Can you imagine yourself having dinner in a centuries-old house which has preserved and dining in the midst of its furniture and other household items still intact in their old state? We get to read and hear places like these in travel shows and books that deal with places outside the country. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a dining place like this here in our country, in a city such as Manila to be precise, where much of its old heritage have either disappeared or left to neglect. It’s one of those (somewhat) best kept secrets in Manila’s San Miguel district, the place where some of the old…
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The soul of Quezon City (part 3): the Quezon Memorial Circle
From its original purpose as the site of what supposed to be our National Capitol of a new capital city, the elliptical-shaped land was eventually converted to a park and a memorial to the capital city’s founder and Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon. Even so, the Quezon Memorial Circle that we have today is a far cry from what it was originally intended: it would be more of a grand memorial (with an auditorium, library, and a bit larger museum) dedicated to Quezon rather than the green landscape we now see.
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Well what do you know? It’s been a year already!
As I was writing the next installment of my series on the Quezon Memorial Circle, I realized that it has been a year already that I have been writing about my chronicles in urban roaming. It was on August 15, 2009 that I first embarked on a journey that I never thought would go this far. Perhaps my passion for the city I have lived and loved has sustained my energy to continue doing this “job” not just for myself but for the many others that they may at least have a sense of appreciation and understanding of the city they tend to overlook and dismiss at times. Throughout that…
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The soul of Quezon City (part 2): the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum
While the administration of the Quezon Memorial Circle is handled by the Quezon City Government, the Quezon Memorial Shrine on the other hand is being administered by the National Historical Commission, not only because of the significance of the structure itself, but also because of the heritage it holds inside: a rich throve of memorabilia related to Manuel Quezon. At the foot of the shrine is a small museum dedicated to Quezon, one of the few examples of a dedicated presidential museum in the country. The best thing about this place is that it is open to the general public for free; rather, it encourages donations from the visiting public…