Established in the 16th century, Vigan is considered the finest surviving example of a Spanish colonial town in Asia, with a unique European atmosphere… said the narrative. The logic: The Philippines was colonized by Spaniards centuries ago, these buildings are old, and Spain is in Europe. A ‘European atmosphere’ we weren’t to find, though there is no doubting Vigan is a quirky anomaly that doesn’t conform to an easily definable Asian cliché.
Dig a little deeper and you'll discover that the town’s original Chinese name "Bee Gan" became Vigan due to the Spanish penchant for mixing their B's and V's. Many of those old colonial buildings were constructed in an apparent Chinese/Mexican architectural mezcla by elite Chinese Creole families who adopted Hispanic family names, and live on to this day.
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