It was September 29, 1890, which happened to be the feast of St. Michael and the rest of the Archangels, when a fellow named Enrique Barretto y Ycaza opened up a brewery in the Manila suburb named after the aforementioned saint. With a royal grant from Spain, Enrique decided to name the brewery after that suburb where he has lived and worked. So began the history of Fabrica Cerveza de San Miguel, the brewery which would become the San Miguel Corporation we would know today. The document which bore that royal grant had the old seal of Manila insigned with a crown above it. Seeing the significance of this seal,…
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The church and the community of the archangel-soldier
The late 16th-early 17th centuries which marked the beginnings of Spanish rule in the Philippines, in Manila in particular, also marked the influx of migrants to this newly-Christianized city. Most of these migrants are Japanese refugees fleeing from the persecution of Christians by Japan’s shogun government. (who eventually closed the country from foreign contact) They eventually settled in what is now the area of San Marcelino in northern Ermita. To meet the needs of this new community, the Spanish Jesuits decided to erect a parish for them. By 1611, the church was finished and the parish established, dedicated to the archangel-soldier St. Michael or San Miguel. It has been said…
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Newport City and the evolution of an entertainment complex
It is no secret that Newport City aims to be a premier entertainment complex that boasts of a strategic location, thanks to its proximity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport whose Terminal 3 is just right across it. In fact, it has been given a certification by Philippine Economic Zone Authority as a Tourism Economic Zone. One of the components for this complex are the hotels. At present, 2 hotels are now operational, 1 is currently under construction, and yet another 1 is being planned. The fact that 4 hotels are being envisioned to rise here is a sign of how optimistic the developers/partners Megaworld and Genting Group are with…
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Newport City: one year later
It was late August last year when I last visited the young Newport City to check out the entertainment complex there called Resorts World Manila which had its opening that time. Since it was night time and considering the activity that was going on in the development site, I haven’t checked out the area quite much that time. And I did promise to come back to see what’s going on. It took me a little over a year, but I came back as promised, as an urban roamer who is out to fully explore what’s out there and what’s new at that township development project of Megaworld that is Newport…