The man behind this masterpiece was a Spanish missionary called Fray Diego Cera Dela Virgen Del Carmel, who was in fact, the first parish priest in Las Piñas during the Spanish era. He came from the town of Graus (Huesca, Spain), but he settled in this part of the Philippines from 1795 to 1830.

Fr. Diego Cera started with the construction of the bamboo organ in 1816 and it was finished eight years after in 1824. It has gone through a lot since then.

During the 1880s, there was a typhoon and earthquake that damaged the roof of the church, which left the bamboo organ open to nature’s elements. The rainwater and stones got inside the organ case, which destroyed the instrument and made it unplayable for years. After that, the pipes were stored in the old sacristy and were forgotten about until around 1917 when a tourist rediscovered its beauty.

It was only in 1972 when the bamboo organ restoration project began. Johannes Klais Orgelbau was the one who was awarded the contract, and he had the organ shipped all the way to Bonn, Germany in 1973. After about a couple of years, the bamboo organ returned to its homeland in 1975.

Additionals: Pajaritos (bird song, 7 pipes) , Tambor ("drums", 2 pipes)

https://www.laspinascity.gov.ph/lifestyle/18/bamboo-organ
https://www.wazzup.ph/discover-the-worlds-largest-and-oldest-bamboo-organ-in-las-pinas/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_Organ