Paete loses one of its last ‘panday’
“It is my choice to be a blacksmith, and once I am no longer capable of doing it, Paete will again lose a blacksmith.”
These were the words in Tagalog of Romeo “Mang Iyog” Madrigal, Paete’s last true-blue panday (blacksmith) in 2020 during an interview with this writer at his house in the town’s Bagumbayan village.
Now he is gone. Murdered.
He succumbed to stab wounds inflicted by his slayer and two accomplices on Jan. 26, the day the town—both Catholic and Aglipayan churches—celebrated the Salibanda Festival in honor of the Santo Niño.
Paete mayor Ronald Cosico told Lifestyle that two of the three suspects have been arrested, while the one who stabbed Madrigal, from neighboring Kalayaan town, is at large and subject to a police manhunt. He said the killing stemmed from personal grudges.
In his early 60s, Madrigal still created paet or chisels the traditional way. Paete, whose name was derived from paet and is known for its carving industry which dates back centuries, was proclaimed the country’s “Carving Capital” in 2005 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through Proclamation No. 809.
Madrigal, who remained obscure and largely unrecognized, learned his craft through his father, Hilario. They came from a line of blacksmiths in Paete.
Madrigal started as a blacksmith when he was 18, learning the craft through observation. He would make these chisels for clients or would peddle these tools on the streets of Paete.
All throughout his life, he remained simple, not aspiring to be rich but just a good provider for his family and extended family, living in a house of light materials on what the locals call “Humarap,” the slope of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.
The local government, according to Cosico, is set to recognize him for his contributions this February, the National Arts Month, during its “Kasiningan ng Paete (Artistry of Paete)” event.
The award will now be given posthumously.
At the time of the interview, Madrigal said no one from his family was interested in the craft he loved, but he remained hopeful. A new blacksmith would traditionally emerge in town when one retires or dies. True to his optimistic spirit, he declared that the good would always prevail: “Hindi mananatili ang kadiliman, mananalo ang liwanag,” he said.
There is one more blacksmith in town, a Bicolano.
