Kawit, Cavite - a glimpse of history, culture and people

Cavite is one of those provinces in the Philippines with a very rich history and culture. For over 300 years, the province played an important role in both the country's colonial past and eventual fight for independence, earning it the title "Historical Capital of the Philippines". It became the cradle of the Philippine Revolution, which led to the renouncement of Spanish colonial control, finally culminating in the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. The old provincial capital, Cavite City also hosted docks for the Manila galleon, becoming an essential part of the commerce between Asia and the whole world.

View from the terasa on the 5th floor of the Aguinaldo Shrine

A few days ago, I got the chance to tour around Kawit, Cavite and witness stories told and untold. It was an overwhelming experience to discover more about the Aguinaldo Shrine and the history behind the life of Emilio Aguinaldo,  the president of the First Philippine Republic and his family. The experience as I walk through the roads surrounded with the Philippine flags, swaying as the wind softly bows, is really moving and it gave me feeling of greater hopes despite all the challenges our country is facing right now.

As the tour continues, we also visited the church of St. Mary Magdalene,  the parish church of the municipality of Kawit, Cavite and one of the oldest churches in the country which had its groundbreaking in 1624. Emilio Aguinaldo was baptized in this church, his birth certificate is kept on the left side of the altar. The church is known for healing and resolution to personal problems.

St. Mary Magdalene parish

The best part of our tour is meeting the people behind T.R. Santi Enterprises, the industry leader in custom metal arts and crafts in The Philippines. They have been crafting world-class metal products since 1906! Wow they have been in the industry for 112 years! T.R. Santi Enterprises is the most experienced maker of class rings, pins, medals and other metal artisan crafts in the Philippines.

Sample metal products of Santi & Sons

That was the time I realized how much effort, hardwork, and dedication has been given to every piece of medals, pendants, metal badges and other metal crafts that we use today as presents, tokens, decorations or accessories. I witnessed how the people from the factory precisely do each of the processes. I also knew that Santi & Sons is currently rising from the ashes but with the help of their dedicated employees, they were able to establish the venture again.

Since the unfortunate event that happened in 2016, Santi & Sons is now more than prepared to conquer the world, and to do so they are partnering with 024 Digital Media to expand to several leading markets in the world. Very soon, they will be launching an array of digital assets such as a device responsive website, eCommerce store, blog and SNS platforms among others.

With the use of today’s digital technologies and strategies from 024 Digital, their artistically crafted metals will soon be introduced to the whole world and they are hopeful that their products can penetrate and compete with the international scene because each metal craft is a product of quality combined with honesty and passion to deliver the best for the customers.