Angono, Rizal : Escaping the urban sprawl

By Gael Hilotin for Yahoo! Travel

Baptized after the Philippines National Hero - Jose Rizal, the drowsy province of Rizal sits on a craggy terrain east of Manila and surrounded by Laguna de Bay on the south. Although often forgotten by local tourists unlike its other neighbors in CALABARZON, Rizal has its own iridescent cultural treasures and natural attractions to flaunt.

Earning the moniker "The Art Capital of the Philippines", Angono is one of the humble towns of the province of Rizal. It is the hometown of two Philippine National Artists - Carlos "Botong" Francisco - the greatest muralist in the country and Maestro Lucio D. San Pedro - a prominent figure in the country's music industry. Angono is dotted with art galleries and museums by local artists but it is the discovery of the oldest known artwork in the country called Angono Petroglyphs that added more fervor to Rizal's title as the major art haven in the Philippines.

If you need a quick weekend escape from the urban sprawl, here's a list of things to do when you're in Angono:

See the pre-historic rock art of the Philippines

Discovered by Botong Francisco in 1965, Angono Petroglyphs are among the oldest surviving examples of rock engravings in Asia and are believed to be the oldest in the Philippines dating back to 3,000 BC. The site contains around 127 stylized human and zoomorphic figures engraved on rock walls. In 1973, it was declared a National Cultural Treasure, and in 1985 was listed on the World Inventory of Rock Art.

When visiting the petroglyphs, bring a point and shoot camera to avoid running into an argument with the woman manning the place. We were told it's prohibited to use DSLR cameras without the National Museum's consent which we find odd as it is a public place. Luckily, I was able to take some discreet shots. You will enter an unlighted cave which contains some etchings which you may confuse as the petroglyphs, just keep walking until you find an open space with cemented stairs leading to the real Angono Petroglyphs.

Visit the art museums

We visited the Blanco Family Museum which is owned by Jose "Pitok" V. Blanco and his family. It contains his own paintings including his wife and seven children that they produced through the years. It is interesting to see how his children's artwork evolved over the years as depicted by the extensive collections of paintings on display. The theme of the paintings revolves around the Filipino livelihood like fishing, and farming, and portraits of Filipino indigenous groups, women, children and elders are also portrayed.

There are other museums in the area like the Nemiranda Art House owned by the painter and sculptor Nemisio R. Miranda Jr, an art leader in Angono's thriving art community. The museum includes mythical relief murals, and three-dimensional mythological characters found in Philippine legends and myth. The House of Botong Francisco which is located along Poblacion Itaas Street where the life and art of the National Artist are on display is also worth a visit.

Indulge in Filipino and exotic food

Balaw-Balaw Restaurant is a famous artsy restaurant that serves exotic dishes such as fertilized ducks cooked like kamaro (crickets found in rice fields), bulalo, Soup #5 ( butt and balls of cow), uok (larva of beetles found in fallen coconut trees), nilasing na palaka (frogs cooked and marinated in wine), palos (fresh water eel), bibingkang abnoy (aborted duck eggs cooked in banana leaves), crispy alagaw leaves and rose petal tempura.

The restaurant offers a variety of artworks on display by local artists which is a feast to the visitors' eyes. I must say I enjoyed dining here primarily because of the extensive art collections and the nostalgic Philippine interior though their service needs a bit of improvement.

Discover a world of imagination

A Dutch owned company called Yab Designs that specializes in world class hand-made decorations, mainly out of polyester resin, reinforced with fiberglass and specialize in life-size and larger-than-life figurines of all sorts is located in Angono, Rizal. A visit to their showroom will leave you mesmerized with the astonishing details of the products on display, a testament to the great talent of Filipino workers who are employed to sculpt the Yab Design products. Too bad photography is not allowed inside the showroom to prevent copying of products that aren't delivered to their owners yet.

Famous work by Yab Designs includes the Robot in Versace Home Boutique in Milan, the hand-made life-size Formula One car replicas, the dinosaur replica of Baluarte in Vigan, the Bay Walk Dinosaurs and Sharks among others.

Yab Design website : http://www.yabdesign.com

Relax, dine and play

After indulging in the arts of Angono, you can relax at the end of the day in a scenic resort perched in the mountains of Rizal - Thunderbird Resort. Surrounded by lush manicured greenery, you can take a plunge into the show-off aqua blue infinity pool or take a dip into the inviting jacuzzi.

Thunderbird Resort Rizal's 41- suite hotel also offers sumptuous meals courtesy of Koi Restaurant, Pool Bar and the Cabana Bar found inside the rich and famous Fiesta Casino. For more information on getting there and day tour rates you can check out my post about Thunderbird Resort Rizal. The resort is located a few meters away from Angono Petroglyphs and East Ridge Golf course.

The best time to visit Angono, Rizal is November 22 to 23 of each year when they celebrate the feast of St. Clement (patron of fishermen) with the Higantes Festival. The town comes alive with a fluvial parade of colorful giant paper mache (higantes) and pahadores (girls dressed in colorful local costumes carrying boat paddles). Angono, Rizal truly deserves its title and I hope they will have their own Artist Village in the future.

How to get to Angono, Rizal:

Take the Angono-bound buses or jeepneys at the Shaw Boulevard terminal in Pasig. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes to over an hour.