Casa De Segunda — Attraction in Lipa

Segunda Katigbak is Jose Rizal's first love. Back then, parents follow the arranged marriage protocol much like in India. That's why it was a pity they never end up together and they didn't even became officially in a relationship. Her story may have been over on our National Hero's biography but her house now 136 years old is still around today - still beautiful with the looks that remind us of the houses of prominent Filipino families in her time. Miraculously, Casa Segunda is one of the only three surviving houses in Lipa, Batangas that escaped the "wrath" of bombing during the war. If Americans and Japanese did not destroy every single houses in the Philippines, we would have more beautiful ancestral houses of today!

What's life in Lipa city in 18th century? Dr. Manuel Roxas, eminent scientist who calls Lipa his home from birth said that most locals of Lipa are wealthy because Lipa City in Batangas was once the sole supplier of coffee in the whole world around 1886 - 1888. It was a short duration because a virus that attacked coffee plantations in Europe, South America has reached Philippine soil. This ended the short and fabulous period of extravagance and luxurious living of these people.

Casa Segunda is made entirely of adobe - no single nail was used in this house! Well, they used bolts as well but no grills. What you see is 95% authentic Casa Segunda - no renovations and it is not refurbished at all!

TIP: You should pay attention to the grandma who is giving lecture. She quickly expresses her dissappointment when she sees that instead of listening, you take photos. It's bad manners for her! She is the 4th generation of Segunda. She has never even met Segunda coz she was so little when Segunda was in her...

I frequently stay in Lipa but I never planned to visit because I always thought that this was a private place. When I saw it on facebook, I decided to pay a visit. This historical place allowed me to have a glimpse of what Lipa was in the olden days and made me more proud of it. It changed my view of this magnificent city and I can imagine the old beautiful houses that was once built on the small streets. I never thought Lipa was once the major importer of coffee all over the world! I especially love about this house the poems Rizal made and dedicated to Segunda. I was also able to meet the 4th generation descendant of Segunda who owns the place and was so kind to give us a tour and then afterwards allowed us to roam freely without anyone watching us. I think the only negative thing about this is that the surrounding area is getting modernised which kinda takes off the nostalgic feels but otherwise, I definitely would come back...

This is one the place we were targeting to visit the last time we went to Lipa City, Batangas. However, it was closed on that specific day. I asked the caretaker and she said that they intentionally closed on that specific Saturday for cleaning because they were flooded by the strong rains that happened on the previous days.

I only took photos outside the gate and the house. The caretaker apologizes to me and she was very courteous. Even if we haven't gone inside, I still give this a 5 star. Just looking outside the ancestral house, you can see how they maintained and preserved carefully the cultural heritage of the place. What more if we have gone inside?

Will go back to this place again.

And oh. She said that they still operate everyday. They open at 8:00 AM in the morning and close 5:00 PM in the afternoon. I am not sure if their operating hours is affected...