, gives another version on how the town got its name. One day a Spanish visitor asked a native blacksmith about the name of the village. The latter was busy at the time pounding on the anvil a piece of hot metal that looked like a hook. He hesitated to speak, not understanding what the stranger was asking, but when pressed for an answer, and thinking that he wanted to know what he was doing, he merely said kawit (hook). The Spaniards left muttering the word kawit. In the course of the time the word kawit evolved into "cawite," and finally "cavite".
A brief history according to wikipedia: Kawit was the most thriving settlement prior to the coming of the Spaniards. In fact, the town provided the first anchorage of the Spaniards in the province, whence colonization and proselytization of the Christian religion began, spreading to all corners of the province.
For a long time, the place was called by the Spaniards "Cavite el Viejo" or Old Cavite to distinguish it from "Cavite la Punta" or "Cavite el Puerto", the commercial port and naval base (now Cavite City) whence came many Spanish marines on shore leave who made frequent visits to Cavite el Viejo, eventually turning it into a red-light district. This seedy reputation of the town was erased when Saint Mary Magdalene was made patroness, under the spiritual supervision of the Jesuits as ordered by Miguel García Serrano, O.S.A. (1618–1629), the fifth Archbishop of Manila.
With the establishment in the wake of the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine Independent Church built a shrine to Saint Michael, the Archangel in the barrio of Binakayan in 1902.
Cavite el Viejo was then a big town, comprising the municipality of Kawit today, Cavite la Punta (now Cavite City), Noveleta (called Tierra Alta by the Spaniards), and Imus. Eventually, these three barrios' populations grew and they eventually seceded to become independent municipalities.
Aside from its role as the birthplace of independence, Kawit was also the site of the Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican, one of several Filipino victories during the Revolution.
I have been going to Kawit regularly for the past twenty-eight years and passed the Aguinaldo Shrine in all of our trips. Yet, I have never set foot on this historic place until last April 16. I was to meet up with the Pest Control people at Lorna's Aunt's house in Santa Isabel. After meeting them and discussing what they were going to do, I left to go to an ATM and since I had time to kill afterwards, I went to the Aguinaldo Shrine to take some photos. The Shrine was closed so I couldn't go inside besides I didn't have much time anyway. But grateful for the opportunity to take some photos of the mansion from outside. Sharing the images that I was able to create that day.
Hopefully, I will get an opportunity to photograph other historic sites.
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