Dr. Antonio Montalban: Celebrating 40 Years of Service and Life's Creative Work

In October of 2008, I visited the Montalban ancestral estate in Masao, Butuan City, Philippines. The home is situated on an aqua farm close to the mouth of the Masao River in Northern Mindanao and thirty minutes away from Butuan City proper. Masao, or anciently known as the Kingdom of "Mazaua", is supposedly the definitive localization of the First Mass of the Philippines and Magellan's first step on Philippine soil.

Over the years, Dr. Antonio Montalban has commissioned the creation of paintings that attempt to capture pre-Colonial and Colonial history of his heritage and native Butuanon roots.

Collectively, the paintings and furnishings of the Montalban estate illustrate moments in time so vital to Philippine culture.

By request, the last half of the video is a favorite song of Dr. Antonio Montalban, accompanied by a slideshow and lyrics in the background. This video will be featured as a tribute to his life's creative work during his retirement reception this coming October 2009.

Dr. Antonio Montalban has been an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Manila for 40 years.

About Masao, "Mazaua" and Butuan vs. Limasawa, Leyte debate:

1. Updated sources indicate that explorer Antonio Pigafetta erroneously replaced "Mazaua" with "Buthuan" in his eye-witness accounts. Fleet records of onboard scholars also indicate that Magellan had met with the native Kings of "Buthuan", Colambu and Siaiu.
2. The "Limasawa, Leyte" connection is continually contested due to evidence that the Isle of Homonhon, Limasawa, Leyte does not geographically "have the suitable anchorage" or the accurate coordinates that Mazaua was described to have (N 9º 40).

For more information on this debate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_mass_in_the_Philippines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_magellan

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• doctor
• antonio
• michael
• zerda
• montalban
• first
• mass
• Magellan
• Philippines
• Spaniard
• colonial
• native
• indigenous
• aqua
• farm
• fishpond
• masao
• beach
• river
• mazaua
• limasawa
• leyte
• butuan
• urios
• pinamanculan
• balanghai
• gold
• tara
• buddha
• history
• museum
• marble
• narra
• ironwood
• karaga
• caraga
• region
• 13
• jc
• aquino
• plaza
• Mount
• Mayapay
• Hilong-Hilong
• Bonbon
• Mindanao
• Agusan
• del
• Norte
• Gaisano
• Almont
• Inland
• Resort
• Luciana
• Inn
• Catholic
• Cross
• Deep
• Forest
• Sweet
• Lullaby

[my143jaycats]

i agree that Masao was the location of the first Philippine Catholic Mass not in Limasawa, Leyte..just examine the facts and evidence between Masao and Limasawa....

[nepcod23]

@npsvasquez

go into history books..simple as that or on your internet bro..it is very much clear and they even have a proof of a marker where FM and his crew planted in homonhon island.

[npsvasquez]

can you cite your clear deep research?

[nepcod23]

everything here is a hoax..the history is clear that homonhon is the island where magellan first landed. if you go into deep research it is for sure 100 percent...butuan should stop claiming this.

[fatimajoe]

the accounts said that the first mass was in a small island surrounded by a body of water. Masao Butuan is not surrounded by body of water. One point to take notice of is that in this land there is the most important landmark which is the Agusan River (Masao according to this video). Why is it that there no mention of this river in the accounts of figafitta? There is confusion in interpreting the history because in the account the king of butuan was present in Mazoa (Limasawa) during that visit.