June 18, 2009

Horse-drawn

To complete the effect of being in mid-19th century Manila, the procession in Intramuros from the Manila Cathedral to the San Ignacio Church ruins included two types of vehicles in use at the time. The carruaje (carriage, pronounced kar-wah-heh) were used mostly by the upper classes. Our young 'European lady' took a ride around the cathedral while the mass was going on. During the procession, two carruajes transported the cardinal, the head of the Philippine Jesuits and the president of the Ateneo de Manila University.

carruaje, horse-drawn carriage, in Intramuros

The tranvia (tram) was used as public transportation by the middle and working classes. The tram was also horse-drawn and could sit about a dozen people. Unfortunately (or fortunately—the poor horses!), the Intramuros Administration doesn't have any of those anymore and this modern version is motorized and can sit much more than twelve. It transported our school officials, some of whom looked like little kids when they were boarding, grinning from ear to ear.

replica of a tranvia, tram, in Intramuros

23 comments:

Olivier said...

pour faire une promenade romantique,j'aime bien la calèche...
to go for a walk by the romantic way, I like the calash well...

Debbie Courson Smith said...

Looks like they did a great job

Lowell said...

I'd say everyone is having a historically good time!

Your photos are just super. Great angles and colors.

I hoped the tram waited for you and you didn't have to run to catch it!

VP said...

I love you description of people, they look so real and match perfectly your images. I love these amazing celebrations of the past.
By the way the Italian word for carriage or carruaje is carrozza, practically the same word used for the float of yesterday's post. Same Latin roots, different meanings...

Unknown said...

Great photos of these old vehicles. It must have been fun to ride them, almost taking you back in time.

George said...

Thanks for more great pictures from this commemoration. I especially like the picture of carruaje.

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James said...

Very enjoyable series Hilda.

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

Nice article! This carruaje seem to be the perfect combination of style and comfort. Very inviting...

Lisa Wilson said...

What fun! Great photos!

Saretta said...

What a lovely celebration...150 years, wow!

Photo Cache said...

the posts about phil past are very interesting. the photos are glorious. i wish we were still wearing those fabulous old clothes. i wonder why we never held on to them and the indians continue to honor their traditional clothing and in the process getting everyone outside of india to want to wear them too.

Dina said...

Fun!
Looks like a tight turn for the horse.

Halcyon said...

I like those trams. It's fun to ride in the open and get the breeze on your face.

Cezar and Léia said...

wow it's my DREAM ! I would love to take a hide in that carriage!
Thanks for these lovely pictures and no doubts this was a great celebration, a fabulous event!
Léia

Clueless in Boston said...

Wonderful to be able to see some of the living history in the Philipines. My thought seeing the "European" woman in the carriage with the handkerchief over her nose and mouth is she is probably reacting to the fresh air from the horse. :)

nobu said...

Fantastic!

Don and Krise said...

Great photos, especially the first one. I love the carriage. Wouldn't you love to be carted around town in something like that? Wow.

Glennis said...

Quite the historical fun! But I would love to have a ride on the horse drawn carriage.
Lovely photos.

Gerald (SK14) said...

That horse-drawn carriage is what we would call a "landau" and they are usually extremely comfortable.

Maria Verivaki said...

trams have now come back in vogue in greece too - they really are pretty to look at it

Jilly said...

Beautiful. This must be the best fun to ride and it looks so gorgeous too.

escape said...

nice to know that they revived the tranvia though it's already motorized but the fact that it's there again is awesome!