The Manila We Know
October 28, 2010
The following photos were taken inside Intramuros, Manila back when I was writing my thesis in college. Together with my adviser and two co-advisees, we went around various places in the city to somehow get a different perspective on the way how the city is shaped by its inhabitants and its location. Also, it’s one way to get out the fluff in our writing, a tendency that’s most likely to happen when you want to make your papers longer but lacking in depth.
Manila is truly one of the most misunderstood cities. Underneath all the noise, the smog and the dirt, lies a tortured space waiting to be rehabilitated. It’s not all bad, I think, because its old charm is retained in certain areas of the city. It’s dusty streets filled with laughter, with noises of life, gridlocked boulevards teeming with incessant honking of vehicles on their way somewhere and the occasional downpour that clogs the waterways of the city that was once the most beautiful city in Asia. Everytime I read about Old Manila in articles, journals and books, I could not help but feel a mixture of pride and disappointment. Nostalgia wouldn’t define it since I don’t have that historical experience to begin with, but still, it’s a shame that we could have at least that sense pride in having a heritage that’s truly ours.
Being fascinated with the city of Manila came from when I first read May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin. The influence of superstition being a part of Filipino life plays a pivotal role in the narrative. I was disturbed with the idea that you would be able to know who your future spouse is by reciting an incantation in front of the mirror on the last day of April, right before the first day of May breaks. What captured me are the images of Intramuros and colonial homes that dominated the architectural scene of that era. We can see these images in the description of Don Badoy visiting his old house in Intramuros which sent him into a nostalgic trip:
He stood up and looked out —— looked out upon the medieval shadows of the foul street where a couple of street-lamps flickered and a last carriage was rattling away upon the cobbles, while the blind black houses muttered hush-hush, their tiled roofs looming like sinister chessboards against a wild sky murky with clouds, save where an evil old moon prowled about in a corner or where a murderous wind whirled, whistling and whining, smelling now of the sea and now of the summer orchards and wafting unbearable the window; (Joaquin)
Describing Intramuros at the turn of the 19th century could very well be likened to London. A local Jack The Ripper could also be prowling the streets at night, waiting for his next victim. Nevertheless, there’s a certain elegance about the old city, the unhurried, genteel pre-war days where cultured people had the time to sit down and talk. I remember browsing through vintage photos of Manila and the Philippine Islands as documented by Westerners. The foreigners fell in love with the city because of its continuous progression which was influenced by Spanish, Chinese and American aesthetics mixed with our native ideologies. However, it was not only inside the Walled City that these scenarios thrived.
The nearby districts of Quiapo, Sampaloc, Ermita, Sta. Cruz, among others had their prized reputations as well. In those days, these areas were primarily residential districts with families who practically knew everyone in their neighborhood. The streets were lined with grand houses, in the style of a renovated “Bahay na Bato” with wide front yards and sprawling gardens. One could just imagine how it was like to live in those days. The calesa ruled the roads and the eventual introduction of the tranvia were the first wave of mass transportation in the city.
Almost a hundred years later, destitution has stayed in the city. There are innumerable qualities of Old Manila that are now gone because of the lack of preservation by its current inhabitants and there are other places that are now in danger of being wiped out. We can blame others for it, but how come we cannot seem to find a way to contribute in restoring the former beauty of our city, including other places in the country? If we keep on turning a blind eye for this, and let the government handle it, we all know what would happen.
Some of us might be wondering what Manila would look like if the events that led to its degradation did not happen. This city could still have its former grandeur, and people would have been more cultured. In the last 40 years, heritage sites have been demolished and replaced with commercial establishments, architectural marvels are left in ruins, the continuous influx of the passive and the transients, uncaring about the beauty of the city of Manila.
I’m still hoping that rehabilitating the city would be carried out soon and for those who care about this city, instead of moaning about the negative aspects of the urban area, we could lend a hand in any way we can. One aspect is through education because it enables people to have more knowledge about the history of the city and what we’re missing. I’m sure we would all love to live in a time where Manila has greatly improved, an inkling of its glittering past.