Palaces Teus House: Christina Ford slept here.

Byline: Joseph Cortes, Contributor

GONZALO CAMACHO was busy shuffling printouts of vintage photos from his familys collection. He was trying to match the photos with the existing architectural details of what is known as the Teus Mansion in San Miguel district in Manila.

The Teus Mansion, now one of Malacanangs many guesthouses, was the home of Camachos forebears. His grandmother, Concepcion Teus, grew up in the house. Concepcion, or Concha in her youth, is now 87 and living in Spain. It is her dying wish to see the house where she grew up; however, she is not strong enough to endure the trip to Manila.

Her grandson Gonzalo and granddaughters Maria Jose Camacho and Lourdes Cabral made the trip early this month in her stead. It is the first time Conchas granddaughters are seeing the house for themselves. Gonzalo first saw it in 1985 when he went to Manila on his honeymoon.

Gonzalo recalls his first visit to the Teus Mansion, located at the corner of Gen. Solano and J. Nepomuceno (formerly Tanduay) streets.

I knocked on the gate and pleaded to be allowed to see the house, he says. The guards on duty relented after much argument with the Spaniard, who could speak only in halting English.

The trip resulted in a photo of Gonzalo sitting by the fountain that stands right outside the Teus Mansion.

That encounter only piqued …