Wender·Vista
Cabanatuan
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePhilippines
on the Pampanga River, in the rice plain of Central Luzon

Cabanatuan

— — a town the night the prisoners came home.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city in Nueva Ecija, two hours north of Manila, set in the flat green of the rice country. The name carries one of the heaviest dates of the Pacific war, the night in January 1945 when Rangers and Filipino guerrillas walked through a guarded camp and out again with five hundred American prisoners. The marker still stands at the old camp site east of town, in a quiet field that smells like wet rice. — from the studio

from the studio
Cabanatuan
— bring it home

Cabanatuan, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Cabanatuan

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Cabanatuan is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, on the Pampanga River in the centre of the Central Luzon rice plain, about 120 kilometres north of Manila. The 2020 census recorded a population of around 327,000, making it one of the larger inland cities in Luzon. It sits at roughly 36 metres above sea level on alluvial soil that drains the eastern Sierra Madre foothills, ground that has carried wet-rice agriculture for centuries and gives the surrounding province its long-standing name as the rice granary of the Philippines.

— the year

The date the city is best known for is 30 January 1945, when U.S. 6th Ranger Battalion troops under Lt. Col. Henry Mucci, with Alamo Scouts and roughly 280 Filipino guerrillas under Captains Juan Pajota and Eduardo Joson, raided the Japanese prison camp at Cabu, east of the city, and freed 489 American POWs and 33 Allied civilians. Most of the prisoners were survivors of the 1942 Bataan Death March. The raid took about thirty minutes and is still studied at the United States Army Ranger School as a model of special-operations planning.

— the visit

The Cabanatuan American Memorial sits at the site of the former camp, in Barangay Cabu about eight kilometres east of the city centre, and is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The names of the prisoners who died at the camp are inscribed on the wall, and the marker stands open to visitors year-round at no charge. The city itself is reached from Manila by the North Luzon Expressway and the Plaridel Bypass, then provincial roads, a drive of roughly two and a half hours in light traffic.

— where
Philippines · Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija
— elevation
36 m · 118 ft
— position
15.4869° N · 120.9675° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
8 km E
Cabanatuan American Memorial
war memorial
1 km W
Pampanga River
river
30 km E
Sierra Madre foothills
mountain range
N
Cabanatuan
Cabanatuan American Memorial
Pampanga River
Sierra Madre foothills
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cabanatuan — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Cabanatuan is a city in Nueva Ecija province, in the Central Luzon rice plain about 120 kilometres north of Manila. It sits on the Pampanga River at roughly 36 metres above sea level.

On 30 January 1945, U.S. Rangers and Filipino guerrillas freed 489 American POWs and 33 Allied civilians from a Japanese camp east of the city. Most were Bataan Death March survivors.

Yes. The Cabanatuan American Memorial sits at the former camp site in Barangay Cabu, eight kilometres east of the city, maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission and open without charge.

The 2020 census recorded around 327,000 residents, making Cabanatuan one of the larger inland cities of Luzon and the commercial centre of Nueva Ecija province.

Rice. Nueva Ecija is the rice granary of the Philippines, and the flat alluvial fields around Cabanatuan have carried wet-rice farming for centuries on soil draining the Sierra Madre foothills.

By the North Luzon Expressway and the Plaridel Bypass, then provincial roads to Cabanatuan, a drive of roughly two and a half hours in light traffic. Buses run regularly from Cubao.

— about the piece in your home

Often, yes. The city is a strong anchor for Filipino-American families, particularly those whose grandfathers served. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries the recognition well.

It has been, for many of our customers. The Cabanatuan raid is taught in Ranger School and remembered closely by veteran families. A Keepsake or Coaster Set sits well on a desk or a side table.

The piece carries well in warm tropical interiors, mid-century rooms with rattan and dark wood, and quiet Filipino-modern spaces. The green-and-river palette reads against cream walls and brass.

Above a standard sofa or console, a single Large reads from across the room. For a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the rice plain and the river; a 9-tile Mural becomes the room's anchor.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. The Glossy finish is intended for framed wall art away from direct water.

A microfibre cloth and warm water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia-based sprays. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish and does not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license images in or out. The eye is Reid's; the hand-finishing is done in-house.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.