Realizing that this was really a small town that from any point from anywhere just took minutes to get to, we were now at the San Ildefonso de Toledo Church. Walking thru the churchyard that doubles as a parking lot, I spot giant two trees, that guessing from their mere size and girth, they could have been here long before anyone was even there, symmetrically positioned and spaced in the middle of the lot where you can pass in between them and both their shades covered the entire yard. A graduation practice or exercise was ongoing under the shades of both trees as what my guide told me when I asked what was going on. Also, a wedding was about to take place and cars adorned with flowers and people dressed for the occasion where starting to gather on the lot, I thought to myself; could there be a better day to visit the church? It was a very active day for the church and I was in luck just being there to witness it all.

The baroque church of San Ildefonso de Toledo recently celebrated its 400 th year anniversary on November 12, 2006. The parish was established in 1606, originally from a town now known as Inalsan, it moved to its present site in 1640. In 1821 it opened a school, the San Ildefonso College. True to any town here in the Phippines and being the catholic country that we are, the church centers on everything and as I could gather from the short period I scanned thru the tablets with historical information scattered around the church, you could say the church and the parish built everything and kept the ever growing community tight, along with it defining what Tanayan culture is.

Being that there was a wedding about to happen I thought it unwise to barge in on their last minute preparations. So we went upstairs to the second level where the choir is, passing thru the large Spanish era designed hallways of the school. Looking down from the second level I was greeted by the church in all its glory. Everything was all lit up and ready to go for the occasion on hand, flowers on every pew, the altar and its backdrop of Tanay’s patron saints all glowing bright orange each reflecting their own kind of shimmer, divinity truly filled the church. With its high semi-dome shaped roof and tall column supports on either side, I could almost hear the choir singing in my head and how glorious that might sound like. I found myself wishing the choir would rehearse while I was there.

On the second level, I met Mang Johnny, the first and last person to be in the church. He has been working at the church for seven years now, opening and closing up the church, ringing the bell first at the crack of dawn at 5:30 am, again on noon and finally at 6 pm. I was lucky enough to have gotten to meet him and talk to him, sharing historical stories, anecdotes about the church and its parishioners and the different types of bells to ring depending on the time and occasion. Like on this day, where a wedding was about to take place, he told me that all the bells will be ringing being it is a glorious day and should be a celebrative ringing of the bells.

The bell tower holds 4 small bells and a large center bell that was being held by twine, apparently stronger than the steel supports it entwines. Mang Johnny even told me of a story of an elderly lady possibly on her late 90’s asking about the center bell and if it was still being held on by twine, that the lady was telling him that that twine was holding on to that bell ever since she was a little girl. Mang Johnny and me came to the same conclusion that the twine was almost if not a hundred years old itself.

It was apparent in Mang Johnny’s tone that he loved his job, especially when he was demonstrating how the bells work and how he prefers to go up to the tower to tug on the bells themselves rather than using the extension ropes downstairs. I then asked him if that wasn’t too much for his ears, he replied proudly that by tugging on the bells themselves from the tower, they rang as they should as compared to tugging on them from downstairs, which he thinks gives a weak ring.

As we were going down the steps and down to the first level of the church I considered myself truly lucky to get such an in depth perspective on the dynamics of the church and the Tanayan community, the integral part it plays in society and most significantly what it represents to the people.

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