Abra On My Mind: Tracing My Family Roots
/Abra is bordered by Ilocos Norte on the northwest, Apayao on the northeast, Kalinga on the mid-east, Mountain Province on the southeast, and Ilocos Sur on the southwest. It is divided into 27 municipalities and the capital is the municipality of Bangued, home to my dad’s family.
The nearby municipality of Pidigan is where my mom hailed. The history of Catholic faith in the mountainous province dates back to when Augustinian Fr. Bernardo Lago arrived in the pagan-populated Pigidan town on May 14, 1823. Atop a hill by the Abra River, he built a church and a rectory.
In her maiden years, my mom represented Pidigan when she clinched the title of Miss Abra. (Incidentally, Miss Philippines International 2025 Myrna Esguerra is from Abra, the first national beauty title holder from the province. She is also from Pidigan!)
My first and only visit to Abra was as a young boy who sang at the church wedding of an older cousin. My only recollection was staying at the ancestral home of my paternal grandmother, and the church where the wedding was held, both in Bangued.
I recently revisited Abra in the hope of seeing my grandma’s home again. Alas, my efforts to locate it were unsuccessful, as the home is probably gone now or owned (and rebuilt) by someone else. I came across an Astudillo compound, which I suspect was the site of my lola’s ancestral home, but none of the current residents knew of my dad or lola.
But it was almost euphoric to see the old church where I sang Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria. The church, St. James the Elder, is historic, with construction started in 1722 and completed in 1807. In 1945, American warplanes bombed it along with the nearby Colegio del Sagrado Corazon, which had been used as a hospital by Japanese forces. Only the church walls and tower survived the attack. It was rebuilt in 1947.
Bangued Cathedral, St. James The Elder (Photo by Rene Astudillo)
Bangued is a comfortable six-hour drive from Baguio, or just a little over an hour from Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
Unlike most cities and towns in the Ilocos, Abra has no welcome arch, just a historic tunnel. Located in Barangay Tangadan, San Quintin, the 40-meter tunnel was built in 1934 and took two years to complete. The Allied forces tried to destroy the tunnel twice to impede the advancing Japanese soldiers during World War II, but it did not collapse.
The tunnel that greet visitors to Abra province (Photo by Rene Astudillo)
As one approaches the tunnel, it is hard to miss the monument dedicated to Gabriela Silang, the first Filipino woman to lead a revolt against the Spanish colonizers.
The Gabriela Silang Monument (Photo by Rene Astudillo)
The winding road to Bangued is lined with greenery and at times runs parallel to the Abra River, considered the seventh largest river system in the Philippines. A fault runs along the river, which scientists believe triggered the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2022, felt in many places in Luzon island.
Rising above the Abra River in Makapaao, Langiden, is the province’s version of Laguna’s Mt. Makiling. Mount Bullagao, referred to as the Sleeping Beauty of Abra, resembles the image of a woman lying down face up. It has a plateau the size of a football field before the ridges going to the summit. From the summit, one can see the winding Abra River, the neighboring towns of Langiden, and some places in Ilocos Sur. It is most majestic at dusk. Local lore tells of an enchantress enticing unwary travelers to her deep caves to forever roam her lands, perpetually lost.
The winding road to Bangued is lined with greenery and at times runs parallel to the Abra River, considered the seventh largest river system in the Philippines.
Bangued impresses me as a sleepy town (population: 50,000). The center of activity is the plaza where the Cathedral and Capitol are located. On a typical weekend night, one would find food stalls competing with the surrounding fast food chains like Jollibee and McDonald’s, ChowKing, and Mang Inasal.
Driving in and out of Bangued, one is likely to encounter police and army checkpoints which really serve more as an assurance of a safe and peaceful place. Just avoid talking politics, Abrenians tell me.
The best way to enjoy a panoramic view of Bangued is to drive or walk up Victoria Park. It is not quite Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak or San Francisco’s Twin Peaks, but it affords visitors a panoramic 180-degree view of the city.
View of Bangued from Victoria Park (Photo by Rene Astudillo)
Abra boasts of majestic waterfalls and springs. One popular spring, Lusuac, is located in the municipality of Lagayan, just about 45 minutes from Bangued. It has clear cold waters originating from the mountains. Visitors can swim to escape the heat of summer. If one has the luxury of an extra couple of hours, there’s always the Kaparkan Falls.
Kaparkan Falls in Tineg, Abra (photo courtesy of tripadvisor.com.ph)
My mission of tracing my roots may have been half-accomplished, but visiting Abra this time around made me discover a hidden gem that has, for generations, been underrated.
From here on, Abra will always be on my mind.
Rene Astudillo is a writer, book author and blogger and has recently retired from more than two decades of nonprofit community work in the Bay Area. He spends his time between California and the Philippines.
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