Special Feature Archives - Page 7 of 10

Manila1945: The UST Standoff

February 8, 2015 by The Urban Roamer

When the Japanese occupied Manila in January 1942, they took control of the then-newly established campus of University of Santo Tomas in the city’s Sampaloc district. With such a large tract of property and the large structures there that were already standing by that time, notably the UST Main Building and the old Education Building, (now occupied by the UST Hospital) the Japanese decided to convert the campus into an the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.

The Japanese rounded up about 4,000 foreign individuals, mostly American and British nationals who were deemed as “hostile aliens” by the Japanese and isolated them in the different buildings in the campus, most notably the Main Building. With that, the Santo Tomas Internment Camp was the largest internment camp the Japanese set up during the war; the internees organized themselves as an effort to make do of the situation. At first, the internment wards gave the prisoners some relative freedom so visitors could come and give them needed goods, not to mention some intelligence information, along the way. But as the tide of war was turning against Japan, the prisoners were given harsher treatment which was coupled by a shortening food supply which has resulted into malnourishment, if not death, among the internees. Such were the state of things as February 1945 entered.

Manila1945: An Introduction

February 3, 2016February 3, 2015 by The Urban Roamer

Not many realize it but this year marks the 70th anniversary of one of the darkest and most devastating chapters in the history of Manila and of the country as a whole, an event we know today as the Battle of Manila in 1945 in which American and Japanese forces fought in a bloody, devastating battle in a bid to liberate Manila from Japanese control that lasted for about a month.

This was the singular event that would change Manila forever as the city once known as the “Pearl of the Orient” became one of the most devastated cities during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost and many of the city’s important infrastructure and landmarks were heavily damaged, if not totally destroyed, many of which would not be rebuilt ever again.

In commemoration of this event, the Urban Roamer will be having a special feature “Manila1945.” From time to time from now until early March, we will be dedicating some entries here to the sites and landmarks that have figured in the Battle of Manila of 1945 in one way or another. I hope that these entries will, in some way, help bring about a better understanding of what happened then and how it has affected Manila and the people since then. And what better way to begin our understanding of these events by a little history lesson of how it began…

A New Year Celebration Postscript

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 by The Urban Roamer

If there’s one thing to know about New Year celebrations in Metropolitan Manila, it’s that the city goes all out. No matter where you are in the metropolis, there’s no missing the bright and grand fireworks to greet the new year. And as the video below shows, the whole city just goes bonkers in the celebration.

And that video, taken from Gramercy Residences in Century City, made its way to popular news website Mashable, which boldly proclaimed that Manila’s fireworks wins over the New Year fireworks in New York City.

The State of Philippine Heritage

October 27, 2014 by The Urban Roamer

As long-time readers and those who long been following the Urban Roamer would know, I have long been appreciating heritage. Over the years, I have been fortunate to meet a number of people who are passionate about it as well, thus helping me expand my knowledge and appreciation about our heritage and somehow become part of a continuing struggle to preserve what is left.

That struggle, sadly, is an uphill battle that is not easy to win. In fact, a number of these battles turned out to be bitter and devastating defeats on the part of heritage. While it is easy to pinpoint blame as to who are responsible for such sorry state our heritage is facing at the moment, let’s take a look closer as we find out that addressing these issues is not as simple as it seems. With that said, let’s first look at the situation we have right now.