This summer I clocked in at Manila for the very first time and the bamboo organ of Las Pinas City was included in my city tour, which is a must see for tourists. The bamboo organ is housed at St Jopesh Parish church of Las Pinas City, which is located some eleven to twelve kilometers south of the heart of Manila. It is only 10 minutes away from Ninoy Aquino International Airport of Philippines. For many years, one thought of Las Pinas as a coastal town known for its salt beds, fishponds, and beach resorts.
While the actual details of the name Las Pinas are no longer known, the legend that is attached to it is worth knowing. Wild and cultivated pineapples were found in the town by early Spanish settlers, and Pinas is the Spanish word for 'pineapples.' Back then, pineapples were probably brought into the town by traders. Now in Las Pinas, you cannot find pineapples, and you can barely find salt beds or fish ponds either.
The unique bamboo organ
In 1976, Las Pinas was officially converted into a municipality of Metro Manila. By then, it had become well known as a growing residential suburb of the City of Manila, and the details of its history have been written on by Helen Samson-Lauterwald in her book The Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas. While I was visiting St Parish Church to see the bamboo organ, there was a small souvenir shop inside the church, run by The Bamboo Organ Foundation, where I discovered this interesting read.
Las Piñas city is well-known for its unique bamboo organ, which is considered a national treasure of the Philippines. On November 24, 2003, it was given this recognition by their National Museum since “it is the only 19th century bamboo organ in the Philippines that has survived and is still functioning.” This unique musical instrument is composed of 1,031 pipes, 902 of which are made out of bamboo, while the rest are metal.
The genius who adapted this European instrument to the Filipino climate using the native material was a Spanish missionary from Graus (a little town of the province Huesca in Spain) - Fray Diego Cera De La Virgen Del Carmen (1762-1834). He was the first parish priest in Las Pinas, and lived there between 1795 to 1830. At present, there are no longer any individuals living in Graus with the surname of Cera. Interestingly enough, Carmen's place of origin was also a Muslim territory up to the middle ages, and their rule only ended in 1083.
The name Diego Cera remained unknown not only to Graus, but also to the rest of Spain for a good two centuries. His memory stayed alive only in the Philippines, specially in the little community of Las Pinas, for whose parish he build the bamboo organ in the years 1816 till 1824. Here, his name has become part of history.
Unique choice of material
The actual reason behind the choice of bamboo as material for the organ is still not known. Its abundance in the country and its consequent inexpensiveness may have been the motivating factor. By 1816, Diego Cera had already been in the country for 25 years. It was more than enough time for him to know about the demand for bamboo as construction material. Indeed, bamboo was used for posts, sidings, partitions, floors and roofing. It was also used in rafts, boats, carts, and bridges, and abundantly used for household items such as utensils, containers, mats, baskets, canes, furniture, beds, chests, toys, combs and so forth. Eighty five per cent of the pipes of the organ are made of bamboo.
According to the Historical Conservation Society, the complete bamboo organ measures 5.17 meters tall, 4.11 meters wide and 1.45 meters deep. Even before the declaration of the famous historic instrument as a national cultural treasure, the bamboo organ foundation was incorporated in 1978 for the purpose of preserving the instruments. It is a non-stock and non-profit organisation, which is also behind the successful organisation of the yearly Bamboo Organ Festival.
This national cultural treasure and its historic and artistic potentials are internationally recognised and appreciated now. Father Diego Cera De La Virgel Del Carmen may have constructed the instrument as a result of the exigencies of his times, but it is monumental for all ages.