Bambi Harper’s book: Santa Cruz Church

We just came across Anna Marie L. Harper’s book Santa Cruz Church, A Living Heritage and we were fascinated by it because we were raised in a house situated in the corner of Oroquieta and Zurbarran and was baptized in Santa Cruz Church way back in 1924. Our family once owned the block where Santa Cruz Church is located and was then known as Bagong Bayan because that is when the Americans opened Avenida Rizal where Ideal Theatre was once located.

Harper mentions the house of Balvino Mauricio which was located in Calle Anloague and was the house described by Jose Rizal in the opening chapter of Noli Me Tangere. We happen to own the Letras Y Figuras painting of Balvino Mauricio because the first Roces who arrived from Spain married the sister of Balvino. Letras Y Figuras, in a way, marked the start of Filipino paintings. It became an art form in the Philippines when Filipinos acquired family names. There was a time when Filipinos were baptized with just their first names. Then priests complained that sometimes they would marry persons who were first cousins. There was no way for the priests to know because no one had family names. So the Governor ordered all Filipinos to select a name from a long list furnished by the government. In most places, the priests were very practical. They did not, for example, give the list of thousands of names to small communities. So they just give a list that was in proportion to the size of the communities.

Harper’s book chronicles the development of Santa Cruz district from its start in the 16th century to the present. The church itself was started by the Jesuits in the early 17th century and was originally only a wooden structure. It became a stone church in the 18th century but it was thoroughly destroyed when Americans liberated Manila from the Japanese, but rebuilt in 1957. We are very glad that Anna Maria L. Harper has preserved the history of Santa Cruz Church. As we said earlier, it was in this church where I was baptized and going to Mass meant going to Santa Cruz Church. We are always happy to see efforts to conserve our past. Anna Maria L. Harper’s book on Santa Cruz Church is the latest effort.

By the way, Plaza de Santa Cruz features the historic Carriedo Fountain, which was built to honor Spanish philanthropist Don Francisco Carriedo, the donor of Manila’s first water system.