These days, you may find it weird that a park can be situated in an unlikely neighborhood of sorts, surrounded by buildings and commercial establishments, right in the middle of intersecting roads which make it look like a rotunda plaza. Despite how “unfriendly” the site of Paco Park is today, it holds so much historical and cultural value that it has deserved the needed attention and preservation, all the more so now as urbanization and the decay it has brought is a serious threat not only to the park’s landscape but throughout the city as well.
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Santa Mesa’s “university town”: PUP Mabini Campus (Part 2)
If there’s one thing that would define a PUP Mabini experience, (whether you studied high school or college) and if there would one defining landmark of the campus that no true-blue PUP alumnus/alumna would miss, it would be the (in)famous lagoon right at the heart of the campus, with its algae-colored waters and the smell that has made it a stuff of legend. It’s also a pleasant surprise for me personally to see landmarks that you never knew as interesting before but have come to have a newfound appreciation as you learn things over time. Like for instance this building below which was and still serves as a canteen in…
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Santa Mesa’s “university town”: the PUP Mabini Campus (Part 1)
October 17 marks the anniversary of the country’s most highly populated university, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) which was first established in 1904 by the American colonial government as the Manila Business School. While the university is a network itself of campuses located around Metro Manila and elsewhere in the country, PUP will always be associated more with its main campus located in Santa Mesa, Manila. (somewhat in the same manner as Diliman is to the University of the Philippines) Santa Mesa’s association with the university began in the 1960’s when , in particular the area along the north bank of the Pasig River near the intersection of…
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Beyond the Palace: the heritage of San Miguel
Located along the northern bank of the Pasig River, not far from the bustling and often “chaotic” atmosphere of downtown is the community characterized in contrast by a low-key and more “quiet” atmosphere. An unassuming personality of its own, one would not realize at first how important this part of the city is not only in the city’s but also in the country’s geopolitical landscape. This is the district of San Miguel, more known to many as the place where Malacañang is located, AKA the residence of the country’s president. While this community being the site of Malacañang has somehow helped in keeping its distinct overall character, it also serves…