Saturday, November 22, 2008
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CULASI: Oh, Pretty Fair! Print E-mail
Posted by Hans Kianti   
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CULASI: Oh, Pretty Fair! An article taken from a book "The Bamboo Flower" by Alfredo Q. Gonzales, ca.1950s. Researched & re-edited by Hans Kianti of Culasi, Antique. There is one spot that stands out in loveliness in all that picturesque land in Antique. I am referring to the little coast town of CULASI. Those who have seen the place will very likely evince surprise to learn that anyone should not only write this about the place but even go so far to make it the subject of a literary piece. I have asked a good number of people who have passed through the town, made a flying visit, or stayed a few days or weeks there what they thought of the place. Almost invariably they answered charitably, "Oh, pretty fair." They must have been thinking, you see in terms of proud buildings, especially those that are supposed to be around the plaza or on 'Calle Real'. Even those who have lived there all their lives will tell you apologetically and regrettingly that the town is not now what it used to be long years ago before the big fire burned down the mansions of the blue-bloods, of the 'dons' and 'capitanes.' They will tell you that there is nothing to see anymore in Culasi, except Mararison and Intongababn, which they mention rather indifferently. No wonder the enchantments of the place are unknown even, I suppose, to the Tourist Bureau. DOWNTOWN Of course there is nothing grand or extraordinary about the town itself, as a town. Neither is the town itself the most beautiful part of the region. Yet there is a fine beach that lies back of the Municipal Building and the Catholic Church and extends to and beyond the mouth of the river that passes by the north edge of the plaza near where the Aglipayan Church stands. And from one of the west windows of the Municipal Building you get a delightful seascape with the points and headlands on either side far in the distance; and before you, in the center of the picture, is Mararison Island while farther to and northwest, the island of Batbatan rises from the sea a mound of soft blue-green. But when I speak of the charms of Culasi, I am not thinking so much of the town proper. I am thinking rather of the picturesque nooks and districts within easy hiking or rowing distance from the plaza.
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