Friday, September 2, 2016

Gapan’s Heritage Houses: Nueva Ecija’s Hidden Jewels

(Part 1 of a series on Gapan City)

by Randy R.I. Espinoza



Gapan City is home to the oldest and biggest church in Nueva Ecija, but most people, even Novo Ecijanos themselves, are not aware that the city has some more hidden cultural jewels: its colonial-period houses. Nueva Ecija has never been regarded as a cultural center of Central Luzon. Gapan is overshadowed by the bigger cities Cabanatuan and San Jose and the capital city, Palayan; and the local government itself prefers to market the city as the “Footwear Capital of the North.” These factors contribute to a virtual ignorance of Gapan’s rich cultural heritage.