Getting ready

This is the closest I've gotten to the dome of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, better known as the Manila Cathedral and the seat of the Archdiocese of Manila. It was taken from the roofdeck of The Manila Collectible Co., which can be rented for events (but I don't recommend it during dreary rainy days, like the day we were there). The Cathedral has been closed since February of last year for structural renovations, the most important of which is seismic retrofitting. The current cathedral is the eighth church to be built on the site, and at least four previous structures were destroyed or heavily damaged by earthquakes.

Woven dreams

T'nalak are woven dreams. T'boli women weave them, keen eyes and hands working together to judge lengths, to transfer patterns from memory to loom. T'nalak is made of the whitest abaca fibers connected end to end with the smallest possible knots and dyed red and blackest brown. Its patterns are handed from mother to daughter, or bestowed on the weaver in dreams by Fu Dalu, the spirit of the abaca. It is a product as much of quietness of spirit as it is of skill, for not all women weave, and not all weavers dream.

~ from the chapter "What is T'nalak?" by Maria Elena P. Paterno in the book "Dreamweavers"

T'nalak (in the foreground) and other indigenous hand-woven fabrics and clothes are also available at The Manila Collectible Co.

Natural fiber

The Manila Collectible Co. is a four month old store in historic Intramuros which showcases products from artists and artisans all over the Philippines. All the products they carry are handmade and neatly displayed according to category in the store. These are the shelves of handwoven bags and baskets. We bought an enormous, soft tikog bag large enough to serve as luggage for our next road trip.

Green

The Club Intramuros Golf Course is located just outside the Spanish colonial era 16th century walls of Intramuros, which are barely peeking between the trees to the right of the golfer. The green and white building towering over the course is the 1977 expansion of the Manila Hotel, which first opened its doors in 1912.

My last farewell

The Jose Rizal museum inside Fort Santiago in Intramuros has a replica of the prison cell where the Philippine national hero was incarcerated before his execution by the Spanish colonial government. It was in this cell on the eve of his execution that he wrote his final poem, left untitled by Rizal but now known as "Mi ultimo adios."

Touch me not

The museum inside Fort Santiago in Intramuros dedicated to Philippine national hero Jose Rizal has one of the oldest existing copies of his novel "Noli Me Tangere." By writing the book, Rizal was trying to expose the injustices committed by the Spanish friars and government officials in the Philippines. It was first printed in Berlin in 1887.

Sharp and pointy

Inside Fort Santiago in Intramuros is a small museum dedicated to Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, who was imprisoned in the fort just before his execution by the Spanish colonial government. The museum houses some of his memorabilia, including this kit of medical instruments which Rizal used in his profession as a doctor. The thing is, he was an ophthalmologist—I don't think I'd want any of those tools anywhere near my eyes.

Into the bowels

The walls of the 16th century Spanish citadel Fort Santiago are so thick, it actually has rooms, tunnels and staircases. Too bad most are too dangerous to explore nowadays.

Taking a break

I'm not quite sure what he's selling (onions?), but it cannot be easy in Manila's hot and polluted streets.

Taken from the comfort of an airconditioned car just outside the historic walls of Intramuros and the Club Intramuros Golf Course. Sigh.

River access

A tunnel and stairs provide access from the top of the thick walls of Fort Santiago to the banks of the Pasig River. They would have been convenient for the soldiers of the Spanish colonial era. Nowadays, a locked gate keeps trespassers out of the historic fortification.

Death by trampling

The wooden relief at the top of the 16th century main entrance of Fort Santiago in Intramuros depicts four natives being trampled under the hooves of a Spanish conquistador's horse.

On the wall

The Spanish era walls of Intramuros are wide enough in certain areas to accommodate a simple stage for public cultural presentations organized by the Intramuros Administration.

Eureka!

I had no success trying to find out the name of the artist who created the sculpture in yesterday's post, but in the course of my search, I finally discovered who created the alien-looking sculpture inside Fort Santiago in the old walled city of Intramuros which I posted back in October of 2009. It is the work of Filipino artist Eduardo Castrillo, who specializes in metal (mainly bronze and brass) sculptures, and is titled "Youth's Cry of Defiance."

The governor's gate

This small doorway through the thick walls of Intramuros is called the Puerta Postigo del Gobernador because it was near the Spanish Governor-General's palace. This is the door that Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal walked through when he was brought by Spanish soldiers from his jail in Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan where he was executed by firing squad in 1896. The little room where the guards of this doorway stayed was also where the young Manuel L. Quezon, who much later became the President of the Philippine Commonwealth, was incarcerated after he surrendered to the Americans in 1902.

Secular relic

After Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal was executed by the Spanish colonial government in 1896, he was buried in the Paco Cemetery with no identification on his grave. One of his sisters went around the cemetery and, seeing freshly turned earth on one grave site, asked the caretaker to mark it with "RPJ," Rizal's initials in reverse. After the Philippines declared independence from Spain two years later, she retrieved her brother's remains, which are now enshrined at the Rizal Monument in Luneta, the place of Rizal's execution. One bone with a bullet wound was enshrined separately in a glass urn which is kept in a glass case at the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago, where Rizal was imprisoned before his execution.

See what's reflecting what at James' Weekend Reflections.

In defense of the faith

Fort Santiago, named after St. James the Greater, the Patron Saint of Spain, was built in 1571, soon after the arrival of Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi. Renovations were done on the fort in 1773, which included the construction of the Reducto de San Francisco Javier (Redoubt of St. Francis Xavier) and a tunnel leading to it from the main fort. The redoubt added to the defense of the seashore and the mouth of the Pasig River. In the 1980s, the redoubt was restored and converted into a shrine for Our Lady of Guadalupe. A replica of her image was brought to the islands by Fray Andrés de Urdaneta, one of the first five Augustinians in the Legazpi expedition.

A place to sleep

Part of the oldest building in Fort Santiago, the brick ruins which stand beside the Rizal Shrine were originally the barracks of Spanish soldiers built in 1593. During the American period, they were used as the homes of army officers and their families. The building was destroyed during WWII and only a few sections of the walls with arched windows and doorways remain standing. They look kind of lovely among the lush, green plants.

No less grand

The main facade of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, better known as the Manila Cathedral, has three doorways. The central doorway, which is the biggest, has large wooden doors with bronze relief panels depicting the history of the church, over which is a grand arch inscribed with the dedication of the church. The two side doorways are slightly smaller though their arches are just as richly ornamented with elaborate reliefs.

Inappropriate

I have featured many of the beautiful buildings and ruins of the historic walled city of Intramuros, which used to be the city of Manila during the Spanish colonial period. Now let me show you the most glaringly out-of-place structure in the district. Called the Clamshell, it is a huge airconditioned tent used for commercial and tourism exhibitions and trade fairs. It stands on the corner of Santa Lucia and Anda streets, which used to be the location of the Ateneo de Manila University when it was still in Intramuros. To come upon this tacky structure, especially when it's screaming with promotional banners and streamers, after seeing the elegant Spanish architecture of the rest of Intramuros, is jarring, to say the least. I really hope that the Intramuros Administration and our Department of Tourism decide to take it down in the very near future.

The palace of the governor

The Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros is a 1978 reconstruction of the 17th century Spanish Governor-General's residence and office. The original building collapsed in the devastating June 3, 1863 Manila earthquake and was abandoned when the Governor-General moved to Malacañang Palace. Currently, the Palacio del Gobernador houses some government offices and is the home of the Intramuros Administration.