Volume 5, Issue No. 5
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Monday, July 31, 2023
~ Manila is where the mind grew and the heart blossomed. Folks refer to it as the "Pearl of the Orient". The Philippine capital is the lively and some times fiery city of youthful exuberance of yesteryears, the sightly jewel invaders had coveted, destroyed, only to rise up again. Its sights and smell are akin to home, for in those attributes, Manila is affectionately home.
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'PEARL OF THE ORIENT'
Tales of Manila - the City Where the Heart Blossomed
The Philippine Capital Is Replete with History and Tradition
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
Landmarks are metaphors.
Rome is St. Peter's; the Eiffel is Paris; London, St. Paul's.
But I find when I roam
the best ones are at home:
no vision like the Intramuros walls.
For nowhere else are monuments such a thrilla:
the landmarks I love best are in Manila.
- Nick Joaquin
TORONTO - Not since I visited countries outside of my Southeast Asian homeland did I discover how lovely Manila is.
Like other centers of government, the Philippine capital is replete with history and tradition dating back before, and after western invaders came upon the islands and named them after a tyrannical monarch we knew nothing about.
Manila is comparable with other cities, at least those I had a chance to journey in during the past three decades I've been in the United States and Canada, and that include Berlin, Dubrovnik, London, Madrid, Paris, Ottawa, Washington DC, and other state capitals.
When I came back in 2015 for the first time in 22 years, I was amazed at the transformation such a long period of time had done to a city I knew since growing up to adulthood.
The skyline had dramatically changed. Gone were the monuments of my time, and I mean the landmarks that told one's in the right place without the aid of Google map, GPS or Smartphones.
The means of transport have been modernized, except for the jeepney, the vintage car converted from World War II utility vehicles, which continues to ply local routes; the ubiquitous tricycles, and the horse-drawn carriages that now mostly cater to tourists.
I found myself yearning for the food my parents had nourished me with, for the places where heart and mind grew and blossomed, for the company of friends and neighbors whose wisdom helped shape my upbringing.
One of the first things I did was to visit the ancestral home in Cavite where a whole village of relatives on both sides of my parents continue to struggle with their lives and raise families.
Being three generations removed, it's not a surprise that I will be thought of as a complete stranger, especially among the Millennials and Gen Z kids who are all part of the clan.
My old hometown of Naic is among the places wrapped in history. Five events significant to the Philippine Revolution of 1896 took place in Naic, according to Wikipedia, among them, the Battle of Naic where General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the town to be his last defense. (More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naic).
I take pride in being one of its sons, although I didn't have the opportunity to serve it as did my two Katipunero grandfathers before me who had fought in the revolution against Spain.
While in Naic, I took a tricycle with my cousins to the mountainous town of Maragondon, which has a unique place in history for being the site of the trial of Andres Bonifacio and his execution by firing squad in Mt. Nagpatong. (More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Bonifacio).
(Related videos:
1. Court Martial of Andres Bonifacio in Maragondon, Cavite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baMKwePlzPo
2. Andres Bonifacio's Last Walk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb_FjDYhs38
To think about what transpired during those moments leading up to Bonifacio's death was at the least discomforting. I could only imagine how it felt being there where the action was many years later.
The historical part of my visit was fortuitous. Manila could wait, and the trip to Cavite where most of my relatives reside had some immediacy to it. Then the epic of the birth of the Philippines beckoned.
On the way back to the capital, it was a must to stop at the mansion of General Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite, the birthplace of the republic. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itOUkyevgSY).
As every Filipino knows by heart, the Philippines became a free and sovereign nation on the 12th of June 1898 upon the declaration of independence by General Aguinaldo before an assembly of revolutionaries and Cavite townsfolk. (Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved).
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