GET BACK

Back in the days when the entertainment console wasn’t a car fixture yet, drawing up a playlist for a long drive was such a challenging task. A shoo-in would have been hits from The Beatles who seem to have written music with road trippers in mind.

One song that would surely pump your adrenaline is the 55-year old hit Get Back which seems to push you to go the places where you once belonged. And in this not-too-rainy month, it is exciting to drive to destinations which are under-the-radar, but serendipitous spots in the Ilocandia which are worth getting back to.

Candon. Overshadowed by the immensely popular Vigan Heritage Village, this urban hub of southern Ilocos Sur has its Old World charm which is often bypassed when motorists take its new and scenic By-Pass Road.

Proclaimed a city in 2001, it is recognized as the country’s “Tobacco Capital” because of the huge volumes of Virginia tobacco it has been producing since the Spanish colonial period.

The old pueblo or town proper is a heritage zone punctuated by the Saint John of Sahagun Church and the public plaza where the 1898 Cry of Candon broke out, and scores of ancestral homes which have been repurposed into commercial establishments. A treasure trove of history and culture is Candon City Museum, a circa 1700s mansion which belonged to Don Miguel Cariño, grandfather of the iconic lady freedom fighter Gabriela Silang.

Dine at Cafe Bossa which evokes an eclectic vibe with its blend of Castillan architecture, Ilocano crafts, and retro paintings, vintage posters of rock bands, and a mishmash of local museum items curated by its musician owner. For an immersive experience, you can spend the night in its old rooms which will transport you to the city’s genteel era.

For a dash of class, there’s the newly-opened Hotel Van Gogh which boasts of artsy theme, gourmet dishes, swanky interiors, reproductions of paintings of the famed French artist, and a panoramic view of the pueblo.

Pinili. A smooth 111-km drive north of Candon is this interior town which is often left out of Ilocos Norte’s tourism circuit. That travel snub is slowly changing in recent years, many thanks to centenarian Inabel weaver Magdalena Gamayo who shoved this obscure municipality into national fame when she was accorded the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GaMaBa) or National Living Treasure accolade in 2012.

Guests can now bask in the Pinili Inabel Center, a classy weaving hall, gallery, showroom and multipurpose building in Bgy. Lumbaan-Bicbica, a scenic 20-minute drive from the heart of town. Opened last year by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), it stands beside the residence of “Nana Daleng” Gamayo who still weaves magic on her loom and would often appear to visitors congregating in the area.

Inabel is the centuries-old traditional cotton fabric in Ilocos provinces, and is sought-after for this softness, durability, and exquisite patterns.

Gamayo is noted for her inimitable designs binakol kusikos, inubon a sabong, and sinan tawata, among others, which stand out among the rest of the creations in the region and make for elegant gifts, souvenirs or utilitarian fabrics for clothes and home furnishings.

On her recent centennial birthday bash, designers and models mounted a mini-fashion show which displayed her masterpieces incorporated in modern apparel.

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Playing the Aces

Another historic spot here is the Gregorio Aglipay Shrine in Bgy. Kul-Labeng which figured in the struggle of the Filipino clergy to establish a national church independent from the 333-year Spanish colonization through the Roman Catholic Church.

The vicinity was also the site of a skirmish during the Philippine-American War in the early 1900s where local fighters routed the US troops and killed its captain.

The municipal government will soon rehabilitate and redevelop the fenced park to memorialize its historical significance and lure road trippers so they can tarry a little bit longer.

The tobacco- and garlic-producing town is also the gateway to Nueva Era which has an Eco-Park showcasing the Tingguian upland community’s indigenous way of life, highlighted by the “tadek” thanksgiving ritual dance.

With a splendid network of paved main and arterial roads around North Luzon, driving and getting back to where you once belonged, is such a delightful experience.