Pagsanjan Arch 3.08

Pagsanjan Arch also known as Puerto Real or Arco Real is a historic town gate of Pagsanjan, Laguna built from 1878 to 1880 under the supervision of Fray Cipriano Bac. The arch was built by the people of Pagsanjan to express gratitude to their patroness, the Our Lady of Guadalupe, from protecting the town from bandits in 1877.LocationThe arch is located at the western entrance of the town along the National Highway. It leads to Rizal Street (formerly Calle Real) of the town.HistoryThe Story of the Bandits and the Virgin of GuadalupeBandits were rampant in Laguna during the last years of the Spanish colonization. Even the guardia civil at that time cannot control the acts of the tulisanes. On midnight of December 8, 1877, a group of bandits led by Tangkad who already plundered the nearby town of Majayjay is nearly approaching the western entrance of Pagsanjan. When the bandits are approaching the town, a beautiful lady dressed in white and holding a shining sword appeared to them. Using her sword, she drew a line and proclaimed that the town is under her protection. The bandits experienced fear and immediately went to the mountains. Mang Juan, a sabungero who lives near the western entrance saw the whole event because of his insomnia that night. He told the event to the Spanish cura who later told it to the government authorities. All of them do not believe the story of Mang Juan until they went to the exact site and saw the mark of the Virgin's sword. To express their gratitude to their patroness, the Virgin of Guadalupe, they built a stone gate on the exact site where they saw the mark of the Virgin's sword.