REMEMBERING HERRAN: A RETROSPECTIVE
With Contributions by Cora B. Lopa, Cristina Estrada and Aurea Magsaysay del Prado
Introduction by Ana de Villa – Singson
As we prepare to celebrate Old Girls Day, we recall the many things about Assumption that have shaped us into who we are today. Standing tall among the hallmarks of many Old Girls’ memories is Herran. Herran, the fond name lifted from its address, 405 Herran corner Dakota Street ,was the rustic Assumption Malate with its idyllic lagoon, sun-dappled walkways, canopies of majestic acacia trees and the magnificent Neo-Gothic chapel. With its operations twice stalled by the American Occupation in 1898 and the Japanese Occupation in 1941, Herran shut its doors in 1974. It has since passed into history. But while the brick and mortar of the school no longer stand as edifices, the real essence of Herran lives on. It lives on among the shared memories and collective experiences of its many Old Girls. Herran…the name is mentioned with reverence and true love, made more poignant perhaps because it so no longer there for Old Girls to revisit. But what remains is far stronger than any physical monument. What remains is a way of life, deeply ingrained by the Assumption education. What remains are Herran’s greatest achievements, its greatest testaments; the products formed and honed within its fabled and beloved halls…the Old Girls themselves.
In these pages, Herran comes to life again, in vivid recollection by Old Girls. In this first installment of a 3- part series, Cora Lopa (HS ’55, Coll ’59) , Cristina Estrada (HS’ 67) and Aurea Magsaysay del Prado ( HS ‘ 70) reminisce about their days as students in Herran.
A Day in the Life… Herran Revisited
7:00 Monday morning.
‘Round the corner of Herran and Macario Adriatico Sts.
Through the wide wrought-iron gates.
Past the welcome smile and wide-brimmed straw hat of Mang Segundo.
Past the Grade School building on the left, dotted by little red plaid skirts
and little hands being led by mommies and yayas to classrooms where purple habits, white veils and gentle smiles met their “darlings”.
Past the Flag quadrangle, rimmed by those watchful old acacias,
Onto the wide-open space in front of the Auditorium where you got out of your car;
made a mad dash to your classroom in the High School Building…
7:20 and the bell rings.
Morning Prayers and the Morning Talk of your Mistress of Class.
Followed by “character formation”; early training in accountability and transparency, thanks to Mother’s reading of “the dreaded Observation Notebook”.
Then regular classes began. Bells rang. Mistresses of Class quietly roaming the corridors, observing all…
Wooden Permission slabs often used in-between, collected from the teacher’s desks where they hung temptingly.
Mid-morning Recess! Lunch boxes emerged with matching thermos bottles.
Some even negotiating an exchange of sandwiches with classmates.
12:00 noon. Chapel bells rang. Everyone stopped, stood: the Angelus was recited.
Some nuns then disappeared. Soon, you could hear the distant sound of intoned chanting from the chapel as they recited their Noonday Office.
Back in the classrooms, lines were formed: Boarders and Day Boarders were led in silence to the Refectory for lunch.
Seated at pre-assigned tables, Grace was said and eating began in silence.
Until Mother Bernarda clapped her hands, signaling that talking could begin.
Second clap: back to silence as lunch ended. Lines back to classrooms.
Break time – when games of Bataille , Warball or Volleyball were fiercely fought
on the dappled grounds in front of the High School Building, underneath the shade of those stately acacias and their caterpillar residents.
Study Period – some studied, some napped, some secretly played games
of Hang-man with their seatmates.
Bells rang. Classes resumed.
In-between, a 15-minute Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament every week.
4:30 pm. The end of the last class!
Time for daily Benediction:
Long white organdy veils emerged and were strapped on with elastic bands. Lines moved forward in silence to the chapel.
An organ sounded the opening chords of O Salutaris Hostia …
In one voice, a hymn of praise was raised to Jesus, Our Lord – the unmistakable Center of every day in the Assumption, together with His Mother Mary. This reality was constantly reflected in the ubiquitous, personal attention of every “Mother” in Herran; every Religious of the Assumption, who loved every child entrusted to their care and education as a precious child of God.
In the words of “Old Girl” Gizela Gonzales Montinola (HS1974):
“The old Assumption is now gone… But we would manage to carry like a talisman, a small pocket of Grace within us, the old Assumption Herran…”
By: Cristina A. Estrada
AC Herran ‘67
CHRISTINA ESTRADA | HERRAN HS ’67
Sixty-six years after graduation, I can still vividly recall my Assumption schooldays as if they were only yesterday. And as I summon up these memories, I cannot help but become wistful as I remember, among other things, the nuns teaching us the distinct Assumption handwriting that we copied in those red-and-blue-lined notebooks; our First Communion ceremony, with all of us in our long, white dresses and veils, so ethereal looking; the “battaile” games that we played under the shade of the century-old acacia trees. Assumption traditions that I wish could be carried on.
I remember all this with a sweet sadness that nostalgia brings, and I am grateful for these wonderful and irreplaceable memories. But what is far more valuable that I take away with me and for which I am indebted to Assumption is the love of PRAYER that took root, slowly, gently, then deeply in my soul.
Through these many years, prayers have been my lifeline to Heaven. In good times and in bad, I turn to prayer, as it has become second nature to me, for guidance in doubt and conflict, for hope in the darkest of times.
How did this love of prayer grow in me? Not through grand lectures from strict and demanding nuns, to be sure, but from simple, consistent practices that were part of my Assumption, Herran school life.
We had assigned times for Adoration, where we knelt at the foot of the altar to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. What would a ten-year-old be praying for, you might wonder. No, you just talk to Jesus about anything, we were told. So talking to Jesus became a most normal thing. We attended Benediction everyday before departure time, where we learned to sing Latin hymns that I remember to this day. We had regular masses and confessions, too. At times when we misbehaved, our Mistress of Class would take us aside for a talking to. Then we were told to go to the chapel to reflect and do some soul searching before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. And for all these visits to the chapel, we wore our long organdy veils, which we kept neatly folded under our desks.
We went through all the motions not really understanding what these practices were all about. Years later, as I grew older and life became more complicated, turning to prayer at various moments in life became a habit, then became a way of life.
A LOVE and NEED for prayer is what I learned from my school and which I treasure most. It is for me a most precious gift. Prayers make life, even when difficult , beautiful because prayers make us feel the ever-comforting presence of God.
CORA B. LOPA | HERRAN HS ’55, COLL ‘ 59
ASSUMPTA EST
“Assumpta Est Maria” … our school song sung by generations of Assumption girls, their meaningful words now assimilated into our very being, never to be forgotten.
And what about the hallowed Assumption grounds in Herran? The buildings may have been torn down, but we relive their fond and precious memories as if they were just yesterday. We would watch bataille and volleyball from these halls. Lessons in the classrooms were conducted by all sorts of teachers – the stern, the kind and the funny ones. Mother Ana, our class mistress all throughout our high school years, would simply clap her hands twice and she had our immediate attention. To this day, she is still our class figurehead, as she leads us through the remaining chapters of our lives.
One of my favorite places was the chapel, where we had our regular general assemblies and masses. But there were the quiet moments too, when I had those rare opportunities to visit Him one on one and have a heart-to-heart talk with our Father amid the stillness and solitude of Adoration.
I miss the old auditorium. What a treat to listen to Oscar Yatco and his orchestra! One day, he conducted “Peter and the Wolf”, which was Prokofiev’s ingenious way of introducing the Strings, Woodwinds, Brass and Percussions to children like us. This same venue gave way to report card days when we would either beam with pride or shrink with embarrassment while we listened to our individual grades.
The old acacia trees have disappeared. The Italian marble from the chapels have been dismantled. Herran is now named Pedro Gil. There is no lagoon to speak of. Just one thing endured through all these years. “Fidelity to duty, love of simplicity”. The Assumption spirit lives on forever in our hearts.
AUREA MAGSAYSAY DEL PRADO | HERRAN HS ’70
Thank you for the ‘Retrospective’ on Herran. It has allowed me to relive what Herran meant to me. The final line is it’s most precious message.
“What remains are Herran’s greatest achievements, its greatest
testaments; the products formed and honed within its fabled
and beloved halls…the Old Girls themselves.”
It’s a sentiment I’ve shared with classmates. Having said this, I’d like to pay tribute to the Assumption congregation that defined how they could best inspire their students such that they developed into social action oriented and highly spiritual individuals. Virtues that we hold dear to this day.
I am so happy that the retrospective on Herran brought back good memories for you. While putting it together and writing the introduction for it, I couldn’t help but marvel over the way spiritual formation was formed and deepened. The stories have a common thread of daily and repeated inclusion of spirituality in students’ lives. The deepening of faith and its practise became a habit, then a lifestyle; and what wonders the Old Girls of Herran are now contributing to society and to the world. I myself saw Herran only once, but I vividly recall the lagoon and the canopy of acacia trees. But I see Herran so much in the grace, equanimity and infinite magnanimity of its Old Girls…and I meant every word of that last line that you shared in your message. Letting you know too that we will soon been posting Part II of the 3 part series on the retrospective on Herran. Thank you and stay safe and healthy. PS If you or any of your classmates would like to send your recollections of Herran, please email to aaa.assumpta@gmail.com!