The Urban Roamer

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds*” the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

October 28, 2014November 5, 2011 by The Urban Roamer

*quote by General John Pershing, American war hero who served during the First World War

From 1941-1945, the Philippines was a part of a greater battlefield that was the Pacific theater of the Second World War as the forces of Japan and of the United States clashed in a series of encounters aptly described as “hell on earth.” Countless lives were lost as a result, especially among the American troops who fought valiantly for their motherland.

Once the war was over, the United States government drew up plans as to how to honor its fallen troops. A decision was made to put up a memorial ground on what was then the sprawling soon-to-be former military grounds of Fort McKinley (renamed a few years later to Fort Bonifacio) in the soon-to-be-independent US colony that was the Philippines. As soon as the Philippine government gave the green light, work began on what was to be the largest American war cemetery in terms of size. (it was, after all, 152 acres of land)

Death: Chinese style at the Manila Chinese Cemetery

October 28, 2014October 29, 2011 by The Urban Roamer

It’s that morbid time of the year once again. And continuing the tradition I started last year, the Urban Roamer is going to take you once again to some creepy place in the metropolis. Creepy and interesting at the same time.

For this adventure, we are back at Manila’s old cemetery complex. While we visited the Catholic cemetery of La Loma the last time, this time we are at a neighboring cemetery known as the Manila Chinese Cemetery.

Discovering the birthplace of Philippine television

June 5, 2014October 21, 2011 by The Urban Roamer

October 23, 1953 is a milestone event in the history of Philippine mass media, and of Philippine television in particular. This date is now being celebrated as the birth date, so to speak, of television in the Philippines.

The idea of television in the Philippines was something seriously thought about since after World War II as the country was trying to rebuild after the destruction it experienced. In fact it was the dream of an American engineer named James Lindenberg that the country would be the first in Asia to have the first television broadcast through the company he founded in June 13, 1946: the Bolinao Electronics Corporation. (BEC)

James Lindenberg (courtesy of Xiao Chua)

Heritage and some Kapuso history: the Calvo Building at Escolta

August 3, 2014October 16, 2011 by The Urban Roamer

Long before Makati’s Ayala Avenue, Manila’s premier street business for any business or commercial establishment would be that one street in Manila’s Binondo district known as Escolta.

From the late 19th century to the 1960’s, Escolta was a thriving street of trade and commerce. At its height in the 1930’s the whole street was lined with elegant buildings from end to end, most of them sporting classy architecture that dominated and beautified Manila’s skyline. One of those buildings that rose during that period was a little building near the corner of Escolta and Calle Soda called the Calvo Building. (or to the Hispanics like the Calvo family who had it built, Edificio Calvo)