Villa Escudero, Theme Park
If you have one day to spare while in Manila, one of the best things to do is head south to Villa Escudero. It’s about 150 km or a good two-hour drive.
Villa Escudero is different things to different people – it’s a getaway from the hustle and bustle of Manila, it’s a change of scenery for city slickers, and – with swimming pools for kids as the latest concession, a picnic place for the family to cool down during the summer.
To me it is a theme park. Instead of Disneyland trams that bring you to Main Street, you get carabao-drawn buses that bring you to the pavilion. Like Disneyland, where you can get lost in a fantasy world, Villa Escudero is a place for you to immerse in an era gone by, when life was simpler and Filipino culture was the mainstream culture.
One of the major attractions is the museum, which holds quite a variety of historical pieces collected by the Escudero family, dating back to the Spanish period. The whole place in fact is a throw back to the hacienda days when the landed family lorded it over the plantation and the surrounding farmers worked for them. Like Disneyland where employees are cast members, the employees of Villa Escudero dress and act in character.
The hihglight of the day is a cultural presentation by the employees themselves. Yes, the receptionists and guides and carriage drivers are the same performers on stage, playing their characters to the full. And they are quite good at it.
For the first time, I appreciated the significance of the fans in the Singkil dance – the story involves catching butterflies.
The Maglalatik and Tinikling performed by children reminded me of younger days when I had to learn these dances in school. For a while I was thrown back to simpler days gone by; I have entered a different world. Isn’t that how theme parks are supposed to affect you?
But one can never escape the kitsch in the Filipino, even at Villa Escudero. Someone found a way to put a mermaid into the river.
As one heads for the exit, one slowly returns to reality. But then you can always spend the night in one of the cottages and try to stay in the world of Villa Escudero a bit longer.
Villa Escudero is different things to different people – it’s a getaway from the hustle and bustle of Manila, it’s a change of scenery for city slickers, and – with swimming pools for kids as the latest concession, a picnic place for the family to cool down during the summer.
To me it is a theme park. Instead of Disneyland trams that bring you to Main Street, you get carabao-drawn buses that bring you to the pavilion. Like Disneyland, where you can get lost in a fantasy world, Villa Escudero is a place for you to immerse in an era gone by, when life was simpler and Filipino culture was the mainstream culture.
One of the major attractions is the museum, which holds quite a variety of historical pieces collected by the Escudero family, dating back to the Spanish period. The whole place in fact is a throw back to the hacienda days when the landed family lorded it over the plantation and the surrounding farmers worked for them. Like Disneyland where employees are cast members, the employees of Villa Escudero dress and act in character.
The hihglight of the day is a cultural presentation by the employees themselves. Yes, the receptionists and guides and carriage drivers are the same performers on stage, playing their characters to the full. And they are quite good at it.
For the first time, I appreciated the significance of the fans in the Singkil dance – the story involves catching butterflies.
The Maglalatik and Tinikling performed by children reminded me of younger days when I had to learn these dances in school. For a while I was thrown back to simpler days gone by; I have entered a different world. Isn’t that how theme parks are supposed to affect you?
But one can never escape the kitsch in the Filipino, even at Villa Escudero. Someone found a way to put a mermaid into the river.
As one heads for the exit, one slowly returns to reality. But then you can always spend the night in one of the cottages and try to stay in the world of Villa Escudero a bit longer.
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