This year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Coinciding with this momentous occasion, the 31st ASEAN Summit is being held here in Manila this week until November 15, prompting protests, heavy traffic, and a former beauty queen committing serious traffic violation. But in the spirit of this historic occasion, let’s focus instead to what this site does best: urban roaming of course. In relation to the ASEAN theme going on in the metropolis, today the Urban Roamer takes you right between the walls of Intramuros where one of the Walled City’s defenses once stood. Where now stands an open park that, among others, is…
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Manila Memorial Park: The Vast Burial Ground in the South
With All Saints-All Souls Day already passed, it was a perfect occasion for the Urban Roamer to visit a cemetery anew. This time, we are headed south to visit what is probably the most prominent and the largest burial area in the southern metropolis: the Manila Memorial Park.
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Santuario del Santo Cristo: San Juan’s Original Church
The city of San Juan has a rich history in itself, dating back to the days of the Spanish colonial period when it was known before as San Juan del Monte or the town of St. John (the Baptist) of the mountain, owing to San Juan’s hilly elevation. Its storied past is something we will be getting to in the future from time to time but for starters, the Urban Roamer shall take you to the place where the city was born. Contrary to the belief of some, the church of San Juan we are referring to here is not the one located near Pinaglabanan, the one officially named St.…
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Revival Pains: The Case of the Paco Market and Estero de Paco Rehabilitation
In 2010, the government and partner agencies and organizations launched a massive drive to rehabilitate Estero de Paco as part of the greater and still-continuing campaign to rehabilitate Pasig River and its tributaries. As part of this drive, Paco Market, one of Paco’s iconic structures which is located alongside the Estero de Paco, was “redeveloped” as well as a showcase of the new Estero de Paco and, in a way, a new Paco as well. More or less a decade has passed since the Estero de Paco project was initiated and by and large, it seems most of the major rehabilitation work has been completed. It’s an opportunity to look…
