Thanks too Hawayano for posting great pics.

Thanks too Hawayano for posting great pics.

The tragedy was--we were supposedly the allies of the Americans and yet, the Americans did nt bomb Kyoto. They even fuelled the Japanese economy to its global status after the war. The Philippines became important only because of the Vietnam and cold wars. After Vietnam and the cold war, we practically didnt get anything from them. They destroyed Manila during the war. These days, most Americans don't even know that America had colonized the Philippines.


Just think about Hiroshima and Nagasaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki).... I think those were too much of a destruction already that made Japan to stop fighting and the war to end.
The Philippines has been receiving a lot from Uncle Sam since after the war, billions of $ a year for the use of those 2 big bases and some small port of call and properties. What happened to those $$$? Just ask Marcos and his cronies.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Hiroshima_aftermath.jpg


And who ruined what? The main reason why Macarthur declared Manila as an Open City is to preserve it and minimized its destruction from the invading Japanese.
And when the Americans landed in Leyte, the main objective is to enclose Manila in all points and to force the Japanese to surrender keeping Manila intact. But the Japanese in their retreat mostly destroyed the city and committed one of the most gruesome atrocities of war. Thus the bombing of Manila by the US forces had to be done to finally secured it.

The tragedy was--we were supposedly the allies of the Americans and yet, the Americans did nt bomb Kyoto. They even fuelled the Japanese economy to its global status after the war. The Philippines became important only because of the Vietnam and cold wars. After Vietnam and the cold war, we practically didnt get anything from them. They destroyed Manila during the war. These days, most Americans don't even know that America had colonized the Philippines.


Just think about Hiroshima and Nagasaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki).... I think those were too much of a destruction already that made Japan to stop fighting and the war to end.
The Philippines has been receiving a lot from Uncle Sam since after the war, billions of $ a year for the use of those 2 big bases and some small port of call and properties. What happened to those $$$? Just ask Marcos and his cronies.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Hiroshima_aftermath.jpg


And who ruined what? The main reason why Macarthur declared Manila as an Open City is to preserve it and minimized its destruction from the invading Japanese.
And when the Americans landed in Leyte, the main objective is to enclose Manila in all points and to force the Japanese to surrender keeping Manila intact. But the Japanese in their retreat mostly destroyed the city and committed one of the most gruesome atrocities of war. Thus the bombing of Manila by the US forces had to be done to finally secured it.

Kyoto is where Japan's cultural treasures are. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo are younger cities. Nothing much to destroy. But Kyoto was preserved. Nanghinayang sila. That didnt happen in Manila.

The Americans still pumped up the Japanese economy instead of focusing mostly on its Asian ally (the Philippines). The offered money, etc. but it wasn't as generous as what the enemy--Japan, had received.

After the 1950s, the Philippines was eclipsed by Japan as the top Asian nation, thanks to the support of America.

The Japanese were at fault. Our officials were at fault. But the Americans were too.

Kyoto is where Japan's cultural treasures are. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo are younger cities. Nothing much to destroy. But Kyoto was preserved. Nanghinayang sila. That didnt happen in Manila.

The Americans still pumped up the Japanese economy instead of focusing mostly on its Asian ally (the Philippines). The offered money, etc. but it wasn't as generous as what the enemy--Japan, had received.

After the 1950s, the Philippines was eclipsed by Japan as the top Asian nation, thanks to the support of America.

The Japanese were at fault. Our officials were at fault. But the Americans were too.

Both the Japanese and the Americans were at fault in destroying Manila.

The Philippines has been receiving a lot from Uncle Sam since after the war, billions of $ a year for the use of those 2 big bases and some small port of call and properties. What happened to those $$$? Just ask Marcos and his cronies.


It is but right that they pay for the use of those bases and our natural resources. Those bases also resulted in the prostitution of destitute Filipinas and their families. When the bases left, there where ecological wastes and detritus left there. And don't forget the lop-sided economic policies that they have left in place in the Philippines that effectively left us as a 'banana republic' for decades while the US assisted Japan to full economic recovery.

What was ravaged was not only our lands, our morality but also the collective psyche of the people.

Both the Japanese and the Americans were at fault in destroying Manila.

The Philippines has been receiving a lot from Uncle Sam since after the war, billions of $ a year for the use of those 2 big bases and some small port of call and properties. What happened to those $$$? Just ask Marcos and his cronies.


It is but right that they pay for the use of those bases and our natural resources. Those bases also resulted in the prostitution of destitute Filipinas and their families. When the bases left, there where ecological wastes and detritus left there. And don't forget the lop-sided economic policies that they have left in place in the Philippines that effectively left us as a 'banana republic' for decades while the US assisted Japan to full economic recovery.

What was ravaged was not only our lands, our morality but also the collective psyche of the people.

germany and japan's reparation commitments caused uncle sam to pour in money in both defeated nations.... let's blame our KAKULELATAN on our pasts leaders who left us a dismal legacy :) , opinion lang po....

germany and japan's reparation commitments caused uncle sam to pour in money in both defeated nations.... let's blame our KAKULELATAN on our pasts leaders who left us a dismal legacy :) , opinion lang po....

Both the Japanese and the Americans were at fault in destroying Manila.



It is but right that they pay for the use of those bases and our natural resources. Those bases also resulted in the prostitution of destitute Filipinas and their families. When the bases left, there where ecological wastes and detritus left there. And don't forget the lop-sided economic policies that they have left in place in the Philippines that effectively left us as a 'banana republic' for decades while the US assisted Japan to full economic recovery.

What was ravaged was not only our lands, our morality but also the collective psyche of the people.

Japanese and Filipinos have different attitudes in life. You can not just help someone who don't help themselves. The rebuilding process of the Japanese after the war was in no means a walk in the park. Macarthur park :lol: his butt over there to manage everything and it turned out well for them. If you have spoken to some Japanese elders who survived the rebuilding process, they still find the Americans their worst enemies.
How much does anyone need to a full economic recovery? Even after the US bases were gone, a yearly budget of over $200 million in AID by the US for the Philippines thru USAID is something that other countries don't have.

About the ecological wastes and detritus left behind you just need to search the web for how it was or being taken care off.

And about morality issues ~ if the people hang on to their strong faith, there will be no moral issues. If you happen to be in Clark area recently, I think, there are more bars and nightclubs than before. It is part of survival or some easy bucks to some.

Both the Japanese and the Americans were at fault in destroying Manila.



It is but right that they pay for the use of those bases and our natural resources. Those bases also resulted in the prostitution of destitute Filipinas and their families. When the bases left, there where ecological wastes and detritus left there. And don't forget the lop-sided economic policies that they have left in place in the Philippines that effectively left us as a 'banana republic' for decades while the US assisted Japan to full economic recovery.

What was ravaged was not only our lands, our morality but also the collective psyche of the people.

Japanese and Filipinos have different attitudes in life. You can not just help someone who don't help themselves. The rebuilding process of the Japanese after the war was in no means a walk in the park. Macarthur park :lol: his butt over there to manage everything and it turned out well for them. If you have spoken to some Japanese elders who survived the rebuilding process, they still find the Americans their worst enemies.
How much does anyone need to a full economic recovery? Even after the US bases were gone, a yearly budget of over $200 million in AID by the US for the Philippines thru USAID is something that other countries don't have.

About the ecological wastes and detritus left behind you just need to search the web for how it was or being taken care off.

And about morality issues ~ if the people hang on to their strong faith, there will be no moral issues. If you happen to be in Clark area recently, I think, there are more bars and nightclubs than before. It is part of survival or some easy bucks to some.

Kyoto is where Japan's cultural treasures are. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo are younger cities. Nothing much to destroy. But Kyoto was preserved. Nanghinayang sila. That didnt happen in Manila.

The Americans still pumped up the Japanese economy instead of focusing mostly on its Asian ally (the Philippines). The offered money, etc. but it wasn't as generous as what the enemy--Japan, had received.

After the 1950s, the Philippines was eclipsed by Japan as the top Asian nation, thanks to the support of America.

The Japanese were at fault. Our officials were at fault. But the Americans were too.

Nanghihinayang sila? or just the Secretary of War?

Is this about extermination of cultures?

You mean Manila was devastated more than the 2 cities of Japan?

I don't know how to argue with you on that, war is an ugly thing that happened in this world, righteousness sometimes doesn’t play a part on them.

Kyoto is where Japan's cultural treasures are. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo are younger cities. Nothing much to destroy. But Kyoto was preserved. Nanghinayang sila. That didnt happen in Manila.

The Americans still pumped up the Japanese economy instead of focusing mostly on its Asian ally (the Philippines). The offered money, etc. but it wasn't as generous as what the enemy--Japan, had received.

After the 1950s, the Philippines was eclipsed by Japan as the top Asian nation, thanks to the support of America.

The Japanese were at fault. Our officials were at fault. But the Americans were too.

Nanghihinayang sila? or just the Secretary of War?

Is this about extermination of cultures?

You mean Manila was devastated more than the 2 cities of Japan?

I don't know how to argue with you on that, war is an ugly thing that happened in this world, righteousness sometimes doesn’t play a part on them.

And about morality issues ~ if the people hang on to their strong faith, there will be no moral issues. If you happen to be in Clark area recently, I think, there are more bars and nightclubs than before. It is part of survival or some easy bucks to some.

Easier said than done when people are wallowing in poverty.

The reality is, the USA had taken our country for granted. They have favored countries that were originally hostile to them because they want to have the appearance of benevolent victors of the war. Always 'winning hearts and minds'.
Why do they have to pacify those who are already 'kowtowing' to them out of survival and a few pittance?

What they did in the Philippines was supported leaders/ politicians whom they know they can easily manipulate.

For years, our lands were owned, leased and exploited by multinationals (mainly owned by US) to exploit our natural resources. Why did you think the more stringent measures of land ownership, corporate ownership, mineral rights, etc. came about in the 1987 Constitution? That was a reaction to the oligarchy and monopoly that happened in our country.

And about morality issues ~ if the people hang on to their strong faith, there will be no moral issues. If you happen to be in Clark area recently, I think, there are more bars and nightclubs than before. It is part of survival or some easy bucks to some.

Easier said than done when people are wallowing in poverty.

The reality is, the USA had taken our country for granted. They have favored countries that were originally hostile to them because they want to have the appearance of benevolent victors of the war. Always 'winning hearts and minds'.
Why do they have to pacify those who are already 'kowtowing' to them out of survival and a few pittance?

What they did in the Philippines was supported leaders/ politicians whom they know they can easily manipulate.

For years, our lands were owned, leased and exploited by multinationals (mainly owned by US) to exploit our natural resources. Why did you think the more stringent measures of land ownership, corporate ownership, mineral rights, etc. came about in the 1987 Constitution? That was a reaction to the oligarchy and monopoly that happened in our country.

^^ I also read about this. Kyoto being the old capital of Japan, was spared by bombing by the Americans.

In addition, in the south of Manila, the people where said to be cursing more the Americans than the Japanese, since the area was bombarded heavily by the Americans. I guess it is what we call in modern day parlance as collateral damage.

Since the thrust of the American policy during the war was Europe first, Pres. Quezon was reputed to have commented something like "typical American, to help first a distant cousin than to help a daughter being rape in the backroom." So much for being a colony and an ally.

One of the best thing that happened in Pres. Aquino's term and for me the best result or product during that Congress' was the expulsion of the US bases in our country. Good riddance.

I recall a report a few years ago, that our country was not that high in the priority list of the US in this part of the world. Whatever that means.

^^ I also read about this. Kyoto being the old capital of Japan, was spared by bombing by the Americans.

In addition, in the south of Manila, the people where said to be cursing more the Americans than the Japanese, since the area was bombarded heavily by the Americans. I guess it is what we call in modern day parlance as collateral damage.

Since the thrust of the American policy during the war was Europe first, Pres. Quezon was reputed to have commented something like "typical American, to help first a distant cousin than to help a daughter being rape in the backroom." So much for being a colony and an ally.

One of the best thing that happened in Pres. Aquino's term and for me the best result or product during that Congress' was the expulsion of the US bases in our country. Good riddance.

I recall a report a few years ago, that our country was not that high in the priority list of the US in this part of the world. Whatever that means.

^^ Yeah, when we think about it, how many decades were the US bases paying millions of dollars to the Philippines and we still accumulated gargantuan debts.

They even built a communist scare psyche to the Filipinos then, so that the Filipinos will be appreciative of their presence when in fact, our location was very strategic for US interests in Asia.

So, we have to be scared about Mao Ze Dong when we had our very own dictator Marcos running the country like some communist regime, martial law and all.

There was a time that your avarage American did not even know the Philippines existed. They may know 'Manila' in passing yes, but the Philippines was not on their map.

^^ Yeah, when we think about it, how many decades were the US bases paying millions of dollars to the Philippines and we still accumulated gargantuan debts.

They even built a communist scare psyche to the Filipinos then, so that the Filipinos will be appreciative of their presence when in fact, our location was very strategic for US interests in Asia.

So, we have to be scared about Mao Ze Dong when we had our very own dictator Marcos running the country like some communist regime, martial law and all.

There was a time that your avarage American did not even know the Philippines existed. They may know 'Manila' in passing yes, but the Philippines was not on their map.

USAID ---- I used to work for an NGO and I know the process of getting "a slice of the alleged pie." No comment on how the Americans distribute the funds.

You mean Manila was devastated more than the 2 cities of Japan? ---- Actually, Manila was the second most devastated city during WWII. Warsaw, Poland was on top of the list.

USAID ---- I used to work for an NGO and I know the process of getting "a slice of the alleged pie." No comment on how the Americans distribute the funds.

You mean Manila was devastated more than the 2 cities of Japan? ---- Actually, Manila was the second most devastated city during WWII. Warsaw, Poland was on top of the list.

^^ ^^ yep, stats on damage estimates to infrastructure, buildings, property (of course, in addition to lives) all add up to ranking us 2nd after the Polish capital. Hiroshima and Nagasaki death tolls are fewer than the revised estimates for Manila, where the devastation was protracted over one month as opposed to the single bomb drop on each of those Japanese cities.

But tsinoy is right in that the bottom line is, war is wrong--period!

^^ ^^ yep, stats on damage estimates to infrastructure, buildings, property (of course, in addition to lives) all add up to ranking us 2nd after the Polish capital. Hiroshima and Nagasaki death tolls are fewer than the revised estimates for Manila, where the devastation was protracted over one month as opposed to the single bomb drop on each of those Japanese cities.

But tsinoy is right in that the bottom line is, war is wrong--period!

^^^^^^

Besides Kyoto, Nara, was also spared. What really destroyed the Philippine countryside was the systematic bombing, not only of Manila but also of the more important towns. It was reasoned out that these were being used as hiding places by the Japanese, like the church of Sta Cruz, the town center of Antipolo, Tayabas Quezon,to mention a few, just like what happened to the rest of the country. The sad thing about the Battle for Manila was the need to take the city in the shortest possible time. Destruction can be minimized if they were more careful, otherwise, UST would have also been destroyed, together with all the death of US prisoners of war. But that didn't happen.

Well, both sides will always have their reason. After the war, it would be worthwhile to ponder. Hehehehe. Just look at Hiroshima, the Genbaku dome actually signifier of peace: "it also expresses the hope for world peace"

The ListWorld Heritage List
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
Japan
Hiroshima Prefecture
N34 23 E132 27
ref: 775


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vi)

Brief Description
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind; it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Justification for Inscription
The Committee decided to inscribe the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) on the World Heritage List, exceptionally on the basis of cultural criterion (vi).


http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/775

^^^^^^

Besides Kyoto, Nara, was also spared. What really destroyed the Philippine countryside was the systematic bombing, not only of Manila but also of the more important towns. It was reasoned out that these were being used as hiding places by the Japanese, like the church of Sta Cruz, the town center of Antipolo, Tayabas Quezon,to mention a few, just like what happened to the rest of the country. The sad thing about the Battle for Manila was the need to take the city in the shortest possible time. Destruction can be minimized if they were more careful, otherwise, UST would have also been destroyed, together with all the death of US prisoners of war. But that didn't happen.

Well, both sides will always have their reason. After the war, it would be worthwhile to ponder. Hehehehe. Just look at Hiroshima, the Genbaku dome actually signifier of peace: "it also expresses the hope for world peace"

The ListWorld Heritage List
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
Japan
Hiroshima Prefecture
N34 23 E132 27
ref: 775


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vi)

Brief Description
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind; it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Justification for Inscription
The Committee decided to inscribe the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) on the World Heritage List, exceptionally on the basis of cultural criterion (vi).


http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/775

It was also said that some of the churches in northern Luzon where also bombed by the Americans.

It was also said that some of the churches in northern Luzon where also bombed by the Americans.

Toinks!, I wish I can reply to you all in one simple sentence.


Here it is....

I just see things in life different than most of you.



I'll just quote the Dalai Lama:

Hatred is far worse than any ordinary enemy. Of course, ordinary enemies harm us: that is why we call them enemies. But the harm they do is not just in order to make us unhappy; it is also meant to be of some "help" to themselves or their friends. Hatred, the inner enemy, however, has no other function but to destroy our positive actions and make us unhappy.

Toinks!, I wish I can reply to you all in one simple sentence.


Here it is....

I just see things in life different than most of you.



I'll just quote the Dalai Lama:

Hatred is far worse than any ordinary enemy. Of course, ordinary enemies harm us: that is why we call them enemies. But the harm they do is not just in order to make us unhappy; it is also meant to be of some "help" to themselves or their friends. Hatred, the inner enemy, however, has no other function but to destroy our positive actions and make us unhappy.

I don't think the previous posts (at least for me) is fostering hatred towards America or the Americans. I don't think even to the Japanese. It was just stating how askew/unfair (American) policy towards the Philippines. I think the recent posts would just like to show or state some historical tidbits and to a certain degree the unfairness of what happened.

War together with hate is a very, very evil thing. Sometimes hatred could start a war. No good can come out of war and hatred. "In war we are all losers" (if this is a quote, I forgot who said this).

I don't think the previous posts (at least for me) is fostering hatred towards America or the Americans. I don't think even to the Japanese. It was just stating how askew/unfair (American) policy towards the Philippines. I think the recent posts would just like to show or state some historical tidbits and to a certain degree the unfairness of what happened.

War together with hate is a very, very evil thing. Sometimes hatred could start a war. No good can come out of war and hatred. "In war we are all losers" (if this is a quote, I forgot who said this).

Yes, it is not about hatred. It is about fair depiction. Hey, I am here in America and also a US citizen, but I cannot turn a blind eye on the reality of the destruction of Manila and other locales in the Philippines due to WWII and all the policies that were put in place and practices that were tolerated after the war, which in effect, made short shrift of the country's full recovery and restoration.

My late grandfather served in that war and my late uncles served in the Vietnam and Korean wars.

Yes, it is not about hatred. It is about fair depiction. Hey, I am here in America and also a US citizen, but I cannot turn a blind eye on the reality of the destruction of Manila and other locales in the Philippines due to WWII and all the policies that were put in place and practices that were tolerated after the war, which in effect, made short shrift of the country's full recovery and restoration.

My late grandfather served in that war and my late uncles served in the Vietnam and Korean wars.

Lili, you really know your stuff on these issues and your feelings are so appropriate, and I'm relieved that there are those like us that have done research and thinking. Unfortunately a lot of people just go on what they heard while they were growing up, and a lot of it was the wrong information or biased info. Or simply, not caring, just living in the present...blindly.
The Americans really did big damage. Not only the war and its effects, but culturally and the mentality as well. I've mentioned before about how Spanish in the country (and Manila) has gone from everyday to almost none in less than 60 years. That must cause one to question. Look at what happened to our beautiful Euro-Spanish city, Maynila. The people who lost their lives. Look at other things they did too in other countries. They do good things too, like what they do in countries, but there's always this cruelty achieved.
I've discussed this period many times with people, and it seems that the places that have the most resources or natural wealth and promise, is the one they make sure not to allow to be developed or to reach its potential. Mga seloso talaga or acting superior! And besides the fact that Japan and their people after their tragedy and loss, approached the help and aid in their strict and united fashion (Philippines didn't), the Philippines still was taken for granted, this is correct.

Lili, you really know your stuff on these issues and your feelings are so appropriate, and I'm relieved that there are those like us that have done research and thinking. Unfortunately a lot of people just go on what they heard while they were growing up, and a lot of it was the wrong information or biased info. Or simply, not caring, just living in the present...blindly.
The Americans really did big damage. Not only the war and its effects, but culturally and the mentality as well. I've mentioned before about how Spanish in the country (and Manila) has gone from everyday to almost none in less than 60 years. That must cause one to question. Look at what happened to our beautiful Euro-Spanish city, Maynila. The people who lost their lives. Look at other things they did too in other countries. They do good things too, like what they do in countries, but there's always this cruelty achieved.
I've discussed this period many times with people, and it seems that the places that have the most resources or natural wealth and promise, is the one they make sure not to allow to be developed or to reach its potential. Mga seloso talaga or acting superior! And besides the fact that Japan and their people after their tragedy and loss, approached the help and aid in their strict and united fashion (Philippines didn't), the Philippines still was taken for granted, this is correct.

Being taken for granted seems to be the key words for everyone here. How does one feel to be ignored? Do you sulk it up or prove to everyone that you can stand on your own.

For almost 400 years under the Spanish rule, we were Indios or just someone to the Spaniards, what does 60 years or so with the Americans that the Filipinos have achieved?

I leave that for everyone to have their own answer. I'm sure, some answers would not be nice.

Filipino and American soldiers fight to the last minute on their final stand and helped in bringing back our freedom. I've read a lot of books and articles about most of the wars, I find some of them hard to believe especially those written by people who were never present during that time.

Do we really value the buildings and sceneries than the lives of the victims of war? Bombs and bullets doesn't discriminate, usually, they are address To Whom It May Concern. In every war, there would always be some collateral damages that can not be avoided. Morals and ethics are put aside just to win the war. Thankfully, nowadays, people can really see the effects and results of wars in their living room. Mistakes, abuses, atrocities and malicious policies have been made and some have been brought to justice.
It is hard for me to discuss what I've experienced in the first Gulf War, for just a short period, it would make or break a man. It surely changed my outlook in life.


And my real question would be ~ Why do we have to be taken for granted?

Being taken for granted seems to be the key words for everyone here. How does one feel to be ignored? Do you sulk it up or prove to everyone that you can stand on your own.

For almost 400 years under the Spanish rule, we were Indios or just someone to the Spaniards, what does 60 years or so with the Americans that the Filipinos have achieved?

I leave that for everyone to have their own answer. I'm sure, some answers would not be nice.

Filipino and American soldiers fight to the last minute on their final stand and helped in bringing back our freedom. I've read a lot of books and articles about most of the wars, I find some of them hard to believe especially those written by people who were never present during that time.

Do we really value the buildings and sceneries than the lives of the victims of war? Bombs and bullets doesn't discriminate, usually, they are address To Whom It May Concern. In every war, there would always be some collateral damages that can not be avoided. Morals and ethics are put aside just to win the war. Thankfully, nowadays, people can really see the effects and results of wars in their living room. Mistakes, abuses, atrocities and malicious policies have been made and some have been brought to justice.
It is hard for me to discuss what I've experienced in the first Gulf War, for just a short period, it would make or break a man. It surely changed my outlook in life.


And my real question would be ~ Why do we have to be taken for granted?

Yes, it is not about hatred. It is about fair depiction. Hey, I am here in America and also a US citizen, but I cannot turn a blind eye on the reality of the destruction of Manila and other locales in the Philippines due to WWII and all the policies that were put in place and practices that were tolerated after the war, which in effect, made short shrift of the country's full recovery and restoration.

My late grandfather served in that war and my late uncles served in the Vietnam and Korean wars.

By the way, do you also refer to the Philippines as PI? I hope not. A lot of Filipinos out there don't even dare to ask why PI ( which is colonial ) and not RP.

It was also said that some of the churches in northern Luzon where also bombed by the Americans.

Yes, including the church of Tumauini. The townsfolk transferred all of their pianos inside the church, thinking that it will be safe there, which was not really how it turned out to be. It was bombed just the same.

There were other churches, although some were not badly damaged like Tumauini. These were restored, just like the church of Malate. You'll notice the difference, however, in the interiors.

Yes, it is not about hatred. It is about fair depiction. Hey, I am here in America and also a US citizen, but I cannot turn a blind eye on the reality of the destruction of Manila and other locales in the Philippines due to WWII and all the policies that were put in place and practices that were tolerated after the war, which in effect, made short shrift of the country's full recovery and restoration.

My late grandfather served in that war and my late uncles served in the Vietnam and Korean wars.

By the way, do you also refer to the Philippines as PI? I hope not. A lot of Filipinos out there don't even dare to ask why PI ( which is colonial ) and not RP.

It was also said that some of the churches in northern Luzon where also bombed by the Americans.

Yes, including the church of Tumauini. The townsfolk transferred all of their pianos inside the church, thinking that it will be safe there, which was not really how it turned out to be. It was bombed just the same.

There were other churches, although some were not badly damaged like Tumauini. These were restored, just like the church of Malate. You'll notice the difference, however, in the interiors.

We rarely see pics of this: the Ermita campus of UP (or is it Ateneo's?) and its HUGE sundial!
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/BWADMU.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/BWADMU1.jpg


Can't help but notice how much emphasis that prewar Manila placed on the aesthetic value of landscaping!!! All those shade trees and flowering vines. :)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/IMG_5313.jpg
i took this at UP when i had my last meet, this had to be the replica, right

We rarely see pics of this: the Ermita campus of UP (or is it Ateneo's?) and its HUGE sundial!
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/BWADMU.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/BWADMU1.jpg


Can't help but notice how much emphasis that prewar Manila placed on the aesthetic value of landscaping!!! All those shade trees and flowering vines. :)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/IMG_5313.jpg
i took this at UP when i had my last meet, this had to be the replica, right

^^ Ay galing. That should be in the Then and Now thread. :)

^^ Ay galing. That should be in the Then and Now thread. :)

So iba talaga... Hindi then and now dahil bago ang "now"

So iba talaga... Hindi then and now dahil bago ang "now"

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pasig1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pasig.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/goiti.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/rizal.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila1104.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/ayala.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pier.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/blvd.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/cuartel.jpg

Does anybody know where this used to be located (Cuartel de Infanteria)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pasig1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pasig.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/goiti.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/rizal.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila1104.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/ayala.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/pier.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/blvd.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/cuartel.jpg

Does anybody know where this used to be located (Cuartel de Infanteria)

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1973766,00.html

History lessons from the 'splendid little war'

Daniel Whitaker
Sunday December 17, 2006
The Observer



The Republican President, William McKinley, stated he had prayed for guidance, and the divine advice was to 'uplift and civilise' the Philippines. The Americans expected a welcome from the Filipinos, and indeed the US was seen as a liberator by many - initially. But US occupation became increasingly unpopular and a protracted guerrilla war developed. During the conflict, more than 4,000 US troops died and several hundred thousand Filipinos lost their lives during the occupation.
An outcry swelled over civilian deaths and over US treatment of Filipino prisoners, including a torture used known as 'the water cure' (a technique similar to the 'water boarding' Vice President Dick Cheney defended as a practice in Guantanamo). Some GIs were reprimanded. Military morale fell. When a leader of the insurrection was captured and executed, some thought this would end the violence - it did not.

The Americans enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in military technology, but Filipinos fought using what they had to hand. Muslim islanders, called to jihad, launched suicide sword attacks in crowded streets. Christian islanders also resisted, but there was conflict between the faiths. Those co-operating with the US were often threatened or assassinated.

The US war with the Spanish had been planned for months, with a media campaign focusing on the barbarism of Spanish rule. But the Americans had not done their research on the people, nor did they have any detailed plans of how to administer the country. The US organised elections, but was disappointed with the politicians who emerged. It spent millions of dollars improving infrastructure, but won over few hearts and minds. Back home, enthusiasm for the war eroded. Celebrities and intellectuals voiced opposition. The media began to turn, despite the US military offering preferential treatment to journalists who gave favourable coverage. Even big US businesses that were close to the White House started to lose faith in the supposed commercial opportunities the occupation might offer. Eventually this was reflected in the polls and by 1912 the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, ending years of Republican domination.

The US decided to leave the Philippines in 1916, granting the islands independence as soon as a stable government could be formed. This proved harder to achieve than expected, for fear the country would descend into chaos. The Second World War intervened and sovereignty was handed back to the Filipinos only in 1946. The years since then have brought the islands mixed fortunes, a long dictatorship under Marcos, economic underachievement and continued strife between Christians and Muslims.

There are important differences between Iraq and the Philippines a century before. But also surely there's been a wasted opportunity to learn lessons, by an America that, for all its virtues, does not enjoy examining the past. Mark Twain, who stood up against the Philippine occupation, wrote that, if the past does not repeat itself, it at least rhymes. Sadly it seems the more influential view was Henry Ford's, who declared history 'more or less bunk'.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1973766,00.html

History lessons from the 'splendid little war'

Daniel Whitaker
Sunday December 17, 2006
The Observer



The Republican President, William McKinley, stated he had prayed for guidance, and the divine advice was to 'uplift and civilise' the Philippines. The Americans expected a welcome from the Filipinos, and indeed the US was seen as a liberator by many - initially. But US occupation became increasingly unpopular and a protracted guerrilla war developed. During the conflict, more than 4,000 US troops died and several hundred thousand Filipinos lost their lives during the occupation.
An outcry swelled over civilian deaths and over US treatment of Filipino prisoners, including a torture used known as 'the water cure' (a technique similar to the 'water boarding' Vice President Dick Cheney defended as a practice in Guantanamo). Some GIs were reprimanded. Military morale fell. When a leader of the insurrection was captured and executed, some thought this would end the violence - it did not.

The Americans enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in military technology, but Filipinos fought using what they had to hand. Muslim islanders, called to jihad, launched suicide sword attacks in crowded streets. Christian islanders also resisted, but there was conflict between the faiths. Those co-operating with the US were often threatened or assassinated.

The US war with the Spanish had been planned for months, with a media campaign focusing on the barbarism of Spanish rule. But the Americans had not done their research on the people, nor did they have any detailed plans of how to administer the country. The US organised elections, but was disappointed with the politicians who emerged. It spent millions of dollars improving infrastructure, but won over few hearts and minds. Back home, enthusiasm for the war eroded. Celebrities and intellectuals voiced opposition. The media began to turn, despite the US military offering preferential treatment to journalists who gave favourable coverage. Even big US businesses that were close to the White House started to lose faith in the supposed commercial opportunities the occupation might offer. Eventually this was reflected in the polls and by 1912 the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress, ending years of Republican domination.

The US decided to leave the Philippines in 1916, granting the islands independence as soon as a stable government could be formed. This proved harder to achieve than expected, for fear the country would descend into chaos. The Second World War intervened and sovereignty was handed back to the Filipinos only in 1946. The years since then have brought the islands mixed fortunes, a long dictatorship under Marcos, economic underachievement and continued strife between Christians and Muslims.

There are important differences between Iraq and the Philippines a century before. But also surely there's been a wasted opportunity to learn lessons, by an America that, for all its virtues, does not enjoy examining the past. Mark Twain, who stood up against the Philippine occupation, wrote that, if the past does not repeat itself, it at least rhymes. Sadly it seems the more influential view was Henry Ford's, who declared history 'more or less bunk'.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/interestingmanila.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/interestingmanila.jpg

^^ I'd like to have that book. I hope some publisher here in Manila would reprint that.

Anyway, here are some old Manila photos:

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27622r.jpg
Alberon de Barca, Manila, 1909

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b30000/3b32000/3b32600/3b32661r.jpg
Ermita, during flood tide, 1900

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27640r.jpg
Magellan promenade and monument, Manila, 1899

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27645r.jpg
General Chaffee and his aides, Manila, 1904

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27630r.jpg
Landing horses and cattle in the canal, 1901

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27644r.jpg
The residence of General Chaffe, Commanding General in the Philippines, 1902

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27400/3b27423r.jpg
Native carriages, Manila, 1903

http://138.23.124.164/images/kmast2/geographic/asia/philippineislands/luzon/details/w3537.jpg

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3c00000/3c07000/3c07900/3c07911r.jpg
Track team, Manila, 1923

^^ I'd like to have that book. I hope some publisher here in Manila would reprint that.

Anyway, here are some old Manila photos:

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27622r.jpg
Alberon de Barca, Manila, 1909

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b30000/3b32000/3b32600/3b32661r.jpg
Ermita, during flood tide, 1900

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27640r.jpg
Magellan promenade and monument, Manila, 1899

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27645r.jpg
General Chaffee and his aides, Manila, 1904

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27630r.jpg
Landing horses and cattle in the canal, 1901

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27600/3b27644r.jpg
The residence of General Chaffe, Commanding General in the Philippines, 1902

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b20000/3b27000/3b27400/3b27423r.jpg
Native carriages, Manila, 1903

http://138.23.124.164/images/kmast2/geographic/asia/philippineislands/luzon/details/w3537.jpg

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3c00000/3c07000/3c07900/3c07911r.jpg
Track team, Manila, 1923

As always, wonderful pictures @overtureph and @Wonderboy. :)

@Animo must have been busy with schoolwork and now taking a break for the holidays.

As always, wonderful pictures @overtureph and @Wonderboy. :)

@Animo must have been busy with schoolwork and now taking a break for the holidays.

can someone tell where is this located?? i know it is built by Leandro Locsin and it was called "maharlika"
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AMH01.jpg


other photos of locsin's work...

the old ayala museum
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg


church of the holy sacrifice
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS01.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS03.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS04.jpg


church of saint andrew
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CSA01.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CSA03.jpg

can someone tell where is this located?? i know it is built by Leandro Locsin and it was called "maharlika"
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AMH01.jpg


other photos of locsin's work...

the old ayala museum
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg


church of the holy sacrifice
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS01.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS03.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CHS04.jpg


church of saint andrew
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CSA01.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/CSA03.jpg

can someone tell where is this located?? i know it is built by Leandro Locsin and it was called "maharlika"
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AMH01.jpg



Yes, this is the old Goldenberg (?) Mansion, located on JP Laurel not far from Malacañang. Imelda had Lindy restore this for use as the Presidential guesthouse.

can someone tell where is this located?? i know it is built by Leandro Locsin and it was called "maharlika"
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AMH01.jpg



Yes, this is the old Goldenberg (?) Mansion, located on JP Laurel not far from Malacañang. Imelda had Lindy restore this for use as the Presidential guesthouse.

^^okie... thanks!! i just found that photos in one of the laptops in our college, then i copied it.

^^okie... thanks!! i just found that photos in one of the laptops in our college, then i copied it.

^^ @Ishtefh: thanks for that series of photos of architectural designs of Lindy Locsin. I like looking at those. :)

^^ @Ishtefh: thanks for that series of photos of architectural designs of Lindy Locsin. I like looking at those. :)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg

Karamihan sa mga design ni Locsin, puro bloke --- mabigat sa mata. Mahilig siya sa unadorned facade.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/79033783-S.jpg

Pero mangilan-ngilan lang ang mga ito. Maganda yung CCP kasi angkop sa lugar, yung mga walls niya parang alon ng dagat.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg

Karamihan sa mga design ni Locsin, puro bloke --- mabigat sa mata. Mahilig siya sa unadorned facade.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/79033783-S.jpg

Pero mangilan-ngilan lang ang mga ito. Maganda yung CCP kasi angkop sa lugar, yung mga walls niya parang alon ng dagat.

fill in the blanks:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070565-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070495-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070669-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/25630340.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24502600.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501556.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501454-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070337.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070215-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070209-1.jpg

fill in the blanks:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070565-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070495-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070669-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/25630340.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24502600.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501556.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501454-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070337.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070215-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070209-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501592.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501670.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070633-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24997071.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/123066.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24917331.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501592.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24501670.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/1070633-1.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24997071.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/123066.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b74/paulkrps/24917331.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg

Karamihan sa mga design ni Locsin, puro bloke --- mabigat sa mata. Mahilig siya sa unadorned facade.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/79033783-S.jpg

Pero mangilan-ngilan lang ang mga ito. Maganda yung CCP kasi angkop sa lugar, yung mga walls niya parang alon ng dagat.

massive structure nga... parang eto rin... gawa rin ni locsin, NAIA 1...

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/fighter24/naia1.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/ishtefh_03/AYM01.jpg

Karamihan sa mga design ni Locsin, puro bloke --- mabigat sa mata. Mahilig siya sa unadorned facade.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/79033783-S.jpg

Pero mangilan-ngilan lang ang mga ito. Maganda yung CCP kasi angkop sa lugar, yung mga walls niya parang alon ng dagat.

massive structure nga... parang eto rin... gawa rin ni locsin, NAIA 1...

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/fighter24/naia1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/THEPATIOARMYNAVYCLUB.jpg

Patio Army Navy Club

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/avenida.jpg

Avenida

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/MANILABureauofPosts.jpg

Manila Post Office

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/schoolgirls.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manille.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Sta-2.jpg

Sta. Cruz/Plaza Goiti

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/UST.jpg

UST

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/tenaza.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/SantaMesalookingtowardsmanila.jpg

I'm not sure if the last 2 pictures shows Sta. Mesa

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/THEPATIOARMYNAVYCLUB.jpg

Patio Army Navy Club

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/avenida.jpg

Avenida

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/MANILABureauofPosts.jpg

Manila Post Office

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/schoolgirls.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manille.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Sta-2.jpg

Sta. Cruz/Plaza Goiti

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/UST.jpg

UST

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/tenaza.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/SantaMesalookingtowardsmanila.jpg

I'm not sure if the last 2 pictures shows Sta. Mesa

@Animo must have been busy with schoolwork and now taking a break for the holidays.

Kumusta? Maligayang Pasko sa lahat! :hi:

---

Club Náutico de Manila

http://static.flickr.com/131/320886575_3cb7419102.jpg

Manila Yacht Club (1950s)

Once known in Spanish as the Club Náutico de Manila, the Manila Yacht Club is considered the Philippines' premiere sailing club and a yachting hub in Southeast Asia committed to the promotion of sailing as a sport.

http://static.flickr.com/123/320998651_306140a9ba.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/139/320993084_ca7709c455.jpg

Don Andres Soriano, III's magnificent Swan 80 "Maligaya".

http://static.flickr.com/127/321124104_f3191882ed.jpg

Son Andres Soriano, IV is also a racing champion (lives much of the time in NY these days). He is in the back row at the left end (wearing the dark jacket).

http://static.flickr.com/123/320886577_27b29b1c07.jpg

Santi Elizalde (second from the left) is Marina Committee Chairman of the brand-new Punta Fuego Yacht Club (PFYC) that opened this year in Batangas: http://www.puntafuego.com

@Animo must have been busy with schoolwork and now taking a break for the holidays.

Kumusta? Maligayang Pasko sa lahat! :hi:

---

Club Náutico de Manila

http://static.flickr.com/131/320886575_3cb7419102.jpg

Manila Yacht Club (1950s)

Once known in Spanish as the Club Náutico de Manila, the Manila Yacht Club is considered the Philippines' premiere sailing club and a yachting hub in Southeast Asia committed to the promotion of sailing as a sport.

http://static.flickr.com/123/320998651_306140a9ba.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/139/320993084_ca7709c455.jpg

Don Andres Soriano, III's magnificent Swan 80 "Maligaya".

http://static.flickr.com/127/321124104_f3191882ed.jpg

Son Andres Soriano, IV is also a racing champion (lives much of the time in NY these days). He is in the back row at the left end (wearing the dark jacket).

http://static.flickr.com/123/320886577_27b29b1c07.jpg

Santi Elizalde (second from the left) is Marina Committee Chairman of the brand-new Punta Fuego Yacht Club (PFYC) that opened this year in Batangas: http://www.puntafuego.com

Manila Polo Club

http://static.flickr.com/129/320886572_be499d6395.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/130/320886571_d54326a4a7.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/124/320993082_c080921d18.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/141/320993081_feaeb8d8b3.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/123/320993077_920da56aba.jpg
Espectadores

The roster of past and present members of the Manila Polo Club reads like a "Who's-Who" in Philippine society. You may join this elite group, but be prepared to pay a hefty price. The market value of a membership share is presently pegged at PHP3.2 million. Today, the 25-hectare grounds encompass two polo fields and a whole range of other sporting facilities such as swimming pool, tennis courts, golf driving range, equestrian grounds, gym, squash courts, bowling lanes and badminton courts.

In years past, polo was the game of the Roxas-Zóbel-de Ayala and Elizalde clans. Before the war, the sons of Don José Joaquín Elizalde were all excellent horsemen. They had attained such skill in polo that they carried a heavy twenty-goal handicap, which was the highest total in Philippine polo at the time. By 1934, they completely dominated the sport. Their rivals included not just Filipinos such as Jacobo and Alfonso Zobel y Roxas but also U.S. officers and international stars. At the time, the Manila Polo Club was run by the Americans, who enforced an unwritten "whites-only" policy. In the late 1930s, four of the Elizalde brothers decided to invite a prominent Filipino (it was either politician Jorge B. Vargas or Col. Manuel Nieto, I have seen differing accounts of this story) to dinner at the clubhouse after an international match. Don Joaquín Miguel Elizalde, the eldest brother and first ambassador to the U.S., was subsequently reprimanded by the club president. The Elizaldes responded by resigning from the club and founding their own: the Los Tamaraws Polo Club in 1939. In more recent times, Santiago R. "Santi" Elizalde, Iñigo Zóbel (son of former Ayala Corp. chairman and legendary polo player Enrique "EZ" Zóbel), Albert "Bobby" Aguirre (son of Banco Filipino founder Don Tomás Aguirre, who happens to be a descendent of Don Fernando Aguirre, a Basque/Vasco Filipino who was the first manager of what's now the Ayala-controlled BPI bank), and Benigno T. "Bengy" Toda (member of the wealthy mestizo Toda family of Pampanga who acquired a majority, controlling stake in Philippines Airlines when good friend President Diosdado Macapagal decided to privatize the airline in 1965) have competed at the international level.

http://static.flickr.com/140/320889862_624dd64431.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/123/320886581_74780f613c.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel on the Philippines-Malaysia Team (at far left)

http://static.flickr.com/138/320889870_b3e85666c8.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/124/320889864_465d2a319c.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel is in white (Bobby Aguirre is in blue)

http://static.flickr.com/136/320889868_de2658926f.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel with his daughters Rocio, Natalia, and Bianca. The lady wearing the navy blue top standing in front of the billboard is Dee-Ann Hora Zobel the last wife of Iñigo's deceased father.

http://static.flickr.com/137/320993078_a112f38429.jpg

The winners get Porsches.

http://static.flickr.com/143/320993083_cd19bb0b35.jpg

Group photo from the Fila Polo Cup 2006. Iñigo was on the white team (the winners again), while Santi was on the blue team. The kids standing at 2nd and 3rd from the left at the back row are Cole and Augustus Aguirre. Daddy owns polo fields and maintains "top-quality ponies" in Stedham, a West Sussex village some 50 miles outside London, and in an 8,000-acre (about 3,237.5 hectares) farm in Murrunundi, an outback north of Sydney. Perhaps they will one day follow in his footsteps?

Red, black and white
Super! Summer sizzlers

"L'ARTE NELLO SPORT" -- the Italians really have a way of doing everything al dente. Polo season just went by, and Fila made sure that it didn't just go by unnoticed. Cris Albert and hubby Butch, the First Couple behind Fila in the Philippines made sure to transform the Manila Polo Club into one big black and white ball, all in the name of the tradition that they have started three years back since they launched the Donita Rose line at the same venue.

Now with Bianca Araneta as endorser, they continue to hold the torch to uplift the sport that elite sport which Iñigo Zobel and Bobby Aguirre are well known all over the world for. "We need to promote this sport more to the next generation of polo players," Butch told me while we were watching the beautiful turn out of people at the Polo field. "It just keeps getting better every year," he said as we observed his wife Cris going around, being the consummate society hostess that she is, wearing Fila's latest collection while making sure the crowd was aptly entertained and served well.

http://static.flickr.com/137/320999048_d445b3d32d.jpg

Benigno T. "Bengy" Toda, III

Posted Monday, Aug. 21, 1972
The program called it "the greatest day in the history of British polo"—which seemed a bit much, considering that it rained and the British lost. Still, Prince Charles, 23, was making his debut in international polo as captain of the Young England team, challenging Young America. Charles scored one goal and helped push the game into overtime before the Americans won, 5-4. The U.S.'s Bengy Toda, matched against the Prince, was impressed: "He was a tough player, super down-to-earth, very regular." The Prince offered another opinion. "Very disappointing," he said, ducking under Princess Alexandra's umbrella.

Manila Polo Club

http://static.flickr.com/129/320886572_be499d6395.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/130/320886571_d54326a4a7.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/124/320993082_c080921d18.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/141/320993081_feaeb8d8b3.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/123/320993077_920da56aba.jpg
Espectadores

The roster of past and present members of the Manila Polo Club reads like a "Who's-Who" in Philippine society. You may join this elite group, but be prepared to pay a hefty price. The market value of a membership share is presently pegged at PHP3.2 million. Today, the 25-hectare grounds encompass two polo fields and a whole range of other sporting facilities such as swimming pool, tennis courts, golf driving range, equestrian grounds, gym, squash courts, bowling lanes and badminton courts.

In years past, polo was the game of the Roxas-Zóbel-de Ayala and Elizalde clans. Before the war, the sons of Don José Joaquín Elizalde were all excellent horsemen. They had attained such skill in polo that they carried a heavy twenty-goal handicap, which was the highest total in Philippine polo at the time. By 1934, they completely dominated the sport. Their rivals included not just Filipinos such as Jacobo and Alfonso Zobel y Roxas but also U.S. officers and international stars. At the time, the Manila Polo Club was run by the Americans, who enforced an unwritten "whites-only" policy. In the late 1930s, four of the Elizalde brothers decided to invite a prominent Filipino (it was either politician Jorge B. Vargas or Col. Manuel Nieto, I have seen differing accounts of this story) to dinner at the clubhouse after an international match. Don Joaquín Miguel Elizalde, the eldest brother and first ambassador to the U.S., was subsequently reprimanded by the club president. The Elizaldes responded by resigning from the club and founding their own: the Los Tamaraws Polo Club in 1939. In more recent times, Santiago R. "Santi" Elizalde, Iñigo Zóbel (son of former Ayala Corp. chairman and legendary polo player Enrique "EZ" Zóbel), Albert "Bobby" Aguirre (son of Banco Filipino founder Don Tomás Aguirre, who happens to be a descendent of Don Fernando Aguirre, a Basque/Vasco Filipino who was the first manager of what's now the Ayala-controlled BPI bank), and Benigno T. "Bengy" Toda (member of the wealthy mestizo Toda family of Pampanga who acquired a majority, controlling stake in Philippines Airlines when good friend President Diosdado Macapagal decided to privatize the airline in 1965) have competed at the international level.

http://static.flickr.com/140/320889862_624dd64431.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/123/320886581_74780f613c.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel on the Philippines-Malaysia Team (at far left)

http://static.flickr.com/138/320889870_b3e85666c8.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/124/320889864_465d2a319c.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel is in white (Bobby Aguirre is in blue)

http://static.flickr.com/136/320889868_de2658926f.jpg

Iñigo Zóbel with his daughters Rocio, Natalia, and Bianca. The lady wearing the navy blue top standing in front of the billboard is Dee-Ann Hora Zobel the last wife of Iñigo's deceased father.

http://static.flickr.com/137/320993078_a112f38429.jpg

The winners get Porsches.

http://static.flickr.com/143/320993083_cd19bb0b35.jpg

Group photo from the Fila Polo Cup 2006. Iñigo was on the white team (the winners again), while Santi was on the blue team. The kids standing at 2nd and 3rd from the left at the back row are Cole and Augustus Aguirre. Daddy owns polo fields and maintains "top-quality ponies" in Stedham, a West Sussex village some 50 miles outside London, and in an 8,000-acre (about 3,237.5 hectares) farm in Murrunundi, an outback north of Sydney. Perhaps they will one day follow in his footsteps?

Red, black and white
Super! Summer sizzlers

"L'ARTE NELLO SPORT" -- the Italians really have a way of doing everything al dente. Polo season just went by, and Fila made sure that it didn't just go by unnoticed. Cris Albert and hubby Butch, the First Couple behind Fila in the Philippines made sure to transform the Manila Polo Club into one big black and white ball, all in the name of the tradition that they have started three years back since they launched the Donita Rose line at the same venue.

Now with Bianca Araneta as endorser, they continue to hold the torch to uplift the sport that elite sport which Iñigo Zobel and Bobby Aguirre are well known all over the world for. "We need to promote this sport more to the next generation of polo players," Butch told me while we were watching the beautiful turn out of people at the Polo field. "It just keeps getting better every year," he said as we observed his wife Cris going around, being the consummate society hostess that she is, wearing Fila's latest collection while making sure the crowd was aptly entertained and served well.

http://static.flickr.com/137/320999048_d445b3d32d.jpg

Benigno T. "Bengy" Toda, III

Posted Monday, Aug. 21, 1972
The program called it "the greatest day in the history of British polo"—which seemed a bit much, considering that it rained and the British lost. Still, Prince Charles, 23, was making his debut in international polo as captain of the Young England team, challenging Young America. Charles scored one goal and helped push the game into overtime before the Americans won, 5-4. The U.S.'s Bengy Toda, matched against the Prince, was impressed: "He was a tough player, super down-to-earth, very regular." The Prince offered another opinion. "Very disappointing," he said, ducking under Princess Alexandra's umbrella.

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/0202_exp.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

---

Sede y fechas
Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino.
Manila.
Del 27 de noviembre de 2006 al 28 de febrero de 2007
Comisario
Juan Guardiola

Organizan
Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, SEACEX
Ministerio de Cultura
Casa Asia. Barcelona.
Colaboran
Museo Nacional de Filipinas
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación Embajada de España en Filipinas
Instituto Cervantes en Manila


http://dns1.caminante.net/concursos/ficha_evento.php?ampliar=1&evento=435

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/0202_exp.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

---

Sede y fechas
Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino.
Manila.
Del 27 de noviembre de 2006 al 28 de febrero de 2007
Comisario
Juan Guardiola

Organizan
Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, SEACEX
Ministerio de Cultura
Casa Asia. Barcelona.
Colaboran
Museo Nacional de Filipinas
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación Embajada de España en Filipinas
Instituto Cervantes en Manila


http://dns1.caminante.net/concursos/ficha_evento.php?ampliar=1&evento=435

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/IMG_5313.jpg
i took this at UP when i had my last meet, this had to be the replica, right


Thanks, tigs for posting this sometime ago...

you're right, the one that's at Diliman now is a replica of the larger one that had been in UP's prewar Ermita campus. Thanks again for posting the update!

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b84/tigidig14/IMG_5313.jpg
i took this at UP when i had my last meet, this had to be the replica, right


Thanks, tigs for posting this sometime ago...

you're right, the one that's at Diliman now is a replica of the larger one that had been in UP's prewar Ermita campus. Thanks again for posting the update!

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/0202_exp.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

---

Sede y fechas
Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino.
Manila.
Del 27 de noviembre de 2006 al 28 de febrero de 2007
Comisario
Juan Guardiola

Organizan
Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, SEACEX
Ministerio de Cultura
Casa Asia. Barcelona.
Colaboran
Museo Nacional de Filipinas
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación Embajada de España en Filipinas
Instituto Cervantes en Manila


http://dns1.caminante.net/concursos/ficha_evento.php?ampliar=1&evento=435


A truly excellent find Animo. Salamat!

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/0202_exp.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

---

Sede y fechas
Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino.
Manila.
Del 27 de noviembre de 2006 al 28 de febrero de 2007
Comisario
Juan Guardiola

Organizan
Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, SEACEX
Ministerio de Cultura
Casa Asia. Barcelona.
Colaboran
Museo Nacional de Filipinas
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación Embajada de España en Filipinas
Instituto Cervantes en Manila


http://dns1.caminante.net/concursos/ficha_evento.php?ampliar=1&evento=435


A truly excellent find Animo. Salamat!

A truly excellent find Animo. Salamat!

Your welcome. :cheers:

The online collection is wonderful. They also posted clear photos of Juan Luna (looks like Pacman), Pedro Paterno, Felix Hidalgo and friends. The art works from Madrid are included too. By the way to the people you want to see the photos it's in PDF format. :)

A truly excellent find Animo. Salamat!

Your welcome. :cheers:

The online collection is wonderful. They also posted clear photos of Juan Luna (looks like Pacman), Pedro Paterno, Felix Hidalgo and friends. The art works from Madrid are included too. By the way to the people you want to see the photos it's in PDF format. :)

Animo,

Great pictures. In particular, I llike the ruins of the Nicholas Tamon's Manila Cathedral after the 1863 earthquake. The other pictures are truly amazing. I wish they would go and find the exposition items and exhibit them here.

Animo,

Great pictures. In particular, I llike the ruins of the Nicholas Tamon's Manila Cathedral after the 1863 earthquake. The other pictures are truly amazing. I wish they would go and find the exposition items and exhibit them here.

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/china_clipper/Tran5G4.jpg

After 59 hours, 48 minutes of flying across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco with stops at Honolulu, Midway, Wake, and Guam, the Pan American China Clipper berths at Manila on November 29, 1935.

Credit - panamair.org

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Commercial_Aviation/china_clipper/Tran5G4.jpg

After 59 hours, 48 minutes of flying across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco with stops at Honolulu, Midway, Wake, and Guam, the Pan American China Clipper berths at Manila on November 29, 1935.

Credit - panamair.org

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!:banana:

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!:banana:

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!:banana:

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!:banana:

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

Season's greetings to you, too, Zulu (and welcome to SSC Philippines!). Sadly, the Magallanes column "vanished" during the Battle for Manila, Feb-Mar 1945. Some say that it fell into the Pasig; a more plausible explanation is that it was pulverized by the incessant artillery that rained on Intramuros in the final days of the battle. At the north end of the Jones Bridge is a plaza (although you can hardly tell with all the congestion there today). I'm not so sure about a park located any farther north, but Nick Joaquin did recall that the Central Market once was a park.

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

Season's greetings to you, too, Zulu (and welcome to SSC Philippines!). Sadly, the Magallanes column "vanished" during the Battle for Manila, Feb-Mar 1945. Some say that it fell into the Pasig; a more plausible explanation is that it was pulverized by the incessant artillery that rained on Intramuros in the final days of the battle. At the north end of the Jones Bridge is a plaza (although you can hardly tell with all the congestion there today). I'm not so sure about a park located any farther north, but Nick Joaquin did recall that the Central Market once was a park.

^^ Merry Christmas Hawayano!

Just dropping by while I take a break from the fanciful frenzy of the yuletide season.

Season's greetings to you, too, Zulu (and welcome to SSC Philippines!). Sadly, the Magallanes column "vanished" during the Battle for Manila, Feb-Mar 1945. Some say that it fell into the Pasig; a more plausible explanation is that it was pulverized by the incessant artillery that rained on Intramuros in the final days of the battle.

Hmmm...that's interesting. Now, I'm tempted to find out if the monument fell into Pasig River. He he. The lighthouse had the same fate, right? It was also damaged during WWII and probably fell into the Pasig River, too.

^^ Merry Christmas Hawayano!

Just dropping by while I take a break from the fanciful frenzy of the yuletide season.

Season's greetings to you, too, Zulu (and welcome to SSC Philippines!). Sadly, the Magallanes column "vanished" during the Battle for Manila, Feb-Mar 1945. Some say that it fell into the Pasig; a more plausible explanation is that it was pulverized by the incessant artillery that rained on Intramuros in the final days of the battle.

Hmmm...that's interesting. Now, I'm tempted to find out if the monument fell into Pasig River. He he. The lighthouse had the same fate, right? It was also damaged during WWII and probably fell into the Pasig River, too.

^^ @ Merry Christmas, Wonderboy!:lol:

I would think it odd that no one would've since attempted to salvage the marble column if Magallanes Monument did indeed fall into the river, but who knows...urban legend?? The monument does show up in US Army movie footage as US forces were battering Letran and (from atop HKS Bank Bldg) shooting up the Japanese snipers in Intramuros (see TheCameraReturns earlier posting in the Then & Now thread).

As for the farola that stood at the mouth of the river, I recall Butch Zialcita (about 10 years ago na) telling me that it was still standing, but sort of forlorn and neglected among squatters camps and port facilities. I was also warned not to venture out there unescorted, though...

^^ @ Merry Christmas, Wonderboy!:lol:

I would think it odd that no one would've since attempted to salvage the marble column if Magallanes Monument did indeed fall into the river, but who knows...urban legend?? The monument does show up in US Army movie footage as US forces were battering Letran and (from atop HKS Bank Bldg) shooting up the Japanese snipers in Intramuros (see TheCameraReturns earlier posting in the Then & Now thread).

As for the farola that stood at the mouth of the river, I recall Butch Zialcita (about 10 years ago na) telling me that it was still standing, but sort of forlorn and neglected among squatters camps and port facilities. I was also warned not to venture out there unescorted, though...

Check out this WWII newsreel...it's of poor reso, but you can see Magallanes Monument still standing as Aduana (Intendencia) gets shelled and the rest of the city literally goes up in smoke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDtiaxwykk

Check out this WWII newsreel...it's of poor reso, but you can see Magallanes Monument still standing as Aduana (Intendencia) gets shelled and the rest of the city literally goes up in smoke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDtiaxwykk

^^ Thanks for the video, Hawayano. I also posted a couple of WWII videos on the 1st wartime thread. But I haven't seen this one yet.

^^ Thanks for the video, Hawayano. I also posted a couple of WWII videos on the 1st wartime thread. But I haven't seen this one yet.

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

As Hawayano said, there is a series of plazas north of Jones Bridge - the Plaza Cervantes and Plaza Moraga. What most likely resembles a park is the Calderon de la Barca, the plaza in front of Binondo Church, just a few blocks north of the bridge's end.

I am also wondering what happened to the bronze(?) pinnacle of the Magallanes monument. Was its fate similar to the Sta Lucia gate that disappeared during the clearing of the debris after the war?

Merry Christmas Hawayano.I,d like to know ,does the Magallanes monument still exist in Manila?If it does where is it located today.Another thing,is there a park north of the end of Jones bridge?

As Hawayano said, there is a series of plazas north of Jones Bridge - the Plaza Cervantes and Plaza Moraga. What most likely resembles a park is the Calderon de la Barca, the plaza in front of Binondo Church, just a few blocks north of the bridge's end.

I am also wondering what happened to the bronze(?) pinnacle of the Magallanes monument. Was its fate similar to the Sta Lucia gate that disappeared during the clearing of the debris after the war?

Check out this WWII newsreel...it's of poor reso, but you can see Magallanes Monument still standing as Letran gets shelled and the rest of the city literally goes up in smoke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDtiaxwykk

Thank you Hawayano,wonderboy,and pinoy ako for the infos.Happy New Year to all.:) :)

Check out this WWII newsreel...it's of poor reso, but you can see Magallanes Monument still standing as Letran gets shelled and the rest of the city literally goes up in smoke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcDtiaxwykk

Thank you Hawayano,wonderboy,and pinoy ako for the infos.Happy New Year to all.:) :)

Beautiful pictures that really give me the shivers! I love pictures of the past.

Beautiful pictures that really give me the shivers! I love pictures of the past.

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and it's back to work tomorrow, but before that, one last set of postings! :)

San Sebastian Church ca. 1940 (love that coupe w/wide whitewalls in the foreground). I wish the Recollects had kept the old convento--I don't really care too much for today's multi-story.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/prewarSnSeb.jpg

DLSU Taft back when there was such vehicle as the autocalesa (driving off on the right side of the pic).
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/DLSUTaft.jpg

For Wonderboy: I've never seen this view of Echague...
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg

Here's where Lito Atienza made some bad decisions: the former Jardin Botanico:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/jardinbotanico.jpg

Camp John Hay in its American Empire heyday (Baguio looked so clean and aristocratic back then)
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/JohnHay.jpg

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and it's back to work tomorrow, but before that, one last set of postings! :)

San Sebastian Church ca. 1940 (love that coupe w/wide whitewalls in the foreground). I wish the Recollects had kept the old convento--I don't really care too much for today's multi-story.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/prewarSnSeb.jpg

DLSU Taft back when there was such vehicle as the autocalesa (driving off on the right side of the pic).
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/DLSUTaft.jpg

For Wonderboy: I've never seen this view of Echague...
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg

Here's where Lito Atienza made some bad decisions: the former Jardin Botanico:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/jardinbotanico.jpg

Camp John Hay in its American Empire heyday (Baguio looked so clean and aristocratic back then)
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/JohnHay.jpg

^^ Good candidates for Philippines' Then and Now comparison pictures again. :)

^^ Good candidates for Philippines' Then and Now comparison pictures again. :)

^^ A present-day comparison of De La Salle would be another disappointment. The exact location is obstructed by the LRT Vito Cruz Station.

For Wonderboy: I've never seen this view of Echague...
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg

Thanks again, Hawayano! I know where exactly it is located even if I have seen this photo for the first time.

^^ A present-day comparison of De La Salle would be another disappointment. The exact location is obstructed by the LRT Vito Cruz Station.

For Wonderboy: I've never seen this view of Echague...
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg

Thanks again, Hawayano! I know where exactly it is located even if I have seen this photo for the first time.

^^ I believe there are still some old buildings in Echague/C. Palanca, Quiapo. One is Tanduay if I'm not mistaken and another one is an inn by the foot of the bridge if I recall it correctly.

^^ I believe there are still some old buildings in Echague/C. Palanca, Quiapo. One is Tanduay if I'm not mistaken and another one is an inn by the foot of the bridge if I recall it correctly.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/TrolleyonEscoltaStreetRPPC.jpg

Tranvia on Escolta?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/c1_1_b.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/eg21r.jpg

Manila Hotel

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/f68a_1.jpg

Fort Pilar ?, Zamboanga

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/d1a6_1.jpg

Malabang, Mindanao where in Mindanao is this?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/TrolleyonEscoltaStreetRPPC.jpg

Tranvia on Escolta?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/c1_1_b.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/eg21r.jpg

Manila Hotel

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/f68a_1.jpg

Fort Pilar ?, Zamboanga

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/d1a6_1.jpg

Malabang, Mindanao where in Mindanao is this?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/bridge.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/escolta-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/walls-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/bridge.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/escolta-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/walls-1.jpg

Malabang, Mindanao where in Mindanao is this?

imo, somewhere in lanao, it also had an american sounding name before.. something like Fort XXXX

Malabang, Mindanao where in Mindanao is this?

imo, somewhere in lanao, it also had an american sounding name before.. something like Fort XXXX

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg


Hawayano, thanks for this precious photo. My grandfather used to work at this Heacock's store. He used to tell me lots of stories about his days as a salesman for Heacock, and I can picture him now crossing that street in his white suit and straw hat. After the war, he went to work for Insular Life in Escolta. I remember visiting Lolo in his office and I marveled at the bustling Escolta district. Thanks to you, Wonderboy, and everyone here at SSC for sharing and honoring the past.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/echague.jpg


Hawayano, thanks for this precious photo. My grandfather used to work at this Heacock's store. He used to tell me lots of stories about his days as a salesman for Heacock, and I can picture him now crossing that street in his white suit and straw hat. After the war, he went to work for Insular Life in Escolta. I remember visiting Lolo in his office and I marveled at the bustling Escolta district. Thanks to you, Wonderboy, and everyone here at SSC for sharing and honoring the past.

^^ Do you know what circa that picture is? ^^ Sa totoo lang, mas maganda pa yan kaysa sa mga frontier towns of America.

^^ Do you know what circa that picture is? ^^ Sa totoo lang, mas maganda pa yan kaysa sa mga frontier towns of America.

^^ Do you know what circa that picture is? ^^ Sa totoo lang, mas maganda pa yan kaysa sa mga frontier towns of America.

^^ Wala pa akong nakikitang kotse dito....based on the signs and lettering and the attires siguro early american period c1908....something like that....and yes mas maganda kaysa sa frontier towns dito sa US!.....it is really clean and well maintained!

^^ Do you know what circa that picture is? ^^ Sa totoo lang, mas maganda pa yan kaysa sa mga frontier towns of America.

^^ Wala pa akong nakikitang kotse dito....based on the signs and lettering and the attires siguro early american period c1908....something like that....and yes mas maganda kaysa sa frontier towns dito sa US!.....it is really clean and well maintained!

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

^^ hehehehehehe...im close!....

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

^^ hehehehehehe...im close!....

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

I'm a bit confused: were there two branches of Heacock's, or was there an earlier structure located on Echague?

@ terrapin: I'm thinking that the Heacock's of your lolo was the one on the south side of Escolta, near the Regina Building. It was one of the taller, streamlined art deco buildings before the war, and underwent a facelift to international/moderne sometime duirng reconstruction after the war.

That picture could easily have been early 1900's since Heacock's was established in 1909 according to court records. My Lolo worked at Heacock's around 1920 and worked there until the War.

I'm a bit confused: were there two branches of Heacock's, or was there an earlier structure located on Echague?

@ terrapin: I'm thinking that the Heacock's of your lolo was the one on the south side of Escolta, near the Regina Building. It was one of the taller, streamlined art deco buildings before the war, and underwent a facelift to international/moderne sometime duirng reconstruction after the war.

I'm a bit confused: were there two branches of Heacock's, or was there an earlier structure located on Echague?

@ terrapin: I'm thinking that the Heacock's of your lolo was the one on the south side of Escolta, near the Regina Building. It was one of the taller, streamlined art deco buildings before the war, and underwent a facelift to international/moderne sometime duirng reconstruction after the war.

Thanks Hawayano. Maybe I'm the one confused. I always thought that there was only one store. I've confirmed from a more reliable source (Nanay:) ) that he did work at the Escolta store. So is there a picture of the Escolta Heacock store?

I'm a bit confused: were there two branches of Heacock's, or was there an earlier structure located on Echague?

@ terrapin: I'm thinking that the Heacock's of your lolo was the one on the south side of Escolta, near the Regina Building. It was one of the taller, streamlined art deco buildings before the war, and underwent a facelift to international/moderne sometime duirng reconstruction after the war.

Thanks Hawayano. Maybe I'm the one confused. I always thought that there was only one store. I've confirmed from a more reliable source (Nanay:) ) that he did work at the Escolta store. So is there a picture of the Escolta Heacock store?

Thanks Hawayano. Maybe I'm the one confused. I always thought that there was only one store. I've confirmed from a more reliable source (Nanay:) ) that he did work at the Escolta store. So is there a picture of the Escolta Heacock store?

Yes, I've seen a pic here and there online...but not one that focuses on the Heacock Building of the 1930s. I have seen it in old publications from that era. I'll keep looking, though, and post when I find something for you. :)

Thanks Hawayano. Maybe I'm the one confused. I always thought that there was only one store. I've confirmed from a more reliable source (Nanay:) ) that he did work at the Escolta store. So is there a picture of the Escolta Heacock store?

Yes, I've seen a pic here and there online...but not one that focuses on the Heacock Building of the 1930s. I have seen it in old publications from that era. I'll keep looking, though, and post when I find something for you. :)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo Street

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quiapo.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo Street

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quiapo.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/retratologo.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/fil_banner.gif

Filipinas Heritage Library: http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/filipiniana/Retrato/

Philippines "Then" and "Now" Photos (Parte I-V):

Parte I: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=176939

Parte II:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=268402&page=1

Parte III: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=297314

Parte IV: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthrea...t=314203&page=1

Parte V: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=332436&page=1

Old Photos of the Philippines (American and Spanish Era):

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=106973&page=1

Retrato: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=328899&page=1

Retrato: Filipinas Photo Collection: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=370975

Wartime Philippines: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=109967&page=1

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/retratologo.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/fil_banner.gif

Filipinas Heritage Library: http://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/filipiniana/Retrato/

Philippines "Then" and "Now" Photos (Parte I-V):

Parte I: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=176939

Parte II:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=268402&page=1

Parte III: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=297314

Parte IV: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthrea...t=314203&page=1

Parte V: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=332436&page=1

Old Photos of the Philippines (American and Spanish Era):

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=106973&page=1

Retrato: Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=328899&page=1

Retrato: Filipinas Photo Collection: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=370975

Wartime Philippines: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showt...t=109967&page=1

Photos by Maleldo - flickr.com

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/229584114_78f8318c5d.jpg?v=0

Examples of the fancy water floatsparticipated in by government bureaus and private companies.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/229584113_8f6a22fccd.jpg?v=0

Government bureaus were active participants of the Manila Carnivals, sending delegations and contributing spectacular floats for the occasion.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/229584115_b41d068a43.jpg?v=0

Fancy water floats bearing allegorical beauties plied Manila Bay as sideshow attractions during the fair.

Photos by Maleldo - flickr.com

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/229584114_78f8318c5d.jpg?v=0

Examples of the fancy water floatsparticipated in by government bureaus and private companies.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/229584113_8f6a22fccd.jpg?v=0

Government bureaus were active participants of the Manila Carnivals, sending delegations and contributing spectacular floats for the occasion.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/229584115_b41d068a43.jpg?v=0

Fancy water floats bearing allegorical beauties plied Manila Bay as sideshow attractions during the fair.

^^ They're beautiful. Imagine them in color!

^^ They're beautiful. Imagine them in color!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

^ oh my god i cant beleive that was quiapo
how sad that it turned out to be like that today, very freaking dissapointed :no:


anyway last time i went there which is jsut this past nov, they were breaking down those houses

^ oh my god i cant beleive that was quiapo
how sad that it turned out to be like that today, very freaking dissapointed :no:


anyway last time i went there which is jsut this past nov, they were breaking down those houses

@animo: naunahan ka ni sinhino :lol:
very impressive though ;) nice job

deaths in early 20th cent
http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/mpd0.jpg
Photographs from the Morgue in Manila, 1920's.

http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/

@animo: naunahan ka ni sinhino :lol:
very impressive though ;) nice job

deaths in early 20th cent
http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/mpd0.jpg
Photographs from the Morgue in Manila, 1920's.

http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/

^^ Bleeeek! grossness!!!:eek:

^^ Bleeeek! grossness!!!:eek:

@animo: naunahan ka ni sinhino :lol:
very impressive though ;) nice job

deaths in early 20th cent
http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/mpd0.jpg
Photographs from the Morgue in Manila, 1920's.

http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/

OMG!!! hahaha... I am now more amazed and impressed with my father. He used to be the Chief Medico-Legal Officer in NBI. He would perform a lot of those autopsies ala Dr. Quincy or CSI. But I remember, he started the museum collection in NBI with all those body parts being immersed in gallons of formaline. There was a sign there I remember distinctly: "Let conversation cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."

So, we looked around in solemn amazement.

I never had the stomach for the sight of blood so I didn't follow in his footsteps and those of my forebears who are doctors.

@animo: naunahan ka ni sinhino :lol:
very impressive though ;) nice job

deaths in early 20th cent
http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/mpd0.jpg
Photographs from the Morgue in Manila, 1920's.

http://poetry.rotten.com/philippine-morgue/

OMG!!! hahaha... I am now more amazed and impressed with my father. He used to be the Chief Medico-Legal Officer in NBI. He would perform a lot of those autopsies ala Dr. Quincy or CSI. But I remember, he started the museum collection in NBI with all those body parts being immersed in gallons of formaline. There was a sign there I remember distinctly: "Let conversation cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."

So, we looked around in solemn amazement.

I never had the stomach for the sight of blood so I didn't follow in his footsteps and those of my forebears who are doctors.

OMG!!! hahaha... I am now more amazed and impressed with my father. He used to be the Chief Medico-Legal Officer in NBI. He would perform a lot of those autopsies ala Dr. Quincy or CSI. But I remember, he started the museum collection in NBI with all those body parts being immersed in gallons of formaline. There was a sign there I remember distinctly: "Let conversation cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."

So, we looked around in solemn amazement.

I never had the stomach for the sight of blood so I didn't follow in his footsteps and those of my forebears who are doctors.

^^ @ Lili: wow--your dad started the NBI collection! He must have some unreal tales to tell. There's something about the macabre that draws human interest somehow, though...lots of teenagers in the US frequent that website with those gory pics. I feel so sorry for the victims in those Manila archive pics: I just hope they went instantly and didn't suffer long.

OMG!!! hahaha... I am now more amazed and impressed with my father. He used to be the Chief Medico-Legal Officer in NBI. He would perform a lot of those autopsies ala Dr. Quincy or CSI. But I remember, he started the museum collection in NBI with all those body parts being immersed in gallons of formaline. There was a sign there I remember distinctly: "Let conversation cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living."

So, we looked around in solemn amazement.

I never had the stomach for the sight of blood so I didn't follow in his footsteps and those of my forebears who are doctors.

^^ @ Lili: wow--your dad started the NBI collection! He must have some unreal tales to tell. There's something about the macabre that draws human interest somehow, though...lots of teenagers in the US frequent that website with those gory pics. I feel so sorry for the victims in those Manila archive pics: I just hope they went instantly and didn't suffer long.

Tigs, the weblink you provided is your best contribution so far. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the photographs of those dead people in 1929. Galing!

I am a frustrated crime investigator eh. He he.

Tigs, the weblink you provided is your best contribution so far. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the photographs of those dead people in 1929. Galing!

I am a frustrated crime investigator eh. He he.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

I would pass by this street, every day from 1997 to 2001 on my way to San Beda in San Miguel, Manila. I remember vividly each time the jeep would stop near the Paterno house and I would take a peek into the courtyard. There came a time wherein for one whole month, R. Hidalgo smelled of sinangag with lots of garlic. Some old houses have been converted into carinderias, hence the smell of cooking whathaveyous. I sorely missed those days.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

I would pass by this street, every day from 1997 to 2001 on my way to San Beda in San Miguel, Manila. I remember vividly each time the jeep would stop near the Paterno house and I would take a peek into the courtyard. There came a time wherein for one whole month, R. Hidalgo smelled of sinangag with lots of garlic. Some old houses have been converted into carinderias, hence the smell of cooking whathaveyous. I sorely missed those days.

^^ Minsan Jeff, kapag nakabisita ako dyan, pasyal tayo sa San Miguel. Tapos, kain tayo sa mga carinderia dyan. Siempre subukan ko din later yung La Cocina de Tita Moning.

^^ Minsan Jeff, kapag nakabisita ako dyan, pasyal tayo sa San Miguel. Tapos, kain tayo sa mga carinderia dyan. Siempre subukan ko din later yung La Cocina de Tita Moning.

^^ Siyempre! I'm dreaming of a meet nga with you, TCR and Hawayano. We will wander the streets of Hidalgo, visit San Sebastian Church, Our Lady of Monserrat Chapel (San Beda), have merienda in one of those carinderias, marvel at the old houses in San Miguel and cap off the tour with a sumptuous meal at La Cocina de Tita Moning. Pero mahal ang kanilang meals ah --- starting price is at P1,800 per person, for a sit down dinner. But I think it's worth it. Para kang na time warp sa lugar at masarap na pagkain.

^^ Siyempre! I'm dreaming of a meet nga with you, TCR and Hawayano. We will wander the streets of Hidalgo, visit San Sebastian Church, Our Lady of Monserrat Chapel (San Beda), have merienda in one of those carinderias, marvel at the old houses in San Miguel and cap off the tour with a sumptuous meal at La Cocina de Tita Moning. Pero mahal ang kanilang meals ah --- starting price is at P1,800 per person, for a sit down dinner. But I think it's worth it. Para kang na time warp sa lugar at masarap na pagkain.

^^ Yeah that will be a dream meet for me, too, with you, @TCR, @Hawayano, @Overtureph and all those heritage enthusiasts based there and abroad.

Kahit sa carinderia o panciteria lang, ok na sa akin. :okay:

^^ Yeah that will be a dream meet for me, too, with you, @TCR, @Hawayano, @Overtureph and all those heritage enthusiasts based there and abroad.

Kahit sa carinderia o panciteria lang, ok na sa akin. :okay:

^^ Bleeeek! grossness!!!:eek:

:lol:

http://poetry.rotten.com/dismemberment-ii/

ito naman ang version ng chop chop lady nung 1920s
i just dont know sino gumanap for her movies, maybe kris aquino or lorna tolentino

^^ Bleeeek! grossness!!!:eek:

:lol:

http://poetry.rotten.com/dismemberment-ii/

ito naman ang version ng chop chop lady nung 1920s
i just dont know sino gumanap for her movies, maybe kris aquino or lorna tolentino

^^ Chop chop lady? The Lucila Lalu case? Di ko pa kayang buksan ngayon. Teka condition ko muna sarili ko. Mahina ang sikmura ko sa mga ganyan eh.

Nakita ko na. Buti na lang black and white.

^^ Chop chop lady? The Lucila Lalu case? Di ko pa kayang buksan ngayon. Teka condition ko muna sarili ko. Mahina ang sikmura ko sa mga ganyan eh.

Nakita ko na. Buti na lang black and white.

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/images/philippines/p2.gif

head hunt ng mga sagada

http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/images/philippines/p2.gif

head hunt ng mga sagada

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

Luneta?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/taft.jpg

Taft Ave.?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/candle.jpg

Vendors

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quiapo.jpg

Quiapo

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/girl.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/escolta-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/museum.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quezon.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/farmer.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

Luneta?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/taft.jpg

Taft Ave.?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/candle.jpg

Vendors

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quiapo.jpg

Quiapo

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/girl.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/escolta-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/museum.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/quezon.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/farmer.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

For comparison sake, I couldn't help but toss in this WWI era print of a French townscape:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/painting2towerchurch2.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/hidalgo.jpg

Calle San Sebastian?/Hidalgo St., Quiapo

There are still some old houses on Hidalgo St., ad least when I last visited the place.

For comparison sake, I couldn't help but toss in this WWI era print of a French townscape:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/painting2towerchurch2.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

Luneta?


maybe it was part pf intramuros, i see the cathedral in the background

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/Luneta.jpg

Luneta?


maybe it was part pf intramuros, i see the cathedral in the background

^^ ^^ This is Luneta, looking toward the Santa Lucia side of Intramuros. That tower in the background is one of the two steeples of Jesuit San Ignacio Church (now just empty ruins that the DOT uses for public functions and events). If you look carefully you can see the corner of the walls known as the Bastion San Diego, minus the corner guard tower or garita installed in the 1980s restoration. The area to the left was still Manila Bay, as it was yet to be filled in to create the reclaimed land for the South Port Area. Manila Hotel stands approximately where those bahay kubo are jutting into the sea; look to the far left and you can see the white farola at the tip of the breakwater that extended from the north side of the mouth of the Pasig River.

^^ ^^ This is Luneta, looking toward the Santa Lucia side of Intramuros. That tower in the background is one of the two steeples of Jesuit San Ignacio Church (now just empty ruins that the DOT uses for public functions and events). If you look carefully you can see the corner of the walls known as the Bastion San Diego, minus the corner guard tower or garita installed in the 1980s restoration. The area to the left was still Manila Bay, as it was yet to be filled in to create the reclaimed land for the South Port Area. Manila Hotel stands approximately where those bahay kubo are jutting into the sea; look to the far left and you can see the white farola at the tip of the breakwater that extended from the north side of the mouth of the Pasig River.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/binondo.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/view.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/binondo.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/view.jpg

^^ ^^ This is Luneta, looking toward the Santa Lucia side of Intramuros. That tower in the background is one of the two steeples of Jesuit San Ignacio Church (now just empty ruins that the DOT uses for public functions and events). If you look carefully you can see the corner of the walls known as the Bastion San Diego, minus the corner guard tower or garita installed in the 1980s restoration. The area to the left was still Manila Bay, as it was yet to be filled in to create the reclaimed land for the South Port Area. Manila Hotel stands approximately where those bahay kubo are jutting into the sea; look to the far left and you can see the white farola at the tip of the breakwater that extended from the north side of the mouth of the Pasig River.

Wow, I didn't even know that you can see the Farola de Pasig. Great details and by the way it took me ages to respond. The website connection is so slowly for me. Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday celebrations. :cheers:

- Ang pag-babalik ni Don Quija -este- Animo :D

^^ ^^ This is Luneta, looking toward the Santa Lucia side of Intramuros. That tower in the background is one of the two steeples of Jesuit San Ignacio Church (now just empty ruins that the DOT uses for public functions and events). If you look carefully you can see the corner of the walls known as the Bastion San Diego, minus the corner guard tower or garita installed in the 1980s restoration. The area to the left was still Manila Bay, as it was yet to be filled in to create the reclaimed land for the South Port Area. Manila Hotel stands approximately where those bahay kubo are jutting into the sea; look to the far left and you can see the white farola at the tip of the breakwater that extended from the north side of the mouth of the Pasig River.

Wow, I didn't even know that you can see the Farola de Pasig. Great details and by the way it took me ages to respond. The website connection is so slowly for me. Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday celebrations. :cheers:

- Ang pag-babalik ni Don Quija -este- Animo :D

CINEMA in the Philippines celebrates its 110th year Monday. If an account in the Spanish-language newspaper, "El Comercio," is to be believed, it was on Jan. 1, 1897 when the first film exhibition was held at No. 12, Interior in Escolta, Manila.

The film show was called "Espectaculo Cientifico de Pertierra," (Pertierra's Scientific Spectacle), named after the Spaniard who brought the first film equipment to the Philippines, Señor Francisco Pertierra.

It was not an auspicious start for the motion picture. Only two days earlier, Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan. One year after, Filipinos declared their independence from Spain after months of bloody fighting, only to be plunged deeper into political chaos when the United States snatched the fledgling republic.

The turn-of-the-century also meant a struggle for recognition for cinema in an age when the Spanish zarzuela dominated the entertainment scene. Despite its difficult birth, it is remarkable to find in the century that followed cinema becoming the defining culture that helped shape the contemporary Filipino.

Hispanic beginnings

The date of its birth reveals much about the identity of Filipino cinema. While much has been made of local film being an imitation of Hollywood movies or as embodying the national identity, it should not come as a surprise to know that Filipino cinema owes much to its Hispanic beginnings. Let us start with the words we use to talk about film. Ever wondered where words like pelikula, sine, artista, takilya, telon, and even the one which we use for the hated kontrabida come from? They were obviously derived from the Spanish pelicula, cine, artista, taquilla, telon and contravida.

And what about Catholic religious imagery dominating the visual design of many Filipino films? Notice how it is always in front of an altar that a secret confession is made to resolve all conflicts at the end of many Filipino movies. Even in the films that challenge the Church--from Ishmael Bernal's "Himala" to Lino Brocka's "Orapronobis"--our film artists cannot cast out their deep-seated Catholic visual culture. More important than these external symbols, however, is the Catholic ideology embedded in them that once became the basis for our calling ourselves "Filipino." At one time in our history, to be "Filipino" meant to be Hispanic--and Catholic.

More telling of our films' Hispanic flavor are the screen names that movie stars use to make themselves more attractive to the public. American mestiza stars like Rose Stagner became Rosa del Rosario and Anita Lake assumed the monicker, Anita Linda. Dorothy Jones became our favorite galawgaw star, Nida Blanca. American mestizo Marvin Gardner became Eduardo de Castro who not only acted but directed films like the famous "Zamboanga."

What social values went with the naming of our movie stars? Were not these actors with Spanish-derived names the screen luminaries adulated by mainstream society? And what fate awaited those who assumed native names like Pugo, Dely Atay-atayan or Matutina? Were these not the funny characters who got clobbered and ridiculed in their scenes?

Alien form

Knowing how our cinema started makes us reflect on the values we attach to a form that has dominated our cultural development. It makes us wonder how an alien form like film which is not indigenous but an imported technology came to be the locus of our national culture and identity.

Take for example the way musicals came to be the dominant genre in the emerging Filipino cinema. This was because of early film's close affinity to the Spanish zarzuela, a form of musical theater that was the dominant theater form at the time of film's arrival in the country.

The pioneering film of the Spanish-speaking movie director Don Jose Nepomuceno, "Dalagang Bukid," was based on a nativized zarzuela (sarswela) of the same title. Dalagang Bukid was followed by an excess of hybrid musical sarswelas while no films were ever made of indigenous tales like the Hinilawod of central Panay island or the Lam-ang epic of Ilocos.

The Spanish roots of Philippine cinema tell us of a past that we present-day Filipinos have learned to obscure in our collective memory. The cultural erasure came in several stages. Two of the more pronounced causes came with the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture when the Americans became our colonial masters who then forcefully substituted English for the Spanish language. The other came with the nationalist desire to supplant everything foreign with what was deemed native.

No marker

The early period of cinema in the Philippines has been so forgotten that we have even failed to recognize the very street where the first film exhibition was made. Is it too late to find No. 12 Escolta and perhaps place a historical marker on it in order to designate its importance to Filipino culture? If we cannot find it, surely one can still locate the intersection between Escolta and a street now called Tomas Pinpin where in 1897 the second film screening in the country was held inside a jewelry shop at No. 18 owned by French importers, the Levy brothers. On the second floor of this corner edifice, two Swiss businessmen, Leibman and Peritz, showed films using the Lumiere cinematographe imported by another Spaniard, Antonio Ramos.

Paradoxically, the roots of our national cinema may be found in its international origins. Cinema in the Philippines was international from birth. It was Spaniards who brought in the first equipment. French films were the first to be shown in makeshift venues owned by French jewelers and capitalized by Swiss financiers. The first real movie house was set up by a British named Walgrah. German, Danish, Italian and even Mexican films were shown. Manila was truly a cosmopolitan city when film arrived here.

While the Philippines may rank third after India and China in showing the first films in Asia (Japan and Siam came only a few months later), the moving picture device rapidly spread to other islands within the year of its arrival, 1897. Accounts of film screenings were reported in Iloilo, a bustling port city next only in progress to Manila, and in the island of Cebu. In Cebu, the street where the first film show was held is even known--Calle Colon, the oldest street in the Philippines. Again, not a sign exists there to bear witness to film's initial foray into the archipelago.

Cinema and nationhood

Recalling cinema's origin gives us an occasion to remember the country's historical past and raise questions about its evolving identity. Film history may even make us take notice of the fact that film is much older than the Philippines as a formal nation-state. With film's birth date in 1897 and our formal declaration as an independent nation coming only in 1946, it gives us much pause to think about the role cinema played in preparing and shaping us Filipinos into becoming the nation that we are today.

With the journey it took to assume an identity-- from Hispanic to Hollywood, from a forced "nationalist" identity during the Japanese occupation to the romanticized "Filipino" in the classic '50s, all the way to the "bakya" movies of the '60s and into the shift to digital technology at the turn of a new century--film has many lessons to teach us in terms of knowing who we are as a people.

During 110 years of the cinema's growth, we Filipinos have seen wars and revolutions, seen ourselves transform from colony into nation. And even if we are now free, we have also seen the rise and fall of regimes under our own rulers. Through all these experiences, film has been with us in our journey reflecting much of who we are as a people even if viewed only through a glass, darkly.

By Nick Deocampo, Contributor
Inquirer
Last updated 11:54pm (Mla time) 12/31/2006
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=41019
(The writer is a filmmaker and author of "Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines" and "Origins of Cinema in Asia.")

CINEMA in the Philippines celebrates its 110th year Monday. If an account in the Spanish-language newspaper, "El Comercio," is to be believed, it was on Jan. 1, 1897 when the first film exhibition was held at No. 12, Interior in Escolta, Manila.

The film show was called "Espectaculo Cientifico de Pertierra," (Pertierra's Scientific Spectacle), named after the Spaniard who brought the first film equipment to the Philippines, Señor Francisco Pertierra.

It was not an auspicious start for the motion picture. Only two days earlier, Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan. One year after, Filipinos declared their independence from Spain after months of bloody fighting, only to be plunged deeper into political chaos when the United States snatched the fledgling republic.

The turn-of-the-century also meant a struggle for recognition for cinema in an age when the Spanish zarzuela dominated the entertainment scene. Despite its difficult birth, it is remarkable to find in the century that followed cinema becoming the defining culture that helped shape the contemporary Filipino.

Hispanic beginnings

The date of its birth reveals much about the identity of Filipino cinema. While much has been made of local film being an imitation of Hollywood movies or as embodying the national identity, it should not come as a surprise to know that Filipino cinema owes much to its Hispanic beginnings. Let us start with the words we use to talk about film. Ever wondered where words like pelikula, sine, artista, takilya, telon, and even the one which we use for the hated kontrabida come from? They were obviously derived from the Spanish pelicula, cine, artista, taquilla, telon and contravida.

And what about Catholic religious imagery dominating the visual design of many Filipino films? Notice how it is always in front of an altar that a secret confession is made to resolve all conflicts at the end of many Filipino movies. Even in the films that challenge the Church--from Ishmael Bernal's "Himala" to Lino Brocka's "Orapronobis"--our film artists cannot cast out their deep-seated Catholic visual culture. More important than these external symbols, however, is the Catholic ideology embedded in them that once became the basis for our calling ourselves "Filipino." At one time in our history, to be "Filipino" meant to be Hispanic--and Catholic.

More telling of our films' Hispanic flavor are the screen names that movie stars use to make themselves more attractive to the public. American mestiza stars like Rose Stagner became Rosa del Rosario and Anita Lake assumed the monicker, Anita Linda. Dorothy Jones became our favorite galawgaw star, Nida Blanca. American mestizo Marvin Gardner became Eduardo de Castro who not only acted but directed films like the famous "Zamboanga."

What social values went with the naming of our movie stars? Were not these actors with Spanish-derived names the screen luminaries adulated by mainstream society? And what fate awaited those who assumed native names like Pugo, Dely Atay-atayan or Matutina? Were these not the funny characters who got clobbered and ridiculed in their scenes?

Alien form

Knowing how our cinema started makes us reflect on the values we attach to a form that has dominated our cultural development. It makes us wonder how an alien form like film which is not indigenous but an imported technology came to be the locus of our national culture and identity.

Take for example the way musicals came to be the dominant genre in the emerging Filipino cinema. This was because of early film's close affinity to the Spanish zarzuela, a form of musical theater that was the dominant theater form at the time of film's arrival in the country.

The pioneering film of the Spanish-speaking movie director Don Jose Nepomuceno, "Dalagang Bukid," was based on a nativized zarzuela (sarswela) of the same title. Dalagang Bukid was followed by an excess of hybrid musical sarswelas while no films were ever made of indigenous tales like the Hinilawod of central Panay island or the Lam-ang epic of Ilocos.

The Spanish roots of Philippine cinema tell us of a past that we present-day Filipinos have learned to obscure in our collective memory. The cultural erasure came in several stages. Two of the more pronounced causes came with the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture when the Americans became our colonial masters who then forcefully substituted English for the Spanish language. The other came with the nationalist desire to supplant everything foreign with what was deemed native.

No marker

The early period of cinema in the Philippines has been so forgotten that we have even failed to recognize the very street where the first film exhibition was made. Is it too late to find No. 12 Escolta and perhaps place a historical marker on it in order to designate its importance to Filipino culture? If we cannot find it, surely one can still locate the intersection between Escolta and a street now called Tomas Pinpin where in 1897 the second film screening in the country was held inside a jewelry shop at No. 18 owned by French importers, the Levy brothers. On the second floor of this corner edifice, two Swiss businessmen, Leibman and Peritz, showed films using the Lumiere cinematographe imported by another Spaniard, Antonio Ramos.

Paradoxically, the roots of our national cinema may be found in its international origins. Cinema in the Philippines was international from birth. It was Spaniards who brought in the first equipment. French films were the first to be shown in makeshift venues owned by French jewelers and capitalized by Swiss financiers. The first real movie house was set up by a British named Walgrah. German, Danish, Italian and even Mexican films were shown. Manila was truly a cosmopolitan city when film arrived here.

While the Philippines may rank third after India and China in showing the first films in Asia (Japan and Siam came only a few months later), the moving picture device rapidly spread to other islands within the year of its arrival, 1897. Accounts of film screenings were reported in Iloilo, a bustling port city next only in progress to Manila, and in the island of Cebu. In Cebu, the street where the first film show was held is even known--Calle Colon, the oldest street in the Philippines. Again, not a sign exists there to bear witness to film's initial foray into the archipelago.

Cinema and nationhood

Recalling cinema's origin gives us an occasion to remember the country's historical past and raise questions about its evolving identity. Film history may even make us take notice of the fact that film is much older than the Philippines as a formal nation-state. With film's birth date in 1897 and our formal declaration as an independent nation coming only in 1946, it gives us much pause to think about the role cinema played in preparing and shaping us Filipinos into becoming the nation that we are today.

With the journey it took to assume an identity-- from Hispanic to Hollywood, from a forced "nationalist" identity during the Japanese occupation to the romanticized "Filipino" in the classic '50s, all the way to the "bakya" movies of the '60s and into the shift to digital technology at the turn of a new century--film has many lessons to teach us in terms of knowing who we are as a people.

During 110 years of the cinema's growth, we Filipinos have seen wars and revolutions, seen ourselves transform from colony into nation. And even if we are now free, we have also seen the rise and fall of regimes under our own rulers. Through all these experiences, film has been with us in our journey reflecting much of who we are as a people even if viewed only through a glass, darkly.

By Nick Deocampo, Contributor
Inquirer
Last updated 11:54pm (Mla time) 12/31/2006
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=41019
(The writer is a filmmaker and author of "Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines" and "Origins of Cinema in Asia.")

Hawayano, that is a really great comparison! We know it's true, but the images and past of Manila boasts of Europe, Spain in the Pacific Rim.

Hawayano, that is a really great comparison! We know it's true, but the images and past of Manila boasts of Europe, Spain in the Pacific Rim.

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1246/miss1933fm7.jpg

Miss Philippines 1933 and her court

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8820/miss1933nowwn5.jpg

Then....?

Baka katayin ako ni whipsmart (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)of flickr.... :)


Here are some more nostalgia photos just click on the Thumbnail below..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/248671527_c34d9da59e_s.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1246/miss1933fm7.jpg

Miss Philippines 1933 and her court

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8820/miss1933nowwn5.jpg

Then....?

Baka katayin ako ni whipsmart (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)of flickr.... :)


Here are some more nostalgia photos just click on the Thumbnail below..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/248671527_c34d9da59e_s.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)

Hawayano, that is a really great comparison! We know it's true, but the images and past of Manila boasts of Europe, Spain in the Pacific Rim.


Heheheh--yep, the European connection is undeniable, yet IMHO upon closer look, ours is truly a Philippine fusion of tropical Asian and Castilian styles diba? :)

Hawayano, that is a really great comparison! We know it's true, but the images and past of Manila boasts of Europe, Spain in the Pacific Rim.


Heheheh--yep, the European connection is undeniable, yet IMHO upon closer look, ours is truly a Philippine fusion of tropical Asian and Castilian styles diba? :)

ano pala tawag dun sa mga bangkang yun

ano pala tawag dun sa mga bangkang yun

"Cascos" @Tigs.

"Cascos" @Tigs.

CINEMA in the Philippines celebrates its 110th year Monday. If an account in the Spanish-language newspaper, "El Comercio," is to be believed, it was on Jan. 1, 1897 when the first film exhibition was held at No. 12, Interior in Escolta, Manila.

The film show was called "Espectaculo Cientifico de Pertierra," (Pertierra's Scientific Spectacle), named after the Spaniard who brought the first film equipment to the Philippines, Señor Francisco Pertierra.

It was not an auspicious start for the motion picture. Only two days earlier, Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan. One year after, Filipinos declared their independence from Spain after months of bloody fighting, only to be plunged deeper into political chaos when the United States snatched the fledgling republic.

The turn-of-the-century also meant a struggle for recognition for cinema in an age when the Spanish zarzuela dominated the entertainment scene. Despite its difficult birth, it is remarkable to find in the century that followed cinema becoming the defining culture that helped shape the contemporary Filipino.

Hispanic beginnings

The date of its birth reveals much about the identity of Filipino cinema. While much has been made of local film being an imitation of Hollywood movies or as embodying the national identity, it should not come as a surprise to know that Filipino cinema owes much to its Hispanic beginnings. Let us start with the words we use to talk about film. Ever wondered where words like pelikula, sine, artista, takilya, telon, and even the one which we use for the hated kontrabida come from? They were obviously derived from the Spanish pelicula, cine, artista, taquilla, telon and contravida.

And what about Catholic religious imagery dominating the visual design of many Filipino films? Notice how it is always in front of an altar that a secret confession is made to resolve all conflicts at the end of many Filipino movies. Even in the films that challenge the Church--from Ishmael Bernal's "Himala" to Lino Brocka's "Orapronobis"--our film artists cannot cast out their deep-seated Catholic visual culture. More important than these external symbols, however, is the Catholic ideology embedded in them that once became the basis for our calling ourselves "Filipino." At one time in our history, to be "Filipino" meant to be Hispanic--and Catholic.

More telling of our films' Hispanic flavor are the screen names that movie stars use to make themselves more attractive to the public. American mestiza stars like Rose Stagner became Rosa del Rosario and Anita Lake assumed the monicker, Anita Linda. Dorothy Jones became our favorite galawgaw star, Nida Blanca. American mestizo Marvin Gardner became Eduardo de Castro who not only acted but directed films like the famous "Zamboanga."
What social values went with the naming of our movie stars? Were not these actors with Spanish-derived names the screen luminaries adulated by mainstream society? And what fate awaited those who assumed native names like Pugo, Dely Atay-atayan or Matutina? Were these not the funny characters who got clobbered and ridiculed in their scenes?
Alien form

Knowing how our cinema started makes us reflect on the values we attach to a form that has dominated our cultural development. It makes us wonder how an alien form like film which is not indigenous but an imported technology came to be the locus of our national culture and identity.

Take for example the way musicals came to be the dominant genre in the emerging Filipino cinema. This was because of early film's close affinity to the Spanish zarzuela, a form of musical theater that was the dominant theater form at the time of film's arrival in the country.

The pioneering film of the Spanish-speaking movie director Don Jose Nepomuceno, "Dalagang Bukid," was based on a nativized zarzuela (sarswela) of the same title. Dalagang Bukid was followed by an excess of hybrid musical sarswelas while no films were ever made of indigenous tales like the Hinilawod of central Panay island or the Lam-ang epic of Ilocos.

The Spanish roots of Philippine cinema tell us of a past that we present-day Filipinos have learned to obscure in our collective memory. The cultural erasure came in several stages. Two of the more pronounced causes came with the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture when the Americans became our colonial masters who then forcefully substituted English for the Spanish language. The other came with the nationalist desire to supplant everything foreign with what was deemed native.

No marker

The early period of cinema in the Philippines has been so forgotten that we have even failed to recognize the very street where the first film exhibition was made. Is it too late to find No. 12 Escolta and perhaps place a historical marker on it in order to designate its importance to Filipino culture? If we cannot find it, surely one can still locate the intersection between Escolta and a street now called Tomas Pinpin where in 1897 the second film screening in the country was held inside a jewelry shop at No. 18 owned by French importers, the Levy brothers. On the second floor of this corner edifice, two Swiss businessmen, Leibman and Peritz, showed films using the Lumiere cinematographe imported by another Spaniard, Antonio Ramos.

Paradoxically, the roots of our national cinema may be found in its international origins. Cinema in the Philippines was international from birth. It was Spaniards who brought in the first equipment. French films were the first to be shown in makeshift venues owned by French jewelers and capitalized by Swiss financiers. The first real movie house was set up by a British named Walgrah. German, Danish, Italian and even Mexican films were shown. Manila was truly a cosmopolitan city when film arrived here.

While the Philippines may rank third after India and China in showing the first films in Asia (Japan and Siam came only a few months later), the moving picture device rapidly spread to other islands within the year of its arrival, 1897. Accounts of film screenings were reported in Iloilo, a bustling port city next only in progress to Manila, and in the island of Cebu. In Cebu, the street where the first film show was held is even known--Calle Colon, the oldest street in the Philippines. Again, not a sign exists there to bear witness to film's initial foray into the archipelago.

Cinema and nationhood

Recalling cinema's origin gives us an occasion to remember the country's historical past and raise questions about its evolving identity. Film history may even make us take notice of the fact that film is much older than the Philippines as a formal nation-state. With film's birth date in 1897 and our formal declaration as an independent nation coming only in 1946, it gives us much pause to think about the role cinema played in preparing and shaping us Filipinos into becoming the nation that we are today.

With the journey it took to assume an identity-- from Hispanic to Hollywood, from a forced "nationalist" identity during the Japanese occupation to the romanticized "Filipino" in the classic '50s, all the way to the "bakya" movies of the '60s and into the shift to digital technology at the turn of a new century--film has many lessons to teach us in terms of knowing who we are as a people.

During 110 years of the cinema's growth, we Filipinos have seen wars and revolutions, seen ourselves transform from colony into nation. And even if we are now free, we have also seen the rise and fall of regimes under our own rulers. Through all these experiences, film has been with us in our journey reflecting much of who we are as a people even if viewed only through a glass, darkly.

By Nick Deocampo, Contributor
Inquirer
Last updated 11:54pm (Mla time) 12/31/2006
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=41019
(The writer is a filmmaker and author of "Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines" and "Origins of Cinema in Asia.")

What a great article on the roots of Philippine Cinema. I would like to start a thread on this one. I was hoping that @Weirdo Anthony can help me in providing entries there because he has researched a lot on Philippine film anthologies and historiography. Me, I am just a plain ol' fan and cinema enthusiast who watched a lot of those vintage Philippine movies and reruns during those long hazy lazy days of Summer when the TV took the role as my babysitter.

CINEMA in the Philippines celebrates its 110th year Monday. If an account in the Spanish-language newspaper, "El Comercio," is to be believed, it was on Jan. 1, 1897 when the first film exhibition was held at No. 12, Interior in Escolta, Manila.

The film show was called "Espectaculo Cientifico de Pertierra," (Pertierra's Scientific Spectacle), named after the Spaniard who brought the first film equipment to the Philippines, Señor Francisco Pertierra.

It was not an auspicious start for the motion picture. Only two days earlier, Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan. One year after, Filipinos declared their independence from Spain after months of bloody fighting, only to be plunged deeper into political chaos when the United States snatched the fledgling republic.

The turn-of-the-century also meant a struggle for recognition for cinema in an age when the Spanish zarzuela dominated the entertainment scene. Despite its difficult birth, it is remarkable to find in the century that followed cinema becoming the defining culture that helped shape the contemporary Filipino.

Hispanic beginnings

The date of its birth reveals much about the identity of Filipino cinema. While much has been made of local film being an imitation of Hollywood movies or as embodying the national identity, it should not come as a surprise to know that Filipino cinema owes much to its Hispanic beginnings. Let us start with the words we use to talk about film. Ever wondered where words like pelikula, sine, artista, takilya, telon, and even the one which we use for the hated kontrabida come from? They were obviously derived from the Spanish pelicula, cine, artista, taquilla, telon and contravida.

And what about Catholic religious imagery dominating the visual design of many Filipino films? Notice how it is always in front of an altar that a secret confession is made to resolve all conflicts at the end of many Filipino movies. Even in the films that challenge the Church--from Ishmael Bernal's "Himala" to Lino Brocka's "Orapronobis"--our film artists cannot cast out their deep-seated Catholic visual culture. More important than these external symbols, however, is the Catholic ideology embedded in them that once became the basis for our calling ourselves "Filipino." At one time in our history, to be "Filipino" meant to be Hispanic--and Catholic.

More telling of our films' Hispanic flavor are the screen names that movie stars use to make themselves more attractive to the public. American mestiza stars like Rose Stagner became Rosa del Rosario and Anita Lake assumed the monicker, Anita Linda. Dorothy Jones became our favorite galawgaw star, Nida Blanca. American mestizo Marvin Gardner became Eduardo de Castro who not only acted but directed films like the famous "Zamboanga."
What social values went with the naming of our movie stars? Were not these actors with Spanish-derived names the screen luminaries adulated by mainstream society? And what fate awaited those who assumed native names like Pugo, Dely Atay-atayan or Matutina? Were these not the funny characters who got clobbered and ridiculed in their scenes?
Alien form

Knowing how our cinema started makes us reflect on the values we attach to a form that has dominated our cultural development. It makes us wonder how an alien form like film which is not indigenous but an imported technology came to be the locus of our national culture and identity.

Take for example the way musicals came to be the dominant genre in the emerging Filipino cinema. This was because of early film's close affinity to the Spanish zarzuela, a form of musical theater that was the dominant theater form at the time of film's arrival in the country.

The pioneering film of the Spanish-speaking movie director Don Jose Nepomuceno, "Dalagang Bukid," was based on a nativized zarzuela (sarswela) of the same title. Dalagang Bukid was followed by an excess of hybrid musical sarswelas while no films were ever made of indigenous tales like the Hinilawod of central Panay island or the Lam-ang epic of Ilocos.

The Spanish roots of Philippine cinema tell us of a past that we present-day Filipinos have learned to obscure in our collective memory. The cultural erasure came in several stages. Two of the more pronounced causes came with the influence of Anglo-Saxon culture when the Americans became our colonial masters who then forcefully substituted English for the Spanish language. The other came with the nationalist desire to supplant everything foreign with what was deemed native.

No marker

The early period of cinema in the Philippines has been so forgotten that we have even failed to recognize the very street where the first film exhibition was made. Is it too late to find No. 12 Escolta and perhaps place a historical marker on it in order to designate its importance to Filipino culture? If we cannot find it, surely one can still locate the intersection between Escolta and a street now called Tomas Pinpin where in 1897 the second film screening in the country was held inside a jewelry shop at No. 18 owned by French importers, the Levy brothers. On the second floor of this corner edifice, two Swiss businessmen, Leibman and Peritz, showed films using the Lumiere cinematographe imported by another Spaniard, Antonio Ramos.

Paradoxically, the roots of our national cinema may be found in its international origins. Cinema in the Philippines was international from birth. It was Spaniards who brought in the first equipment. French films were the first to be shown in makeshift venues owned by French jewelers and capitalized by Swiss financiers. The first real movie house was set up by a British named Walgrah. German, Danish, Italian and even Mexican films were shown. Manila was truly a cosmopolitan city when film arrived here.

While the Philippines may rank third after India and China in showing the first films in Asia (Japan and Siam came only a few months later), the moving picture device rapidly spread to other islands within the year of its arrival, 1897. Accounts of film screenings were reported in Iloilo, a bustling port city next only in progress to Manila, and in the island of Cebu. In Cebu, the street where the first film show was held is even known--Calle Colon, the oldest street in the Philippines. Again, not a sign exists there to bear witness to film's initial foray into the archipelago.

Cinema and nationhood

Recalling cinema's origin gives us an occasion to remember the country's historical past and raise questions about its evolving identity. Film history may even make us take notice of the fact that film is much older than the Philippines as a formal nation-state. With film's birth date in 1897 and our formal declaration as an independent nation coming only in 1946, it gives us much pause to think about the role cinema played in preparing and shaping us Filipinos into becoming the nation that we are today.

With the journey it took to assume an identity-- from Hispanic to Hollywood, from a forced "nationalist" identity during the Japanese occupation to the romanticized "Filipino" in the classic '50s, all the way to the "bakya" movies of the '60s and into the shift to digital technology at the turn of a new century--film has many lessons to teach us in terms of knowing who we are as a people.

During 110 years of the cinema's growth, we Filipinos have seen wars and revolutions, seen ourselves transform from colony into nation. And even if we are now free, we have also seen the rise and fall of regimes under our own rulers. Through all these experiences, film has been with us in our journey reflecting much of who we are as a people even if viewed only through a glass, darkly.

By Nick Deocampo, Contributor
Inquirer
Last updated 11:54pm (Mla time) 12/31/2006
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=41019
(The writer is a filmmaker and author of "Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines" and "Origins of Cinema in Asia.")

What a great article on the roots of Philippine Cinema. I would like to start a thread on this one. I was hoping that @Weirdo Anthony can help me in providing entries there because he has researched a lot on Philippine film anthologies and historiography. Me, I am just a plain ol' fan and cinema enthusiast who watched a lot of those vintage Philippine movies and reruns during those long hazy lazy days of Summer when the TV took the role as my babysitter.

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1246/miss1933fm7.jpg

Miss Philippines 1933 and her court

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8820/miss1933nowwn5.jpg

Then....?

Baka katayin ako ni whipsmart (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)of flickr.... :)


Here are some more nostalgia photos just click on the Thumbnail below..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/248671527_c34d9da59e_s.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)
Collector's item na ang mga iyan!

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1246/miss1933fm7.jpg

Miss Philippines 1933 and her court

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8820/miss1933nowwn5.jpg

Then....?

Baka katayin ako ni whipsmart (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)of flickr.... :)


Here are some more nostalgia photos just click on the Thumbnail below..

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/95/248671527_c34d9da59e_s.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/whipsmart/sets/72157594284645985/)
Collector's item na ang mga iyan!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24626304.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/539934.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24625818.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24625830.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/540144.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24626304.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/539934.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24625818.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24625830.png

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/540144.jpg

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cache//a/c/a/aca0825.0001.001/p0000119.jp2.l.jpg

De libro Historia del Observatorio de Manila : fundado y dirigido por los padres de la Misión de la Compañia de Jesús de Filipinas, 1865-1915 / por el R. P. Miguel Saderra Masó.

I hope to post more from the Spanish publications so more en español. Also, if you folks missed this link of the excibition in the Museum of the Filipino People. :D

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/catalogo.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cache//a/c/a/aca0825.0001.001/p0000119.jp2.l.jpg

De libro Historia del Observatorio de Manila : fundado y dirigido por los padres de la Misión de la Compañia de Jesús de Filipinas, 1865-1915 / por el R. P. Miguel Saderra Masó.

I hope to post more from the Spanish publications so more en español. Also, if you folks missed this link of the excibition in the Museum of the Filipino People. :D

http://dns1.caminante.net/content_agenda/imagenes/1162922697-img.435.colonial.jpg

Online Catalog: http://www.seacex.com/catalogo.cfm?idExposicion=296

La exposición fotográfica El imaginario colonial muestra en Manila el pasado español en Filipinas.

El próximo 27 de noviembre el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Filipino, de Manila, inaugura la exposición El imaginario colonial. Fotografía en Filipinas durante el periodo español, 1860-1898.

Se trata de la primera exposición monográfica sobre el desarrollo de la fotografía en Filipinas durante el siglo XIX. La muestra se compone de
134 imágenes, en su mayoría inéditas, que evocan la sociedad colonial y la herencia cultural española en las islas, y en concreto, el final de ésta, a raíz del surgimiento de políticas de identidad nacional que reclaman su independencia.

Por imaginario se entiende aquello que sólo existe en la imaginación, pero también se refiere al creador de imágenes decimonónico; de ahí la metáfora que sirve de inspiración a esta narración visual sobre un pasado y una memoria compartida entre España y Filipinas. En la exposición, por otra parte, se hace especial hincapié en el estallido revolucionario y en la guerra hispano-norteamericana, que supondrá el inicio de un segundo periodo colonialista bajo la tutela de los Estados Unidos.
La exposición se divide en siete apartados temáticos: Claroscuros de una sociedad colonial; Un paisaje natural y cultural; Las primeras Bellas Artes filipinas; Identidad mestiza; Exposición de Filipinas; La Revolución Katipunan y 1898.

Como complemento de la exposición se ha organizado un programa de vídeo documental y de creación titulado “Filipiniana”, en el cual se plantea un recorrido por el pasado y presente de Filipinas.

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!

Your welcome. I was also fascinated by the early ambulancias, since I have not seen them in movies or in print before such as what they have on the collection. By the way the Spanish government will be giving these photos to the Philippines after next month. Too bad about the Tuguegarao it looks like San Ignacio façade. I haven't read what they wrote yet but the interior of that church altar with the golden lions was pretty kingly. :)

@Don Animo: a spectacular find! Every student of Philippine history should be made aware of this resource; and the general public should be made aware of the beauty that was our architectural legacy from the Spanish era. I especially liked the photos of earthquake damage in Intramuros as well as the arrabales. The church at Tuguegarao in its original, pristine state was majestic indeed! Too bad the modern day "restoration" looks so botched-up and unappealing. Many thanks for sharing more from seacex!!

Your welcome. I was also fascinated by the early ambulancias, since I have not seen them in movies or in print before such as what they have on the collection. By the way the Spanish government will be giving these photos to the Philippines after next month. Too bad about the Tuguegarao it looks like San Ignacio façade. I haven't read what they wrote yet but the interior of that church altar with the golden lions was pretty kingly. :)

By Giovanni Paolo J. Yazon

WE FILIPINOS are “devotees” of beauty, that’s why beauty contests always appeal to us.

But did you know that the prestigious pageants for the most beautiful Filipina we have today—such as the annual Binibining Pilipinas, Miss Philippines-Earth and Mutya ng Pilipinas—are but “extensions of similar selections” during the pre-World War I and II eras?

Ninety-seven years before Precious Lara San Agustin Quigaman triumphed as our fourth Miss International, Filipinos witnessed the crowning of the country’s first-ever beauty queen, Pura Garcia Villanueva of Iloilo (Queen of the Orient), at the Manila Carnival in 1908!

Manila Carnival

The carnivals have been held at the old Wallace Field (now known as the Luneta). It lasts for two weeks and culminates with the coronation of the “Queen” just before Ash Wednesday. The Manila Carnivals are actually intended to showcase the agricultural and industrial potential of the Philippines under the American rule. People gather to the event dressed in different costumes in line with a theme every year. Fluvial parades are also being staged during the two weeks; various floats represent regions showing their top produce. This period of pre-war beauty pageants is fondly recalled as the “Carnival era.”

The election of a carnival queen often begins at the provincial level. The young lady who takes center stage will be that year’s Miss Batanes, Miss Laguna, Miss Cavite, etc. The rest of the provincial beauties would be given runner-up titles, like Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas or Miss Mindanao and then made part of the queen’s entourage.

The method of choosing the queen varies each year: either by a panel of judges from the highest echelons in society, or done through ballots published by sponsoring newspapers. The queen, usually, is a daughter from a family of “impeccable credentials”—someone beautiful beyond comparison—clued-up in fine points of comportment and etiquette, so that her parents, siblings, relatives as well as her countrymen could look on her with pride.

At the coronation night, people look forward to the pomp and pageantry: These ladies are the center of it all. They’re adorned with lavish costumes—from the Filipiniana, Egyptian, Thai, to the Arabian nights. There are even instances that security men are hired to guard the expensive sets of jewelry that prettify the winners.

This era lasted for 31 years, from 1908—nine years after the American armada sailed into Manila Bay—to 1939, two years before the Japanese soldiers hit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Nichols Field in Manila. It produced 29 queens. There were no contests in 1910, 1911, 1919 and 1928. In some years, meanwhile, two queens shared the spotlight: the “Queen of the Orient” representing the Philippines, and the “Queen of the Occident” standing for the United States.

The Carnival Queens

Among the queens who reigned at the Manila Carnival include Villanueva and Marjorie Colton (Queen of the Occident) in 1908, Julia Guerrero Agcaoili (1909), Paz Jurado Marquez (1912), Julia Otero Arceo (1913), Dolores Perez Rubio (1914), Concepcion Zurbito Medina (1915), Manolita Delgado Barretto (1916), Mela Fairchild (the only American to reign alone in 1917), Enriquetta de Vega Aldanese (1918), Trinidad Roura de Leon (Queen of the Orient) and Virginia Harrison (Queen of the Occident) in 1920, Carmen Prieto (1921), Virginia Vidal Llamas (1922), Catalina Castillo Apacible (1923), Trinidad Rodriguez Fernandez (1924), Carmen Arevalo Papa and (1925). In 1926, two Filipinas reigned at the same time: Socorro Martinez Hernandez as the last carnival queen and Anita Agoncillo Noble as “Miss Philippines.” It was the first time that such title was awarded to a carnival beauty and this practice went on until 1939.

The other Miss Philippines titleholders include Luisa Fernandez Marasigan (1927), Pacita Ongsiako de los Reyes (1929), Monina Consuelo Zaldarriaga Acuna (1930), Maria Villanueva Kalaw (1931), Emma Gonzales Zamora (1932), Engracia Arcinas Laconico (1933), Clarita Villarica Tan Kiang (1934), Conchita Chuidian Sunico (1935), Mercedes Montilla Montilla (1936), Maria del Carmen “Chita” Zaldarriaga (1937), Guia Gonzalez Balmori (1938) and Iluminada Tuason (1939).

As of last year, only two of them are living, Tan Kiang and Zaldarriaga.

The beauty queens they were, and will forever be!

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife1_dec18_2006

By Giovanni Paolo J. Yazon

WE FILIPINOS are “devotees” of beauty, that’s why beauty contests always appeal to us.

But did you know that the prestigious pageants for the most beautiful Filipina we have today—such as the annual Binibining Pilipinas, Miss Philippines-Earth and Mutya ng Pilipinas—are but “extensions of similar selections” during the pre-World War I and II eras?

Ninety-seven years before Precious Lara San Agustin Quigaman triumphed as our fourth Miss International, Filipinos witnessed the crowning of the country’s first-ever beauty queen, Pura Garcia Villanueva of Iloilo (Queen of the Orient), at the Manila Carnival in 1908!

Manila Carnival

The carnivals have been held at the old Wallace Field (now known as the Luneta). It lasts for two weeks and culminates with the coronation of the “Queen” just before Ash Wednesday. The Manila Carnivals are actually intended to showcase the agricultural and industrial potential of the Philippines under the American rule. People gather to the event dressed in different costumes in line with a theme every year. Fluvial parades are also being staged during the two weeks; various floats represent regions showing their top produce. This period of pre-war beauty pageants is fondly recalled as the “Carnival era.”

The election of a carnival queen often begins at the provincial level. The young lady who takes center stage will be that year’s Miss Batanes, Miss Laguna, Miss Cavite, etc. The rest of the provincial beauties would be given runner-up titles, like Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas or Miss Mindanao and then made part of the queen’s entourage.

The method of choosing the queen varies each year: either by a panel of judges from the highest echelons in society, or done through ballots published by sponsoring newspapers. The queen, usually, is a daughter from a family of “impeccable credentials”—someone beautiful beyond comparison—clued-up in fine points of comportment and etiquette, so that her parents, siblings, relatives as well as her countrymen could look on her with pride.

At the coronation night, people look forward to the pomp and pageantry: These ladies are the center of it all. They’re adorned with lavish costumes—from the Filipiniana, Egyptian, Thai, to the Arabian nights. There are even instances that security men are hired to guard the expensive sets of jewelry that prettify the winners.

This era lasted for 31 years, from 1908—nine years after the American armada sailed into Manila Bay—to 1939, two years before the Japanese soldiers hit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and Nichols Field in Manila. It produced 29 queens. There were no contests in 1910, 1911, 1919 and 1928. In some years, meanwhile, two queens shared the spotlight: the “Queen of the Orient” representing the Philippines, and the “Queen of the Occident” standing for the United States.

The Carnival Queens

Among the queens who reigned at the Manila Carnival include Villanueva and Marjorie Colton (Queen of the Occident) in 1908, Julia Guerrero Agcaoili (1909), Paz Jurado Marquez (1912), Julia Otero Arceo (1913), Dolores Perez Rubio (1914), Concepcion Zurbito Medina (1915), Manolita Delgado Barretto (1916), Mela Fairchild (the only American to reign alone in 1917), Enriquetta de Vega Aldanese (1918), Trinidad Roura de Leon (Queen of the Orient) and Virginia Harrison (Queen of the Occident) in 1920, Carmen Prieto (1921), Virginia Vidal Llamas (1922), Catalina Castillo Apacible (1923), Trinidad Rodriguez Fernandez (1924), Carmen Arevalo Papa and (1925). In 1926, two Filipinas reigned at the same time: Socorro Martinez Hernandez as the last carnival queen and Anita Agoncillo Noble as “Miss Philippines.” It was the first time that such title was awarded to a carnival beauty and this practice went on until 1939.

The other Miss Philippines titleholders include Luisa Fernandez Marasigan (1927), Pacita Ongsiako de los Reyes (1929), Monina Consuelo Zaldarriaga Acuna (1930), Maria Villanueva Kalaw (1931), Emma Gonzales Zamora (1932), Engracia Arcinas Laconico (1933), Clarita Villarica Tan Kiang (1934), Conchita Chuidian Sunico (1935), Mercedes Montilla Montilla (1936), Maria del Carmen “Chita” Zaldarriaga (1937), Guia Gonzalez Balmori (1938) and Iluminada Tuason (1939).

As of last year, only two of them are living, Tan Kiang and Zaldarriaga.

The beauty queens they were, and will forever be!

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife1_dec18_2006

^^ ^^ @ Sr. Animo: thanks for the background info on the Carnival queens, as well as the preceding pics. Is that "observatorio" the same that stood in the old Ateneo campus on Padre Faura? Splendid photos!

Well, all I have to offer for now is this picture of a picture that was published in the 1904 Report of the Philippine Commission. It's the old Puerta Santa Lucia with the Augustinian buildings still intact in the background. The more ornate structure on the left (Augustinian Provincialate) burned down in 1932, along with the original Ateneo.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/book1904PhilCommission.jpg

^^ ^^ @ Sr. Animo: thanks for the background info on the Carnival queens, as well as the preceding pics. Is that "observatorio" the same that stood in the old Ateneo campus on Padre Faura? Splendid photos!

Well, all I have to offer for now is this picture of a picture that was published in the 1904 Report of the Philippine Commission. It's the old Puerta Santa Lucia with the Augustinian buildings still intact in the background. The more ornate structure on the left (Augustinian Provincialate) burned down in 1932, along with the original Ateneo.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/book1904PhilCommission.jpg

Source - The Retail Pattern of Manila, by Wallace E. McIntyre
Geographical Review © 1955

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila2.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila1.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila.jpg

Source - The Retail Pattern of Manila, by Wallace E. McIntyre
Geographical Review © 1955

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila2.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila1.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/retail_manila.jpg

^^ Thanks for all those pictures with annotations @Terrapin, @Hawayano, @Animo and @Overtureph. Whew! I felt transported in time. They're awesome. I especially enjoyed the 1955 Manila Retail by Wallace McIntyre and the old drawing "dibujos".

^^ Thanks for all those pictures with annotations @Terrapin, @Hawayano, @Animo and @Overtureph. Whew! I felt transported in time. They're awesome. I especially enjoyed the 1955 Manila Retail by Wallace McIntyre and the old drawing "dibujos".

I especially like the last set of photos showing the contrast of the simple sari-sari store, the botica in the glorious spanish house, the art deco "Smartee High Couture" dress shop and the thoroughly American Acme Supermarket. That woody station wagon would be worth a fortune today. I wonder what happened to "Kist" soft drink and "Smartee High Couture".

I especially like the last set of photos showing the contrast of the simple sari-sari store, the botica in the glorious spanish house, the art deco "Smartee High Couture" dress shop and the thoroughly American Acme Supermarket. That woody station wagon would be worth a fortune today. I wonder what happened to "Kist" soft drink and "Smartee High Couture".

^^ ^^ @ Sr. Animo: thanks for the background info on the Carnival queens, as well as the preceding pics. Is that "observatorio" the same that stood in the old Ateneo campus on Padre Faura? Splendid photos!


Yes. :)

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000213_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000211_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000209_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000207_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000215_jp2_l.jpg

^^ ^^ @ Sr. Animo: thanks for the background info on the Carnival queens, as well as the preceding pics. Is that "observatorio" the same that stood in the old Ateneo campus on Padre Faura? Splendid photos!


Yes. :)

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000213_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000211_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000209_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000207_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000215_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000181_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000202_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000198_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000200_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000159_jp2_s.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000181_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000202_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000198_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000200_jp2_l.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/p0000159_jp2_s.jpg

From an old stereoview card:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/OldErmitalane.jpg

I like the gateway to the house on the left--looks like something from an old painting by national artist Vicente Alvarez Dizon.

From an old stereoview card:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/OldErmitalane.jpg

I like the gateway to the house on the left--looks like something from an old painting by national artist Vicente Alvarez Dizon.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/postoffice-1.jpg

Central Post Office about 1950's

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/postoffice-1.jpg

Central Post Office about 1950's

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila-1.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/manila-1.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

^^ That is really something!

^^ That is really something!

From an old stereoview card:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/OldErmitalane.jpg

I like the gateway to the house on the left--looks like something from an old painting by national artist Vicente Alvarez Dizon.

:eek: What a great find! So, that was how Ermita looked then. And imagine, Ermita was then considered a suburb of Manila.

The local folks walked barefeet on the road then. Hence, there was always a bañera of water by the doorway so that they can wash their feet before going inside the house.

From an old stereoview card:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/OldErmitalane.jpg

I like the gateway to the house on the left--looks like something from an old painting by national artist Vicente Alvarez Dizon.

:eek: What a great find! So, that was how Ermita looked then. And imagine, Ermita was then considered a suburb of Manila.

The local folks walked barefeet on the road then. Hence, there was always a bañera of water by the doorway so that they can wash their feet before going inside the house.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/p0000001_jp2_s.jpg

^^ Anyone knows who is Rep. Francisco Varona?


A Note On Recto's Play | A Retrospective on Philippine Literature in Spanish
By Nick Joaquín (http://www.los-indios-bravos.com/english/eng_proj_10.html)


It was promptly denounced by those who left it to be an attack on the system of education then being imposed in the Philippines and as an invitation to return to the ways of the past. In the newspapers, in the clubs and in tertulias raged an increasingly bitter war over the question of whether or not there was a reactionary tendency in the Recto play. To Recto's defense came some of the most brilliant minds of the period -- Apóstol, Feliciano Basa, Manuel Rávago, Manuel Bernabé, and Francisco Varona, --who argued that Recto merely, wanted to rectify , to redress the balance, to moderate the "violent saxonization" of the youth. (In those days, sajonismo was the term for Americanism.) What the play advocated, said Recto's defenders, was a blending of the two cultural forces then in conflict, the old and the new, through a tempering of the modern with the classic educational ideals, --a synthesis of the Hispanic and the Anglo-Saxon traditions.



http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000002_tifs.gif

^^ The Levy Hermanos (brothers) are Jewish right? The Star of David is obvio. What happened to this company?

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000003_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000004_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000011_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000012_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000015_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/p0000016_jp2_s.jpg

^^ Anyone know if the Vinos Domecq and Conac Domecq are made in Mexico (http://www.vinomexicano.com/domecq.htm) or Spain (http://www.spainselecta.com/index.htm?http://www.spainselecta.com/an_ca_bodegas.htm)?


http://gjoachim.club.fr/imagesmx/vino_domecq2.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/p0000001_jp2_s.jpg

^^ Anyone knows who is Rep. Francisco Varona?


A Note On Recto's Play | A Retrospective on Philippine Literature in Spanish
By Nick Joaquín (http://www.los-indios-bravos.com/english/eng_proj_10.html)


It was promptly denounced by those who left it to be an attack on the system of education then being imposed in the Philippines and as an invitation to return to the ways of the past. In the newspapers, in the clubs and in tertulias raged an increasingly bitter war over the question of whether or not there was a reactionary tendency in the Recto play. To Recto's defense came some of the most brilliant minds of the period -- Apóstol, Feliciano Basa, Manuel Rávago, Manuel Bernabé, and Francisco Varona, --who argued that Recto merely, wanted to rectify , to redress the balance, to moderate the "violent saxonization" of the youth. (In those days, sajonismo was the term for Americanism.) What the play advocated, said Recto's defenders, was a blending of the two cultural forces then in conflict, the old and the new, through a tempering of the modern with the classic educational ideals, --a synthesis of the Hispanic and the Anglo-Saxon traditions.



http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000002_tifs.gif

^^ The Levy Hermanos (brothers) are Jewish right? The Star of David is obvio. What happened to this company?

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000003_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000004_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000011_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000012_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000015_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/p0000016_jp2_s.jpg

^^ Anyone know if the Vinos Domecq and Conac Domecq are made in Mexico (http://www.vinomexicano.com/domecq.htm) or Spain (http://www.spainselecta.com/index.htm?http://www.spainselecta.com/an_ca_bodegas.htm)?


http://gjoachim.club.fr/imagesmx/vino_domecq2.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000104_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000106_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000006_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000104_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000106_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000006_tifs.gif

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000015_tifs.gif

^^ This is the first time I learned that YCO paints and floorwax is an acronym of Ynchausti y Compania.

I remember a time when YCO floorwax was used to make the wooden floors as shiny as possible.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/Revista/00000015_tifs.gif

^^ This is the first time I learned that YCO paints and floorwax is an acronym of Ynchausti y Compania.

I remember a time when YCO floorwax was used to make the wooden floors as shiny as possible.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/postoffice-2.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/overtureph/postoffice-2.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/1070287.jpg

Rio Pasig

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24501450.png

Intramuros

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24502440.png

YMCA Tent

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/1070581.jpg

Filipina

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/1070287.jpg

Rio Pasig

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24501450.png

Intramuros

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/24502440.png

YMCA Tent

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/restardo/Retrato/1070581.jpg

Filipina

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

Where did you get this picture? Did you get it from a book? If yes, then what is the title of that book?

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

Where did you get this picture? Did you get it from a book? If yes, then what is the title of that book?

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

This is urban planning. The government center is just a small part of the Burnham plan for Manila. The area of the Wallace Field was reclaimed to prolong the "Mall", almost similar to the dimensions of Washington's The Mall. Only two buildings from the government center was done, the former Finance and the Tourism Building. In this picture, the Capitol is just across the street from these two buildings.

Burnham's plan for Manila is significant because he deliberately preserved the walled quarters. At that time, certain sectors were clamoring to tear down the city walls!

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/manila2.jpg

This is urban planning. The government center is just a small part of the Burnham plan for Manila. The area of the Wallace Field was reclaimed to prolong the "Mall", almost similar to the dimensions of Washington's The Mall. Only two buildings from the government center was done, the former Finance and the Tourism Building. In this picture, the Capitol is just across the street from these two buildings.

Burnham's plan for Manila is significant because he deliberately preserved the walled quarters. At that time, certain sectors were clamoring to tear down the city walls!