217th Anniversary of Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807): Basi Wine - Pride of the Ilocos Region

217th Anniversary of Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807)

Basi Wine - Pride of the Ilocos Region 

            Dedicated to the Filipino heroes of the Basi Revolt of 1807 

Part 1 - Growing up with Basi Wine
Part 2 - Revival of BASI Wine Industry
Part 3 - Basi Wine and Vinegar Integrated Production 

Part 4 - Yeast - the Ubiquitous, Universal Fermenter  

Part 5 - Basi Revolt of 1807 in Paintings of Esteban Villanueva

ANNEX A - Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko) - Nature's Secret of Good Health

ANNEX B - Homemade vinegar from local fruits

ANNEX C - Mito ng Aklasang Basi - University of the Philippines
ANNEX D - Revisiting the Basi Revolt of 1807: Its Historical and 

                   Axiological Relevance Mariano Marcos State University,

ANNEX E - San Vicente Ilocos Sur -  Where the Bantaoay River Flows

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Basi and Table Wine from fruits, products of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

 

 

18th century Basi cellar

Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

Part 1 - Growing up with Basi Wine  

   

Basi Table Wine - Pride of the Ilocos Region

I grew up with an old local industry – basi wine making. Today there are still 18th century jars, which I use in the way my ancestors made the wine for generations.

I remember Lolo Celing (Marcelino) made basi in the cellar, the ground floor of our house made of thick brick wall. In dad's time we had around 500 jars. He was one of the biggest brewers in town in post Commonwealth era, and probably after the infamous Basi Revolt in 1807 when the Ilocanos took arms but lost to the Spaniards who took monopoly over the industry. Many were killed in that short-lived revolt along the Bantaoay River, a river where my brother Eugene and I used to fish purong (mullet) in summer.

Getting drunk at an early ageI was already a farmhand before I was of school age, but dad always warned me not to be an aliwegweg (curious at doing things), the experimenter that I was. One morning as dad went on his routine, first to hear mass in our parish church just across our residential farm, I went down to the cellar with a sumpit (small bamboo tube) to take a sip of the sweet day-old fermenting sugarcane juice. I didn't know that with a sip too many one can get drunk. And that was precisely what made me feel sick, but 1 did not tell dad. He called a doctor to find out what was the matter with me. When the doctor arrived he found me normal. What with the distance from Vigan to San Vicente - on a caleza (horse-drawn carriage)? . But the doctor was whispering something to dad.

Then it happened. Dad had left for the church, so I thought. I went to the cellar and as soon as I probed the sumpit into a newly fermenting jar and took a sip, someone tapped my shoulder in the dark. It was dad!

Imagine the expression of his face (and mine, too) in the dark. I sobbed with embarrassment while he took a deep sigh of relief. Since then the doctor never came again. And I promised dad never to taste my “beverage" again.

Sunset and revival of the basi industry

Years passed. I left home for my studies in Manila, so with my brother and sister. Dad continued the industry until he became very old. By then the demand for the local drink declined as beer and all kinds of wine and liquor, local and imported, began flooding the market. It was requiem to a sunset industry. In 1981, dad died, so with our home industry.

Even after finishing agriculture I did not go back to the farm. So with my brother who also became an agriculturist. Not when you are young and thinking of adventure and opportunities. I pursued advanced studies in biological science. Eugene went back to the farm later, so with our sister, Veny, who joined the Divine Word College of Vigan faculty. But the thought of reviving basi was never in our mind.

For how can a local product sell in a highly competitive market? Foreign products have been flooding the market under the import liberalization program of the government. Other questions propped up, but all boiled down to one possible solution - business viability.

As a researcher I studied the indigenous process of basi making. After I had sufficient materials about the subject I made it into a paper which I read in an ASEAN-New Zealand symposium upon the recommendation of Dr. Romualdo del Rosario, a fellow professor at the UST Graduate School. But the native product needed improvement. It was at first a losing proposition, and I realized I was blazing a lost path. But I did not give up.

Rotor Basi won the Business Incentive Development Award (BIDA 1998). 

Author (center) with the late National Food Authority administrator 

Jesus Tanchanco, and Mrs Alice Tanchanco.

When I opted for an early retirement from government service in 1989 I found more time with my experiments. The improved product was analyzed by the Food Development Center, a government agency that collaborates with the US Food and Drug Administration. Surprisingly the new basi product passed the European standard for champagne, sherry and port.

But it was no guarantee that it is acceptable in the market. It means that if the product is really that good, it can command a premium price. I began to standardize the product. Soon I was able to establish a consistent level of strength (proof), desired range of acidity, and crystal clear color and clarity. There was improvement in aroma, bouquet, sweetness, aftertaste, among other criteria, which constitute international standards for wine. All these were done in various experiments, often in trial and error method, in others through intricate laboratory procedures. Still in others, only after a yearlong aging of the wine.

Lastly, I began working on product presentation. The labels I developed are a series of color photographs of historical places of the Ilocos Region, and the story of the Basi Revolt of 1807.

A breakthrough came after receiving the Business Idea for Development and Achievement (BIDA) Award, and a favorable product endorsement by the Department of Agriculture (MARID). Other than the Ilocano balikbayan, the market expanded to include tourist shops, wine connoisseurs, and even church groups.

I am sure Dad must be smiling up there. Here is a toast for you, Dad. ~

 Part 2 - Revival of BASI Wine Industry

  

In Recognition of RA 11645 signed by President Rodrigo R Duterte, instilling pride among Ilocanos for declaring San Vicente Ilocos Sur as Heritage Zone of the North. 

               Dr Abe V Rotor

Basi sparked one of the major revolts against Spanish rule by the natives when wine monopoly was declared by the government. This meant virtually taking the industry from the hands of the natives. The short-lived uprising took place in Ilocos, with the final battle fought on both sides of the Bantaoay River which runs through the towns of San Vicente up to San Ildefonso, which are today the major suppliers of Basi principally to tourists in Vigan, UNESCO's world heritage city, and one of the cultural wonders of the world.

Part 1: Growing up with Basi

I grew up with an old local industry – basi wine making. Today there are still 18th century jars, which I use in the way my ancestors made the wine for generations.

I remember Lolo Celing (Marcelino) made basi in the cellar, the ground floor of our house made of thick brick wall. In dad's time we had around 500 jars. He was one of the biggest brewers in town in post Commonwealth era, and probably after the infamous Basi Revolt in 1807 when the Ilocanos took arms but lost to the Colonizers who took monopoly over the industry. Many were killed in that short-lived revolt along the Bantaoay River, a river where my brother Eugene and I used to fish purong (mullet) in summer.

Getting drunk before I was of school age. 

Dad always warned me not to be aliwegweg (curious at doing things), the kid experimenter that I was. One morning as dad went on his routine, first to hear mass in our parish church which is just across our residential farm, I went down to the cellar with a sumpit (small bamboo tube) to take a sip of the sweet day-old fermenting sugarcane juice. I didn't know that with a sip too many one can get drunk. And that was precisely what made me feel sick, but I did not tell dad. He called a doctor to find out what was the matter with me. When the doctor arrived he found me normal. What with the distance and delay from Vigan to San Vicente - on a caleza (horse-drawn carriage)?  But the doctor was whispering something to dad.

Then it happened. Dad had left for the church, so I thought. I went to the cellar and as soon as I probed the sumpit into a newly fermenting jar and took a sip, someone tapped my shoulder in the dark. It was dad!

Author's dad, Matias R Rotor, explores local fruits, including locally grown grapes, in making table wine. Tata Matias as he was fondly called graduated in Bachelor's degree in  Entrepreneurial Science at De Paul University in Chicago before WWII.

 

Imagine the expression of his face (and mine, too) in the dark. I sobbed with embarrassment while he took a deep sigh of relief. Since then the doctor never came again. And I promised dad never to taste my “beverage" again.

Sunset and revival of the basi industry

Years passed. I left home for my studies in Manila, so with my brother and sister. Dad continued the industry until he became very old. By then the demand for the local drink declined as beer and all kinds of wine and liquor, local and imported, began flooding the market. It was requiem to a sunset industry. In 1981, dad died, so with our home industry.

Even after finishing agriculture I did not go back to the farm. So with my brother who also became an agriculturist. Not when you are young and thinking of adventure and opportunities. I pursued advanced studies in the biological sciences. Eugene went back to the farm later, so with our sister, Veny, who joined the Divine Word College of Vigan faculty. But the thought of reviving basi was never in our mind.

For how can a local product sell in a highly competitive market? Foreign products have been flooding the market under the import liberalization program of the government. Other questions propped up, but all boiled down to one possible solution - business viability.

As a researcher I studied the indigenous process of basi making. After I had sufficient materials about the subject I made it into a paper which I read in an ASEAN-New Zealand symposium upon the recommendation of Dr. Romualdo del Rosario, a fellow professor at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School. But the native product needed improvement. It was at first a losing proposition, and I realized I was blazing a lost path. But I did not give up.

 When I opted for an early retirement from government service in 1989 I found more time with my experiments. The improved product was analyzed by the Food Development Center, a government agency that collaborates with the US Food and Drug Administration. Surprisingly the new basi product passed the European standard for champagne, sherry and port.

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Rotor Basi won the distinctive BIDA award in 2000. It sparked an interest in the revival of a sunset industry in the Ilocos Region. Left photo, the late former administrator Jesus T Tanchanco  of the National Food Authority and Mrs Alice Tanchanco pose with the author (center). Right photo, members of the winning team, led by the author, from St Paul University QC receive the cash award from BIDA, a joint project led by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, Small and Medium Industries), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Planters Bank of the Philippines.

-----------------------------------------------------------
But it was no guarantee that Basi is acceptable in the market. It means that if the product is really that good, it can command a premium price. I began to standardize the product. Soon I was able to establish a consistent level of strength (proof), desired range of acidity, and crystal clear color and clarity. There was improvement in aroma, bouquet, sweetness, aftertaste, among other criteria, which constitute international standards for wine. All these were done in various experiments, often in trial and error method, in others through intricate laboratory procedures. Still in others, only after a yearlong aging of the wine.

Lastly, I began working on product presentation. The labels I developed are a series of color photographs of historical places of the Ilocos Region, and the story of the Basi Revolt of 1807.

A breakthrough came after receiving the Business Idea for Development and Achievement (BIDA) Award, and a favorable product endorsement by the Department of Agriculture (MARID). Other than the Ilocano balikbayan, the market expanded to include tourist shops, wine connoisseurs, and even religious groups.

I am sure Dad and Uncle Leo must be smiling up there.  Here is a toast for you, Dad and Uncle Leo. ~

(Dad graduated in commercial science at De Paul University in Chicago, while Uncle Leo graduated at the State Louisiana State University, major in sugar chemistry. They were considered original balikbayan and they engaged in basi wine making  in our town until WWII broke up. From them I was inspired to take up  a PhD degree in Biology at the University of Santo Tomas and to teach in the same institution.)

 

Author shows golden leaves of samat (Macranga tenarius), and bubod  (local yeast complex culture), which are principal ingredients in basi making.

Part 3 -  Basi Wine and Ilocos Vinegar Integrated Production 

Dr Abe V Rotor

[avrotor.blogspot.com]

Rotor Basi (made in San Vicente Ilocos Sur) has labels depicting the Ilocos Region's historical events, landmarks, and outstanding natives of the region - Ilocanos. Basi is a major attraction to tourists from different parts of the world. Basi is the only kind of table wine in the world. Basi as well as its by-product, Ilocos Vinegar (suka ti Ilocos, or sukang Iloko to the Tagalogs) meet rigorous European standards and US Food and Drugs Administration tests.

The distinct mellow taste of basi comes largely from its aging time in burnay (earthen jars) - perhaps the only kind of tropical table wine processed and aged in this respected age-old tradition. The jars are kept to as long as ten years in home cellars or buried in the ground, and sealed hermetically with hard clay. Basi was once an important article of commerce in the region, and when the islands were colonized by Spain, basi reached Europe via the Galleon Trade passing through Acapulco, the southern tip of Mexico.~

The idea of reviving this sunset industry holds great potential in creating livelihood opportunities, and in integrating agriculture and industry in the practical concept of agribusiness that is rural- and people-based. The industry offers natural products that protect people’s health, and which are friendly to the environment.  Lastly, it revives the spirit of Filipino nationalism, culture and tradition.

Historical Background

     The manufacture of Ilocos  wine (Basi) and vinegar (Sukang Iloko) predates Spanish colonization of the islands. Although the two products were already a part of vigorous trading among the islands and with neighboring countries, basi in particular reached prominence when it became one of the island’s exports for nearly two centuries through the Galleon Trade to Europe by way of Acapulco, Mexico.

     Because of the significance of the industry, the Spaniards declared government monopoly on the industry stirring an uprising by the brewers and natives known as the Basi Revolt of 1807.   

     The Commonwealth era saw the decline in the production of  basi and sukang Iloko as imported products flooded the market, and worst, the local industry suffered seriously during the second World War. The industry never recovered since then. Today’s generation has a vague idea of this fine, traditional industry, which was once the pride of our ancestors.

General Features of the Enterprise

1. It revives a once flourishing industry, making use of indigenous tools and materials. Thus, it also relives a rich history of a people and culture.

2. As a cottage- and rural-based family business, it is dependent on family and local manpower; nonetheless it requires innovations in both technology and management.

3. Its products are made from natural materials and by a natural process, hence health-safe and environment-friendly. 

4. It makes use of local researches and indigenous skills, but will benefit from institutional researches. It therefore, links the research system and enterprise system, and the field with the laboratory.

5. It is viable as a short- or medium-scale enterprise, but it can be expanded on long term basis, thus it is compatible with different business organizations, most especially family enterprise and cooperative.

6. It supports the philosophy on which NACIDA and KALAKALAN 20 were founded.  It is in line with the government’s program on small and medium enterprises, led by DTI, UP Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises, other governmental organizations and NGOs. 

7. As a dollar earner (and saver), it takes pride in a modest sense in this contribution, propagating a Filipino product that meets international standard for European table wines, in the likes of sherry, port and mass wine. 

Its universal formula lends to expansion of product lines within the same framework of technology and business organization.  Table wine can be produced from local fruits such as chico, pineapple, mango, guava, and the like, using the same formula of making basi.  This is true with vinegar made from these fruits particularly during their peak season.

The Products

     Basi is table wine (12 proof or 6 % alcohol), a product of fermentation of sugarcane.  The chemical reaction is shown in this general formula.

C6 H 12 O6   ---  Zymase --->  2 C2H5OH  + 2CO2

                               Sugarcane juice      Yeast            Ethanol

      It contains local botanical ingredients, mainly

·         Glutinous rice – Oryza sativa 

·         Bubud or Yeast Complex - Saccharomyces spp.

·         Duhat –Syzygium cumini 

·         Kamachile – Pithecolobium dulce

·         Samat – Macaranga tenarius

Raw Materials

     The principal raw materials are as follows:

1. Upland Sugar - The main ingredient is cooked sugarcane juice, with no adulteration. Baume reading should not be lower that 15 degrees depending on sucrose content and variety of the cane.

2. Glutinous Rice - Glutinous rice increases concentration since starch is polysaccharide.  Through hydrolysis, it is broken into simple sugars.

3. Bubod or Yeast Complex -  This is prepared from pure culture in the laboratory consisting of several strains of yeast.

4. Purified  or Spring Water -  The jars are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized. Purified, deep well or spring is used.

Sukang Iloko

     Sukang Iloko, sour basi.  Vin egar means sour wine. This means that basi, like any wine, spontaneously turns into vinegar when oxidized with the aid of beneficial  microorganisms. Thus, the equation will lead to oxidation or acetification (vinegar formation).

C2H5OH  +  O2   Acetobacter -----> CH3COOH  +  2H2O         Sukang Iloko

     As shown in the two equations above, the two products – wine and vinegar - are integrated. The dual process can be extended to the production of Nata de Coco as a third product.

      The formula is applicable in the production of other wine and vinegar products from fruits, grains and root crops. Thus wine and vinegar making has good potential as an enterprise.

 Manufacture of Basi

1. Cleaning and Sterilization -   The jars are thoroughly cleaned.  This takes three weeks, with the water changed three times, once every week.  Sterilization is by the use of boiling water followed by direct sunlight exposure.

2. Brewing - Cooked sugarcane juice is poured into the sterilized jars including the botanical ingredients, bubud (yeast complex) and glutinous rice. Fermentation takes place immediately and increases in rate until the eight day.  Thereafter brewing declines. The sediments are removed and the jars are closed, and are ready for ageing.

3. Ageing - The jars are hermetically closed and sealed with termite earth, an innovation of the author.. They must be kept in a dark cool place away from insects and any kind of disturbance. Ageing mellows the wine giving it the desired aroma, bouquet or body, color, taste, and other qualities. The wine matures in 10 to 12 months. Premium basi is aged longer, to 10 years.

4. Bottling and Packaging - Long-neck glass bottles with 750 ml content are obtained from suppliers of recycled bottles.  Smaller bottles contain 250ml and 500 ml. The bottles are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized under direct sunlight.  The bottles are directly filled up with the harvested wine after undergoing laboratory test (percent alcohol and acidity) and organoleptic test (taste, color, bouquet, etc.).They are capped, sealed, and labeled. and placed in brown bags and in carton boxes..

Manufacture of Sukang Iloko

1. Cleaning and Sterilization - The procedure is the same as that in the preparation of jars in basi making.

2. Brewing- Oxidation - Cooked sugarcane juice together with the botanical ingredients, yeast complex and mother liquor (inoculant) are poured into the sterilized jars. Vinegar formation or acetification accompanies the formation of ethanol.  It means that the wine is oxidized to form acetic acid. This dual process takes place spontaneously and simultaneously in the presence of natural fermenters, such as the fruit fly, Drosophila, that carries a beneficial bacterium,  Acetobacter aceti.  The filtrate is then separated from the sediments, and placed in another jar in which it then undergoes ageing.

3. Ageing  - Vinegar matures in 4 to 6 months, shorter than that in ageing  wine. During the process, residual sugar undergoes secondary fermentation and acetification.  This is why natural vinegar improves with time.  (Artificial vinegar, on the other hand, loses acidity after prolonged exposure.) Ageing makes the product mellow, improves color, taste and other qualities.

4. Bottling and Packaging - The same procedure in basi is followed, except that the label is simpler or as specified by the buyer. For both products, laboratory tests are conducted in order to maintain quality standard. For vinegar, microbial count, acetic acid, and residual sugar are measured.

Production-Marketing Setup

     San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, is three kilometers from Vigan, the provincial capital, 408 km from Manila.  This town is the center of the once flourishing basi and vinegar making industry before and during the Spanish times.  It is also the site of the Basi Revolt of 1807.  Revival of the industry carries the imprimatur of history and the original basi.  For the local needs of the area,  both products are packaged and retailed to meet the local demand in Vigan and Laoag, two tourists spots. Among the principal buyers is the  Ilocano balikbayan.  

One of the 14 paintings depicting the Basi Revolt of 1807 by Esteban Villanueva

Facilities, Equipment and Materials

1. Cellar and Working Area - The ground floor of an old brick house in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, serves as cellar, office and working area.   It houses a small office and basic laboratory tools. It has ready accessible to the sources of raw materials, buyers and transport facilities.

2. Jars (Fifteen-liter capacity) -  Burnay or earthen jars are made in Vigan.  The net content of each jar can fill up 50 long necked bottles of 750 ml, the standard packaging of both products.  Old jars can be procured from former brewers in the locality.

3. Laboratory equipment - The principal tools are high resolution compound microscope, refractometer, sugar hydrometer, pH meter, and accessories such as weighing scale, beakers and test tubes. Analyses and experiments involving sophisticated equipment like chromatograph and distilling apparatus are conducted in cooperation with research institutions like the Food Development Center and DOST.  Similar linkages with local institutions in Manila and Vigan can be arranged. 

Basi and Sukang Iloko are displayed in tourists shops in Vigan. The labels of Rotor Basi carry the series of paintings and synopsis of the Basi Revolt of 1807. Other bottles depict historical places and events in the Ilocos Region. There are dozens of such historic labels, that make a fine collection of the product. 

Quality Control

     Quality control starts with the choice of variety of sugarcane, its cultivation, maturity and crop stand.  Too much nitrogen fertilizer is not advisable.  Upland sugarcane is desirable.  Thus, in cultivating the crop, recommended agronomic requirements must be followed. Only the best sugarcane should be used for basi while inferior canes, such as those affected by drought or typhoon are used for vinegar making.

     The key to product quality is in the three stages of manufacture: formulation, brewing and ageing.  The entrepreneur must have a good knowledge acquired through training to augment basic chemistry and microbiology. It is in this stage that laboratory analysis is regularly conducted to generate these data.

·     Percent sugar (15 %)

·     Acidity of must or fermenting material (6 to 6.5 pH).

·     Activity and cell count of the yeast (fast acting multi-strain/complex type)

·     Fermentation time (8 to 12 days)   

  

Final Products

     The ultimate control is in this stage which is composed of bottling, capping and sealing, labeling and packing.  Consistency of product quality is of utmost consideration, not only for the whole shipment, but also in all sales in the future.  This is to establish patronage (suki).

     The entrepreneur must always have in mind to meet international standards.  Food

Development Center,which is authorized by the USFDA, determines the quality of products exported to the US and its territories.  Basi was confirmed by FDC to have passed the standard for sherry and port. 

Small Scale Business Viability*
 (Subject to update and adjustment)

     Under the present setup of the project, the direct cost in making a jar of basi which is equivalent to 50 bottles (750 ml) is P2500. This means that the production cost per bottle is P50. Fifty bottles is the net yield per jar.  This volume allows margin for breakage, leaching, and spoilage, including taste test and samples. 

     Premium sugarcane juice makes up 26.3 percent of the direct cost. Packaging materials which include bottles, labels, caps, seals and boxes, comprise the biggest cost which is 40.4 percent. Depreciation cost of jars, infrastructure, facilities and equipment like  pH and Baume meters, and sealer, makes up 15.8 percent, while marketing and direct labor cost make up 20 percent.

     The gestation period of basi is from 10 to 12 months, which means that brewing and ageing time takes almost a year. It is in the second and third year that regular sale takes place, peaking in summer and Christmas season. Computed wholesale selling price is P150 per bottle, thus the net income is P100.  For an economic volume of 5000 bottles, the total net income is P500,000 per year.

     For vinegar, the direct cost is P1000 per jar or P20 per bottle of 750 ml.  The biggest cost is spent on packaging (glass bottles, caps and seals) which is 37.5 percent.  Cane sugar is 31.5 percent, while marketing and direct labor make up 25 percent. If the selling price is P30, the net income is P10 per bottle, or 50 % ROI. The economic volume is at least 5000 bottles a year. A successful entrepreneur supplied these figures. Like any business the prospect of improving profitability is based on carefully studied economics of scale.

     With the current business climate in the Philippines there are many risks entrepreneurs face - from the crunching effect of currency devaluation to open competition brought about by the world’s order on trade liberalization since the passage of WTO-GATT whose inequitable workings are a disadvantage to Third World countries.

     How a fledgling industry survives, more so as it rises from the ashes of a colonial past, which with it had virtually died, is beyond imagination of a businessman who is looking at any bright prospect. But business has many challenges, beyond time, money, and the many opportunities to get rich. Would not an enterprise consider values, beyond economic parameters, such as reviving a rich culture, reliving history, touching fervors of faith and pride in a people? ~

-----------------------------------------------

 Basi and Sukang Iloko project proposal wins Business Idea and Development Award (BIDA 2001), sponsored by the  Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Republic Planters Bank, and the Small and Medium Industry Council. 

 

Rotor Basi won the distinct Business Development Development Award (BIDA) in 2000. The prize inspired the revival of a sunset industry in the Ilocos Region.  Left photo, the late former administrator Jesus T Tanchanco (right) of the National Food Authority and Mrs Alice Tanchanco pose with the author after receiving the BIDA Award. Right photo, members of the winning team receive the cash award from BIDA, a joint project led by DOST and DTI (Small and Medium Industries), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Planters Bank of the Philippines.

* 2010 analysis, subject to adjustment based on present situation, such as inflation rate, government policy, market conditions - and socio-economic upheaval both local and global brought by the current Coronavirus Pandemic. A review and update on the economic viability of the enterprise is therefore necessary.

Part 4 -  Yeast - the Ubiquitous, Universal Fermenter  

Dr Abe V Rotor

Basi wine making, first day of fermentation. Note evolving gas - carbon dioxide. Wine is produced by anaerobic fermentation.

Bottled basi wine for tourists shops and for export. Basi was among the items carried between the Philippines and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico, during the Galleon Trade era (17th and 18th century) when the Philippines was a colony of Spain, so with Mexico. Old folks attribute the unique fine taste of basi to bubud (homemade yeast).

All kinds of alcoholic drink contain ethanol or ethyl alcohol - the only edible alcohol. Wine is as old as civilization. Serendipity must have led to early wine making techniques, the key being the domestication of  the first microorganism - Saccharomyces, the ubiquitous yeast.

Wine making is converting sugar into ethanol. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) is universal in all alcoholic drinks from beer to table wine to liquor, irrespective of generic or brand name. The strength of wine is indicated by proof, which is actually twice that of its percentage content.

Thus, 80 proof is 40 percent ethanol, which is the strength of Vodka, some Brandy, Cognac, Whiskey, and the like. The strength of beer normally ranges from 3 to 5 percent, unless fortified with distilled ethanol to raise it to say, 7 percent. Fortified wine is also common.

Natural table wine such as Basi of the Ilocos region, table wine from grapes and other fruits, normally contain 10 to 12 percent ethanol. Beyond this level, the fermenting yeasts simply die off from the accumulation of ethanol - a biological phenomenon called autotoxicity. It means that the yeasts are killed by their own product, often leaving behind the unfermented sugar. It is this residual sugar that makes a wine sweet - naturally, that is.

Ripe leaves of samat or binuga (Cananga tenarius) is used in making basi. 

Yeast is found in ripening leaves. Here the leaves contain the highest level of sugar which the plant did not use or store. The yeast acts of the sugar and as the leaves fall to the ground, a myriad of microorganisms and animals (from fungi to earthworms and grazing animals) obtain their energy from them. Ultimately the organic matter left behind becomes part of the soil, releases the needed nutrients to the growing plants and those in the next generation.

Yeast is ubiquitous, it is found in flowers, ripening fruits, honeydew, ripening leaves. It comes in different species under the genus Saccharomyces, among them cerevisiae and ellipsoides. There are also other genera such as Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. Not all yeasts make good wine. But one thing is universal to them. It is Nature's way of converting sugar molecules (C6H12O6) back to their elemental form.  Oxidation often accompanies such process, thus converting ethanol to acetic acid (CH3COOH), which is vinegar. Vinegar actually is a term, vin-egar, which means sour wine.

Natural vinegar is oxidized ethanol, usually with the aid of bacteria, principally Acetobacter and Leuconostoc. The latter forms gelatinous capsule that accumulates into a transparent to white layer we call nata. This is the principle involved in making Nata de coco and nata de piña.

So, even before sugar ferments to vinegar, nata bacteria and other contaminants can spoil wine and vinegar making. A host of organisms are soon attracted such as Drosophila flies, blue bottle flies, wasps, moths and butterflies that feed on the spoiled must. This is happening to unharvested fruits in the field, to remnants of pollination and fertilization, It is true in ponds and lakes where biomass of algae die of algal bloom. Ultimately the product is simply water, evaporating into the air or settling down into a pool or seeping into the ground, and all the organic compounds once part of the living world are back to their elemental components ready to be reassembled into the next living generation. Indeed this a great wonder on how Nature keeps a dynamic balance of the environment called homeostasis.

We can only imagine the ingenuity of wine makers far back during the Epyptian civilization, and in the Orient, the Chinese civilization. I had a chance to visit the ruins of an Assyrian fort outside Tel-Aviv. There, our guide pointing at broken tall jars, said, "The Assyrians were among the best wine makers in the ancient world." The Assyrians were powerful, not even Ramses could conquer them, They had a flourishing economy. Their vineyards can be glimpsed from the vineyards around the place Lakish today. Lakish wine is well-known all over the world, perhaps as famous as the Bordeaux in France.

Without yeast, our world would be a less happy one. Perhaps many organisms wouldn't be around in the first place, including us humans.

Here's a toast to the wonderful yeast. Cheers! Kampai! Mabuhay!~

4.1 -  Preparation of Bubod – Yeast Complex

                                Closeup of bubud, homemade yeast complex.

Here is a list of yeast isolates from plants growing at the SPCQ garden. The author developed the combined process of isolation, multiplication, identification and banking.

Researcher/Plant Source/Wild Yeast

1.Muega, N Basil (Ocimun basilicum), Debaryomyces,
Indonesian Queen - Justicia (Trichosporon genderossa), 

and kamuning Kloerckera
(Murraya pinnaculata)

2.Valdez, M.M Guava (Psidium guajava) Brettanomyces
Powderpuff (Calliandra cergenila) Debaryomyces
Aratilis (Muntigia calabura) Saccharomyces ,
Trichosporon

3.Lacap, DC Duhat (S. cumini) Saccharomyces
Saccharomycodes, Debaryomyces,
Hansenula
Kloeckera
Nematospora

4. Ngo, LM Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Cryptoccocus, 
Hansenula

The isolation of these wild yeasts was made possible using a technique developed in the laboratory of SPUQC. Food Development Center of NFA analyzed and identified the yeast isolates.

The Protocol named after the author is summarized in three parts, as as follows:

4.2 - Isolation and Identification of Wild Yeasts from Plants

1. Determination of possible sources of wild yeasts. Since yeast is ubiquitous, it is likely found in places where there is a ready supply of sugar. Pollen and nectarines of flowers offer such as an ideal place.

2. Yeast cells are isolated from these floral parts and inoculated in a 15 percent sucrose solution contained in sterilized bottles (3/4 volume). Beer bottles are preferred because their brown or green color protects the isolates from UV radiation.

3. The bottles are plugged with sterilized cotton and are kept in a dark, cool chamber for at least three days.

4. As fermentation takes place, carbon dioxide evolves and in the process creates a CO2-rich chamber in the bottle that serves as an aseptic blanket especially against aerobic bacteria.

5. The culture is then analyzed in the laboratory. Identification of the yeast isolates is done using the standard procedure of FDC. Yeast isolates by Muega et al at SPUQ were obtained using this procedure.

6. The next step is the isolation and culture of the desired yeast isolates for specific purposes. However, the yeast complex as a whole, after proper identification, can be propagated for commercial use.

4.3 – Propagation and Banking/Storage of the Yeast Isolates

1. The yeast complex is allowed to multiply for another 5 days in the culture bottles. Detection of any contaminant necessitates the discarding the culture, and the procedure is repeated.

2. Rice flour is heated to 100 degrees Celsius and allowed to cool to 50 to 60 degrees Celsius (equivalent to pasteurization). The fermenting sugar solution is the mixed with the flour to make dough. Ground dry ginger is added at the rate of 1 part to 4 parts rice flour. The dough is mashed thoroughly and made into balls, two inches in diameter.

3. The balls are laid on cheesecloth, lined with clean rice straw, and incubated in a wooden box for 5 to 6 days in a dark, enclosed chamber, at 35 to 40 degree Celsius.

4. The balls are air-dried for 3 to 5 days, or until they are dry enough to be pulverized. Direct sunlight may kill the yeast cells. This is now the inoculant that is used in basi fermentation. The rate of inoculation is equivalent to 10 balls to a standard size jar.

5. The powdered inoculant can be stored in an airtight glass container and placed in the vegetable section of a refrigerator. Viable storage time is around 6 months.

4.4 – Alternative Procedures and Other Applications of the Protocol

1. Substrates may vary, according to the microorganisms to be propagated and banked. Papaya pulp is commonly used for Aspergillus niger as shown in the experiment of Marasigan, 1995.

2. Papaya pulp is also recommended in the preparation of Rhizobium inoculant for soybeans and other legumes (Jacob 1997)

3. Other fruit pulps such as citrus and mango have been tried successfully in the propagation of food-fermenting organisms such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides (nata de coco), Lactobacillus (yogurt), Micrococcus and Pediococcus (patis), and other Halobacteria (bacteria responsible in bagoong making). (8)

4. Other alternatives the protocol can adopt are in the propagation of
cellulose-breaking bacteria such as Trichoderma, and biological pesticide such as Bacillus thuringiensis. 

Part 5- Basi Revolt of 1807 in Paintings 

Bantaoay River Ilocos Sur (San Vicente IS Series)

Basi Revolt 1807 - Paintings by Esteban Villanueva

The revolt took place 400 km north of Manila where Diego and Gabriela Silang heroically fought Spanish rule 50 years before. It was precipitated by the declaration of Wine Monopoly by the local Spanish government that virtually took from the hands of small cottage brewers an industry the Ilocos region enjoyed long before Spain colonized the islands. Basi was carried by the Galleon trade plying Ciudad Fernandina (now Vigan City) and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico (1565-1815). 

The final battle took place along the Bantaoay River that runs through the town of San Vicente, some 4 km from the capital where the industry flourished. Scores of Spanish soldiers and natives were killed. Although the revolt spread to as far as Ilocos Norte, and Pangasinan to the south, it culminated on September 29, 1907 with the public execution of the captured rebels. 

Fourteen big oil paintings depicting the Basi Revolt, also known as Ambaristo Revolt (named after its leader) can be seen today at the Vigan Ayala Museum, which is housed in the original residence of Filipino priest martyr, Fr. Jose Burgos. The painter, Don Esteban Villanueva was an eyewitness of this historic event. 

Today, the Basi Revolt lives on with the fine taste and tradition of this unique product standing among the best wines of the world. Nine of the paintings are posted here.  

 
 

 

  

Basi is the flagship of wine products of San Vicente Ilocos Sur which include fruit wine from chico, pineapple, dragon fruit, guava, and the like, and the popular sukang Iloko (Ilocos Vinegar).

Rotor Basi (made in San Vicente Ilocos Sur) has labels depicting the Ilocos Region's historical events, landmarks, and outstanding natives of the region - Ilocanos. Basi is a major attraction to tourists from different parts of the world. Basi is the only kind of table wine in the world. Basi as well as its by-product, Ilocos Vinegar (suka ti Ilocos, or sukang Iloko to the Tagalogs) meet rigorous European standards and US Food and Drugs Administration tests. ~

Basi is ideally aged for a period of 2 to 5 years in earthen jars hermetically sealed with clay.

 This 18th century wine cellar is part of a tourist destination at the Living with Nature Center at San Vicente Ilocos Sur, Philippines. (Author's residence)

  

The distinct mellow taste of basi comes largely from its aging time in burnay (earthen jars) - perhaps the only kind of tropical table wine processed and aged in this respectable age-old tradition. The jars are kept to as long as ten years in home cellars or buried in the ground, and sealed hermetically with hard clay. Basi was once an important article of commerce in the region, and when the islands were a colony of Spain.  Basi reached Europe via the Galleon Trade* passing through Acapulco, the southern tip of Mexico.~

*The Manila Galleons were Spanish trading ships which for two and a half centuries linked the Philippines with Mexico across the Pacific Ocean, making one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Acapulco and Manila, which were both part of New Spain. Wikipedia

ANNEX A - Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko)

- Nature's Secret of Good Health

Dr Abe V Rotor

Vin-egar, which means sour wine, is Nature's secret of good health.

Vinegar or acetic acid (CH3COOH) abounds in nature, as long as there's sugar(C6H12O6). Sugar is converted into ethanol, and ethanol to acetic acid.

Vinegar is oxidized ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH). The conversion process is both biological and chemical. In fact, fermentation of sugar to ethanol, goes hand in hand with ethanol conversion to acetic acid, with the latter prevailing at the end.

This formula is taking place in food, flowers, fruits, plant sap, insect exudate, honeycombs, raisins, etc. Nature eliminates sugar - simple and complex - ultimately through this process, and at the end converts them back to elements ready to be re-assembled in the next process and for the next user or generation. This process is taking place everywhere because the agents are ubiquitous such as the yeast (Saccharomyces) and the vinegar bacteria (Acetobacter). And there are dozens more working in union. This scenario is also taking place in the mouth and stomach, on the skin, and other parts of the body of organisms.

Vinegar is Nature's cleansing agent and disinfectant, eliminating stain, odor, fungi, bacteria, weeds, and repelling ants, and other vermin.

People who are fond of food prepared with vinegar are healthier and slimmer. It is because vinegar regulates formation of adipose tissues, and burns fat. Some people dampen their appetite by sprinkling a little natural vinegar on prepared food to take the edge off their appetite. Notice that after eating anything with vinegar, you lose interest in your meal. Vinegar triggers the appetite's shut off mechanism.

Feel good. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, with a bit of honey added for flavor, will take the edge off your appetite and give you an overall healthy feeling.

Well, here is a short list of home remedies using vinegar.

• Soothe a sore throat. Put a teaspoon of natural vinegar in a glass of water. Gurgle.

• Apply cold vinegar right away for fast relief of sunburn or other minor burns. It will help prevent burn blisters.

• Soothe a bee or jellyfish sting. Douse with vinegar to soothe irritation and relieve itching.

• Relieve sunburn. Lightly rub diluted natural vinegar on skin. Reapply as needed.

• Conditions hair. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to your rinse to dissolve sticky residue left by shampoo.

• Relieve dry and itchy skin. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to your bath water.

• Fight dandruff. After shampooing, rinse with a solution of ½ cup vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.

• Treat sinus infections and chest colds. Add ¼ cup or more vinegar to the vaporizer.

• Cure hangover. Combine two raw eggs, a tablespoon of vinegar and black pepper. Blend well.

Just a reminder. Use only natural vinegar - not glacial acetic acid. ~

ANNEX B - Homemade vinegar from local fruits

Dr Abe V Rotor

 You can put up a vinegar generator in your kitchen and you will have a continuous supply of natural vinegar. Protect yourself and your family from glacial acetic vinegar. Convert those surplus fruits that would otherwise go to waste. You can also produce vinegar for your friends and community.

I am simplifying the procedure as a practical guide in vinegar making for the rural as well as the urban areas.

1. Clean two wide-mouthed, gallon size glass containers. (Ordinary glass gallons will do. Do not use plastic containers.)

Chico and mango make excellent fruit wine and vinegar, Manaoag Pangasinan 

2. Peel and clean around two kilos of overripe fruit of any kind (pineapple, chico, banana, etc. You may combine two fruits, like chico and guava, or pineapple and mango. (Do not use kamias. Kamias contains oxalic acid which weakens the bones.)

3. Mash the fruit with two kilos of sugar. Be sure the sugar is well imbedded into the tissues of the fruit pulp. Divide the substrate equally for the two glass jars

4. Add tap water to four-fifth of the container. Shake or stir.

5. Add one tablespoonful of commercial yeast (baker’s yeast) onto each jar, then stir.

6. Cover the setup with sinamay or kulambo textile. The reason for this is to allow air to enter, while letting the fermenting gas C02 to escape. Do not plug or seal. Pressure builds up and is likely to break the container.

7. Do not be bothered when you see Drosoplila flies hovering around because they are attracted to the fermenting odor. They carry with them beneficial fermenters. Just allow them to settle near and around the setup. Their presence hastens acetification. What must be avoided are houseflies and other vermin. To do this, design a nylon screen frame, which is good to cover four gallons. Be sure only the Drosophila flies can pass through.

8. During the first two to five hours, froth will rise. Stir to calm the substrate. Stir once daily for the first week. Allow the setup to stand for three to four weeks until the solids have settled at the bottom. Keep it in a shaded corner of the house or kitchen.

9. Decant the filtrate and transfer to another gallon or large bottles. Plug with cotton to allow air circulation. This is the ageing phase. The longer you keep it this way, the better the quality becomes. This takes around two to three months. There will be sediments that form at the bottom. Nata (nata de coco) may also grow at the surface of the liquid. This is proof of natural vinegar.

10. This is the time for you to harvest your vinegar. Use a small siphon to decant and leave the nata and sediments behind. Cap the bottles airtight. Expose them to direct sunlight for at least three hours. The color of your product is now golden to reddish from above, or crystal clear against the light. Label with a trademark of your choice. Write the following information. Fruit used; place and dates of fermentation; ageing and bottling. And of course, your name.

Entrepreneurial Prospect

Vinegar making can be made into a lucrative enterprise due to its authenticity as natural vinegar. Many brands bear the name natural but are actually overnight formulations of diluted glacial acetic acid, no different from the acetic acid used for industrial purposes like in photography and in textiles manufacturing.

People are becoming more and more health conscious making them very judicious in their choices of health-enhancing food and food preparations. This is your best selling point. People are willing to pay a premium of a guaranteed natural product.

Premium vinegar is made from pineapple, such as Del Monte vinegar 

On the aspect of manufacturing, experience has it that vinegar making alone does not maximize business opportunity and benefits. The two steps – fermentation and oxidation – can be treated as two separate processes, hence two lines of products can be developed in one enterprise. In fact, a third step is nata de coco production, which immediately follows vinegar production. This is shown by this formula.

CH3COOH  Nata de Coco (coco jelly)/Nata de Pina  
Leuconostoc mesenteroides

The experience of making nata de coco developed in the second half of the 1990s when nata was in great demand for export, principally to Japan.The product is used as food and also for industrial raw material. Local demand as sweetened gel remains high in spite of the abrupt decline of the Japanese market.

Here is the business concept for holistic and integrated, hence, viable operations:

1. If you are a small sugarcane farmer, have a control over the making of red (raw) sugar. Native or brown sugar not being refined is natural food. There is a big demand for this kind of sugar where the molasses have not been separated.

2. Ferment table wine (Basi in the Ilocos region) from sugarcane. There is a big demand of this native wine by Ilocano balikbayans. Similarly with fruits, there is now a trend to take table wine either for health purposes, in lieu of liquor. The fruit industry may look into this field of endeavor. It offers definitely a value-added advantage to fruit growers, and there are thousands of families that grow fruit trees at the backyard.

3. Make vinegar out of the inferior cane, specially during a poor crop year.
Typhoon and drought damaged cane can be salvaged into previous natural wine. Fruits in season, and fruits that cannot pass for the market can be made into fruit vinegar. This is advantageous to orchard growers and contractors.

4. Nata de coco can be made out of the local vinegar products with local sugar as raw materials. Nata in many colors and flavors is an innovation of the traditional product. A progressive idea proved that nata can be made into laminate as substitute to leather, sheepskin and material for bags and belt. The biological laboratory of St. Paul College QC has made preliminary products.

Vin egar is wine gone sour. It may not be man’s elixir, but it bridges an intricate process of nature, benefiting man with other products of great importance. ~

ANNEX C - Mito ng Aklasang Basi

University of the Philippines

Exhibit prepared by Prof. Roberto Feleo in celebration 

of the Basi Revolt anniversary 

 

Prof. Feleo (middle) poses with Dr. and Mrs. Abe Rotor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnic representations on the origin of Basi wine making.

  

ANNEX B 

Revisiting the Basi Revolt of 1807: 

Its Historical and Axiological Relevance 

Jayson L. Antonio1 and Celerino F. Ancheta2 Instructor I, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Teacher Education, Laboratory High School, Laoag City Associate Professor IV, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Industrial Technology, Laoag City jaysonantonio82@yahoo.com 

Abstract: This study focused on the historical and axiological relevance of the Basi Revolt of 1807. This historical research employed archival work method in gathering and collecting data necessary to the topic being studied. Since most of the documents were written in Spanish, the researcher sought the help and assistance of an accredited Spanish interpreter/translator. The voluminous data gathered were grouped, sorted out and dealt with according to the precipitating events, the phases of the revolt, the aftermath of the revolt, the key players, the causes of the revolts in general and the historical and axiological relevance of the Basi Revolt. Archival documents were carefully studied and analysed and therefrom, themes and sub-themes were drawn out and presented in narrative forms. The humble lives the Ilocanos lived during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines changed when the Spanish authorities imposed monopoly to their products, the basi and tobacco. The Ilocanos fought bravely against the Spaniards. They suffered from great pain, trials, and torture brought about by the brutality and viciousness of the Spaniards. The heroism and sacrifices of the Ilocanos proved that they are worthy of a niche. The Ilocanos today pay tribute to the indomitable courage which was the Basi Revolt. The Ilocanos risked their lives to give meaning to our lives. Their ideas lived on amidst the holocaust of battle. The significant events that transpired in the Basi Revolt are: the disruption of the lifestyle of the Ilocanos, loss of a major source of livelihood, pent-up frustration and anger over Spanish abuses, social desperation, inspiration from the Ilocano revolts, the outbreak of the rebellion and the march toward the south, the Garasgas Bridge and the defeat of Escobedo, the re-structuring of the defense by the Augustinian friars, conclusion of the revolt, the defeat of the insurgents, the aftermath of the revolt and the causes of the revolts in general. An analysis of the events in the Basi Revolt revealed that: blatant disregard for a treasured practice is a form of rejection; that curtailment of basic freedoms is a violation of human rights; that curtailment of the right to own property triggered revolts; that censorship is curtailment of freedom and political and economic persecution engender courage; sporadic, uncoordinated revolts are bound to fail and regionalism and lack of unity weakens an endeavor. 

1 Instructor I, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Teacher Education, Laboratory High School, Laoag City 2 Associate Professor IV, Mariano Marcos State University, College of Industrial Technology, Laoag City.

ANNEX E - San Vicente Ilocos Sur 

-  Where the Bantaoay River Flows

Dr Abe V Rotor

Dedication: San Vicente Ferrer, patron saint of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, other towns, villages, schools and other institutions in many parts of the world, whose feast day is celebrated in April

Bantaoay River today (Barangay San Sebastian).  Photos by the author 2024

Main road from Vigan going to San Vicente town, 3 km.

Shaded area in first photo - the poblacion showing the church, 

plaza, elementary school, market  and municipal Hall, circa 1970

17th century church after the war.

In my childhood I saw detours of footpaths

dividing East and West, two warring niches  

where the zone of peace was the holy ground, 

and beyond was wilderness - and the unknown, 

beyond the confines of Subec and the Cordillera, 

the memory of Diego Silang, and the Basi Revolt 

on old, meandering Bantaoay River.

 

In my youth I saw the sun sitting  

on acacia stumps and on the tired landscape, 

but rising in dreams and visions on the horizon, 

and in the wisdom of my forebears, 

 the old guards of your fort.

 

Time has stood still since then.

 

I come to pay homage to your temple, 

and into the arms of my people, my roots;

 I see the footpaths of yesteryears, 

now grown and multiplied, and always fresh,

 leading from the East and West, 

and the many corners of the earth 

converging at your portals in pilgrimage.~

Idyllic scene of rural San Vicente mural in acrylic by the author circa 2003

 About San Vicente Ilocos Sur  

San Vicente is a fifth class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,720 people.

The municipality is known for its production of beautiful furniture made from narra and other tropical hardwoods, even from old wood previously used in wooden sugarcane crushers and old houses to make reproduction antiques.

Barangays

San Vicente is politically subdivided into 7 barangays.

• Bantaoay
• Bayubay Norte
• Bayubay Sur
• Lubong
• Poblacion
• Pudoc
• San Sebastian

Etymology

The municipality's name came from the name of Saint Vincent Ferrer, whose winged statue was found inside a box entangled in fishing nets. The fishermen consulted this matter to the friars in Villa Fernandina (now Vigan), who identified the person depicted by the statue. The statue was carried to the town's center, where a church was built. From then on, the town formerly known as Tuanong (sometimes called Taonan) became San Vicente.

History

In tracing the history of San Vicente, one always has to start from Vigan. Vigan was established by the Spanish colonizer, Juan de Salcedo on June 13, 1573 up to 1582, there were only 800 residents.

Upon Salcedo’s return in 1574, he brought with them the Augustinian friars in order to teach Christianity to the inhabitants. After Salcedo’s death on March 11, 1576, Franciscan friars replaced the Augustinians in the year 1579. These same friars spread up to San Vicente to convert the people to the Catholic faith.

In 1591, Vigan has already an organized form of government, which included these barrios namely: Bo. Tuanong, Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba and Bo. Caoayan. There were then a population numbering about 4,000 inhabitants.

Between the years 1720 and 1737, the first chapel of Bo. Tuanong was erected. Later in 1748, the Confraternity of Jesus of Nazareth was organized. In one record of the Vigan Convent archives, a funeral that happened on January 29, 1748 at the Chapel Bo. Tuanong was recorded. Two chaplains Bro. Don Agustin de la Encarnacion and Don Pedro Geronimo de Barba were the priest stone the chapel in that year 1748. It is believed that the chapel is the first stone building that sees upon entering the San Vicente Central School from the main road. Bo. Tuanong which belonged to Vigan was the old name of San Vicente.

On June 16, 1751, the chaplain was Don Miguel de Montanez. He was the first priest there and also in the chapel of San Sebastian. It is found out that Barangay San Sebastian already erected.

Hardship in reaching Bo. Tuanong and Bo. Sta. Catalina de Baba from Vigan especially during the months of June to October was experienced, due to the absence of dike or bridge. Priests from Vigan reached these places by means of a raft. The problem prompted the separation of these two barrios from Vigan in 1793.

In 1795, it was the initiation of the seat of municipality and the church and Bo. Tuanong became San Vicente de Ferrer. Don Pedro de Leon was the first parish priest and he was believed as the initiator of the construction of the Church of San Vicente.

Source: Wikipedia, Internet;  Poem reprinted from Light in the Woods: Photographs and Poems by Dr A V Rotor Megabooks 1995