In Paete, the skill of carving artworks out of wood is passed on from generations to generations. Woodcarvers learned the craft of woodcarving from apprenticeship.
Authentic Paete woodcarvings are sold in various shops located along the narrow streets of the town. The price varies depending on the size and details, the type of wood used and the artist who created the sculpture.
J.V. Quesada Street is the main shopping district of Paete. Also called as the ”tourist lane,” the street is flanked with little shops that showcase the town’s crafts.
Felix Vadellon Mastercarver
Felix Vadellon is one of the best master carvers in Paete. He learned the craft by being an apprentice of another master woodcarver. Art collectors seek Felix to have one-of-a-kind pieces customized including life-size santos which are paraded during religious procession.
Coincidentally, I’ve learned from him that one of his works was included in the Holy Week Procession in San Mateo Rizal. This particular scene from Christ’s Passion shows Jesus being taken down from the Cross. While most of the carrozas in procession have only one or two images, this handy work of Felix has six characters.
Joseph Husband of Mary Handicraft
Joseph Husband of Mary Handicraft offers ready-made woodcarvings from small wooden souvenirs to huge life-size statues. They also accept repairs and repainting jobs.
Ang Buhay at Hugis sa Paete
Upon entering the store named Ang Hugis at Buhay sa Paete, we were greeted by a gigantic statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe carved out of styrofoam.
Owned by Lino Dalay, this store is famous for its papier mache art ranging from realistic papier-mache fruits to Mardi Gras and Moriones masks.
Visit Ang Sining ni Lino Dalay’s Ang Buhay at Hugis sa Paete at #005 J.V. Quesada Street Paete, Laguna. Phone: (049-8170111); Mobile number: (0916-5391447); E-mail: linodalay@yahoo.com.
Angel’s Handicraft
Angel’s Handicraft specializes in ready-made woodcarvings. They also customize and accept repairs and painting jobs of all wooden products. Their showroom is located along J.V. Quesada Street (049-817-1181).
Bien took us to the factory and another showroom of Angel’s Handicraft along Manila East Road, Quincale Paete, Laguna. Owner Cristy dela Rosa graciously welcomed us into their factory. Each of the items displayed on their showrooms were handcrafted. Therefore, each item is original and none are alike.
Cristy told us that they started their business back in the 1985 with just family members as part of the working team. Today, the dela Rosa factory is staffed by a group of artisans, each having his or her specialization either in carving, painting or adding finishing touches to their products.
Contact Angel’s Handicraft at (049-817-1863)
Click here for Part 1 –Art Heritage of Paete, Part 2 –Shopping for Paete Wood Carvings, Part 3 –Kape Kesada, Part 4 –Paete Holy Week Procession, Part 5 –Paete Artist Unite for a Good Cause
amazing work of arts, i really love those fruits they look so real
Glad to hear from you again Pusa. Those fruits made of papier mache look real indeed. Nicely finished.
Nice carvings… hope they manage to keep this craft alive!
They are indeed nice carvings Sidney. I believe that for as long as we keep promoting their craft, the art heritage of Paete will never die.
I used one of the pics that you have here and acknowledged you as the author. I also provided a link back to this site in case somebody clicks the picture. I hope it is ok with you.
Not a problem Mike. Goodluck!
thanks for promoting my town and our crafts. Im a paetenian who is now residing in Makati City, Phils. it feels so great that people still recognize the beauty and treasure or our place.
Surely, Paeteños will forever make their crafts alive for the sake of Paetes rich artistic history in honor of our great-grandfathers,grandfathers and fathers who dedicated themselves on creating and building the art and pride of Paete.
Paetenian crafts are still known in the whole world. We broadend are territory by invading the hotels and luxury ships business for decades now.
We are proud Paeteños.. we are proud Filipino.
More power to Traveler on foot!
Paetenos have a great town and great craft to be proud about yars. More than the craftsmanship is the towns rich history as seen in the Church of St. James, the delicacies like the pacit ulam at Bengas and bibingka stuffed with coconut meat.
I am not from Paete but I frequently visit your town for some reason I fell in love with your craft that I bring home a piece at home everytime I visit.
I was just there last Saturday and I was fortunate to have met Dr. Nilo Valdecantos at Kesada Cafe. We had a good talk.
That’s another thing I like about Paete -the warm hospitality and friendly people.
This is a cool post about coupons and there prices.
Thanks for such an informative post.
Can you pls send me the Address in paete laguna.
Is this a factory also?
I wan’t to visit some of the factory in Laguna,Paete.
On March sana.
Pls let me know.. Thanks
I plan to visit Pete in two weeks — can you recommend a place where to stay overnight? Also, things to do, places to see and where to eat?
Thanks.
For your day tour Mencie, I recommend you visit the centuries-old church of St. James and the Aglipay church. Both churches are near the plaza. From the plaza, walk towards Kesada Street. Along the narrow street are shops that offer authentic Paete woodcarvings. You can observe well-known artist and mastercarver, Luis Ac-ac create his masterpiece. You may also want to shop for woodcraft at Angel’s Woodcarvings and creative novelty items from Buhay at Hugis Paete (the one with the larger than life Our of Guadalupe statue inside the shop).
Also along the street is my favorite hangout in Paete “Kape Kesada Cafe and Art Gallery.” I spend a lot of time here enjoying their fresh brewed while surrrounded by artworks of Paete artists. Look for Dr. Nilo Valdecantos (owner of Kape Kesada). Dr. Nilo will never run out of stories to tell you about Paete and his vision for the his howmtown. You may also asked him about overnight accomodation in Paete.
There are more shops at end of Kesada Street along the Main Road.
Look for Lontok woodcarving by Gene Lontok (the street parallel to Kesada to the rigth). I’ve bought some woodcarvings here since they are reasonable and are of good quality work.
For eats. Go to Bengga’s and enjoy a huge serving of the authentic Pansit Ulam. Next to Bengga’s is the workshop of Will Bagayana. You may catch Mang Will performs his craft.
A few walks for Mang Will’s workshop is Galerie Christine of the Gagandahan siblings. Galerie Christine exhibits the works of award winning painters Odette and Christine Cagandahan and the sculptures of Glenn Cagandahan. Look for Mabel to give you a tour of the gallery.
Since its summer, visit the wawa park or the lake shore for a boatride. There is also the Matabungca falls and Calvary Cross on Mount Ping-as. You may get in touch with the local tourism office and look for Bien Cagandahan for these tours.
You may also want to include in your itinerary, a visit to the town of Pakil which is few minutes away from Paete. This town was once part of Paete. Visit their ornate Franciscan Church, Danny Dalena Museum and the Whittler’s Craft, a store sells delicate kind of carving that can only be found in Pakil. This store is just next to the Church of Pakil.
I’m sure you and your company will have a good experience in Paete. I did. That’s why I kept going back there every weekend.
Thanks for the wonderful leads. I’m excited at the prospect of visiting Paete and picking up a couple of wood carvings. I’ll be sure to let you know how my trip went.
Mencie
Just got back from my day trip to Lumban and Paete. In Paete, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Mr. Luis Ac-Ac and admire his works. I was in the hunt for a Filipino-themed nativity scene and he had the only set in the entire town. I love it that his pieces reflect Filipino facial features (as opposed to Euro-centric facial images that are commonly depicted by others). I visited the various shops, including Odette Cagandahan’s gallery. I sneaked into Cafe Kesada and had a wonderful time people watching. I was treated to two funeral processions (ala New Orlean’s style) complete with small brass bands. The town still has the ’small town’ feel — everyone was eager to help, give directions and share information.
On the way to Paete, we lunched at Exotika, a restaurant featuring exotic gourmet fares — frog legs, bayawak, etc. I recommend this place highly for those whose taste buds are adventurous. Exotika’s gift shop carried beautifully carved wooden handbags. I was told the bags were carved in Paete.
I’ll definitely go back and linger longer in Paete. Thanks for the leads.
hi, i’m a sunflower collector just want to see some wood curvings with sunflower design, where will i go in paete or did some factories there who make woodcurvings has website so i may look at their stuffs? thnks please e-mail me at asrarciaga@yahoo.com
Whenever I travel I use http://www.trekkertime.com. It’s awesome
Im going to Paete during the holyweek 2010.I would like to see the life size religious statues.Which shop should I go to? Paul
I recommend Luis Ac-ac, Wil Bagayana, Felix Vadellon and Justino “Paloy” Cagayat Jr. to create your life size santos Paul. You can ask about the location of their workshops once you get to Paete. Their very famous. Ac-ac is a well-known artist. Bagayana is known for his speed and detail. Vadellon for detail. Cagayat is known for the statue in Filipino film “Machete.”
Hi,
Where can I go for the best-carved custom-made furniture? Is it Paete, Laguna or Betis, Pampanga? Can you name a few where I can hunt? Thanks.
Paete specializes on sculptural pieces JC while Betis create those European-style furniture.