"Men have immortalized their names in paint and marble, but it was left for Padre Diego Cera to build to himself a monument in bamboo, and a more interesting and unique memorial could scarcely be found.

He came to the Philippines to build organs, and when he arrived, there was neither metal, nor suitable wood, nor tanned leather, nor wire, nor pipes, nor keys, nor anything else with which organs were usually made; but with a genius worthy of an eighteenth century Edison, he rose to the occasion and built an organ of bamboo."

George Miller, 1912

  Fray Diego Cera was the talented son of Joaquin Cera and Francisca Badía, born on the 26th of July, 1762 in Graus (Province of Huesca), Spain. He was already a good organist at the time he took his vows in the convent of Barcelona (today the Parish of Santa Monica) on the 30th of January 1787.   He later spent some time in Zaragoza until 1790.

  As a member of the convent of Benabarre,  he left Spain between November 28 and December 7 to become a missionary monk of the order of the Augustinian Recollects to Spanish occupied lands.  The route took him to Cadiz and then to Mexico where they arrived towards the end of February 1791.  After crossing Mexico, they embarked on a journey to the Philippines on the 6th of February 1792.

  Shortly after arriving in the Philippines, his love for music and his knowledge in making instruments showed early on when he constructed a "Piano-Forte" dedicated to the Queen of Spain, which was sent to her on 31st of October, 1793.  As tokens of gratitude, the Queen later gifted Padre Diego Cera a church bell, a caliz and a vinajeras made of gold.   

  His first missionary assignment took him to Mabalacat in the province of Pampanga (around 100 Km. north of Manila) on June 1794.  

  In 1816 when the stone church was already on its final stage of construction, he began the construction of the Bamboo Organ.  He finished the organ but without the horizontal trumpets in 1821.  And in 1824, the installation of the reeds completed the instrument.

  He proved to be more than just a priest.  It is believed that Padre Diego Cera was also the first urban planner of Las Piñas after constructing two bridges and paving roads along the church.  He also improved the salt gathering from the salt beds.  He had written works about dyeing, perfecting the art of dyeing using native raw materials.  He was also very knowledgeable in the tanning of leather and hides.

  He served as Parish Priest of Las Piñas until the 15th of May, 1832 when he was forced to give up his duties because of severe illness.  A month later, on June 24, he died in the convent of San Sebastian in Manila.