Gota get this calendar
We take a break from my series on Philippine plazas and parks this week and visit a heritage structure that celebrated its centennial last year. The Gota de Leche building on Loyola St., just off CM Recto in Manila, has been a landmark of the city since the district was just an open field marked only by the spires of the all-steel San Sebastian Church nearby. It is an institution noted for its noble mission as well as the equally noble architecture that houses it.
I found myself frequenting central Manila, or what is known as the University Belt, since April because of regular meetings at two offices in the district. I would normally motor down from the suburbs early in the morning to beat the traffic. Thanks to Waze, I would often arrive early, so I took the opportunity to wander around the area to look for heritage structures to photograph or sketch.
I chanced upon the Gota de Leche on one of those mornings. I did feature the heritage structure a decade ago for BluPrint magazine, for which I was then the editor in chief, but I had not visited since. Its conservation was undertaken in the early 2000s under the auspices of friends, and my co-heritage advocates, Toti Villalon and Tats Manahan. Toti had overseen the architectural aspects of the work, while Tats was the consultant for the wall finishing.
Gota de Leche means “A Drop of Milk.” It is the country’s oldest charity, established in 1907 as La Protección de la Infancia Inc. Until today, the Gota continues to provide nutrition to indigent malnourished young children from the ages of three to seven. The institution rations milk every week for the children and provides pediatric care too. For breastfeeding mothers, it provides nutritious brown rice, malunggay leaves, food packs, and medical care.
The original incorporators of Gota de Leche were members of the Asocación Feminista de Filipinas (Feminist Association of the Philippines). This included Jose Rizal’s sister, Sra Trinidad Rizal, Concepcion Felix, and other notable educated women of the era. Actively involved with Gota de Leche were other personages of the American period including Dr. José Fabella, who was Commissioner of Public Welfare Board and the first Secretary of Health and Public Welfare later under the Quezon government.
The Gota started its operations in in a structure close to Plaza Miranda in 1907 but it soon needed a larger facility. Funds were raised to build a new structure a few blocks away. The building was designed in the Italian renaissance style by the architect Arcadio Arellano. His younger brother Juan Arellano, who had just come back from schooling and travel abroad, assisted him. The construction of the two-story building was started in 1914 and completed a year later.
The building was made mostly from brick. Its main two-story mass is accented by a portal and large main door. Ground level spaces stem from this main mass and are connected by an arcade. The whole composition sits well back from the street and this space houses a garden accented by a central fountain and a large ficus tree.
World War II did not interrupt the operations of the Gota de Leche. It continued its task of feeding and nurturing for another few decades while its physical facilities allowed it. By the 1990s it required a major makeover. The Gota’s restoration was completed in 2002. It was cited as an “outstanding example of heritage conservation,” and garnered an honorable mention from UNESCO in the 2003 Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. The historic building has also been declared an Important Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.
The Gota de Leche has continued unfailingly to deliver much needed sustenance to generations of children and their mothers. It has done this totally free of charge, so it relies on the philanthropy of a number of corporations and good souls.
I finished my sketch of its front facade that morning and posted it on my Facebook page that afternoon. I got a few hundred likes and many comments. A few days later I got a call from Toti, who had seen my sketch and loved it. He asked me if I would lend it to the foundation, as well as do a few more sketches of the exterior and interior of the building for their calendar, to help raise funds for its operations. I, of course, said yes.
I went back a few weeks later and spent an afternoon capturing the character and charm of the building and its garden in pen and ink. The calendar, with the sketches, will be available soon. All proceeds, explains Toti, will contribute towards funding Gota de Leche’s feeding and outreach programs.
I look forward to rediscovering more of Manila and sketching its heritage. I suggest you walk Manila or your city’s old districts, too. It will reveal much that has disappeared from our attention and will reconnect us with our neglected past. We need this as much as young children need milk. Heritage revealed provides sustenance for the soul and addresses a hunger for a sense of place and identity hard to find.
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Feedback is welcome. Please email the wirter at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For orders and inquiries please contact Ms Bhot Ilao at gota2017calendar@gmail.com or call 516-0542, mobile 0922-595-4941.
