Google doodle on 195th anniversary of Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in Philippines

Google today celebrates the 195^th anniversary of the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ on November 24. Of its 1031 pipes 902 are made of bamboo.

The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas City, Philippines, is a 19^th-century church organ with unique organ pipes. It was completed after 6 years of work in 1824 by Father Diego Cera, the builder of the town's stone church and its first resident Catholic parish priest.

The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ was completed in 1824 under the direction of Spanish missionary Fray Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmel. The organ is still operational and has been playing daily for nearly 45 years since its reconstruction.

In the 1880s, natural disasters severely damaged the instrument of the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ, silencing it until a restoration project started in 1972. The organ was moved from Las Piñas to Bonn, Germany, where it underwent a full reconstruction, returning to the island in 1975. The homecoming celebrations morphed into the International Bamboo Organ Festival, held every February. On this day in 2003, the Bamboo Organ was named a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The Bamboo Organ Foundation oversees the annual celebrations where some of the most famous organists from around the world have come to perform. In the 44 years since the return to Las Piñas, the organ and festival in its honor have become synonymous with Filipino cultural expression.

The Bamboo Organ was declared a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines in 2003. The St. Joseph Parish Church, with the famous organ and the church museum at the old convent house, is a popular tourist destination for Filipinos and foreign visitors alike in Las Piñas.