In 1909 when Baguio City was established as the
first chartered city outside of the Philippine capital of Manila,
airconditioning had not yet been invented. The summer heat in this equatorial
country is oppressive. The American colonial administrators of the Philippines
found a retreat in this cool mountain city situated 5,000 feet above sea level,
which offered an uncanny subtropical climate many first thought could
never exist in the tropics.
They brought in Chicago
urban designer and architect Daniel Burnham to draw up plans for a Summer
Capital. The idea was to duplicate the offices of all national administrative
agencies operating in Manila and providing functional retreat houses for them
in Baguio. That way, during the hottest summer months of the year between March
and June, these perspiring bureaucrats can escape the searing heat of lowland
Manila and carry on their work in Baguio. By the onset of the Victorian-era inspired vacationists' estate. Fronting the "Mansion House" was a 50-meter long reflecting
pool, stocked with koi goldfish, ringed by a jogging lane, the better to
loosen limbs stiffened by the cold evenings. At the other end of this reflecting pool is a romantic kiosk, restored in 1991
after extensive earthquake damage left it derelict the year before. It
did not have a roof, only an eight-sided lattice work that held ivy whose
thick leaves closed the overhead gap to serve as the roof. Underneath this kiosk many colonial era administrators took their oaths of office,
including William Howard Taft, the only US President ever to have set foot on
Baguio soil---as governor-general of the Philippines in 1910. He went on to
become US president when he returned to the States. Today, the kiosk is a favorite site for garden wedding ceremonies and other social functions. Its simple geometry, moss-covered stonework
and surrounding pine tree cover makes for a very interesting play of lights
and shadow that photography buffs love. Even a simple framing of its red Baguio stone steps in high contrast, like the shot I took on the right, makes for a
very neat but intriguing study of shape, volume and light.The reflecting pool in front of the presidential Mansion along Leonard
Wood Rd., Baguio City used to serve a double purpose. Beside presenting itself
as an aesthetic feature of Wright Park, it quenched the thirst of the
American-colonial era horses that were the main form of transportation in this city at
the turn of the century. Descendants of those US
cavalry horses still thrive in the city. Horses are not native to Baguio. In
fact, wild horses were never known to be part of the Philippine fauna. These
ponies are 10th generation foals of the standard US Infantry steeds
believed to be a hybrid cross between the Wyoming wild horse and the native
American Indian pintados. They are not particularly
tall, far from racing thoroughbreds, but short, stocky and hardy survivors of
the tropical climate they were not originally from. Today these US cavalry-pedigreed ponies number less than 300.
It is estimated
that at the turn of the century, when American soldiers made these horses
the main form of land transportation in these mountains, they thrived in
numbers well over 15,000. In-breeding has weakened the gene pool over the
years and many of these ponies today are sickly. Unfortunately, horses
are too familiar animals it is difficult to convey to the public mind that
these decidedly Baguio-bred horses are actully
an endangered species. They
are a far cry from the robust beasts of burden they used to be. One anecdote is told about how the American Governor-General William Howard
Taft, a hefty man of 300 pounds, finally made it to Baguio by horseback on one
of his annual summer retreats around 1911. He sent a crude telegraph message back to his Manila office some 250 milometers
south, "Finally made it to Baguio on horseback!"
Knowing the difficult terrain, but more concerned about its hefty passenger,
his staff wired back, "How is horse?"
But true to their undying utility, every Baguio pony that dies leaves behind a
lasting legacy: One "must-buy" souvenir
item for tourists coming to Baguio is an authentic horse leather belt,
which can be bought at various curio shops around Wright Park.
NOTE FROM JOEL: Hi, folks! Recently, I started a YouTube channel which is called "Parables and Reason" It is kind of similar to this blog content-wise. You can check out my channel by clicking the link below:
Joel R. Dizon - PARABLES AND REASON
