149 and counting

On the 13th of June 1859, ten Spanish Jesuits arrived in Manila, almost 100 years after they were suppressed and expelled from Spain and all of its colonies. They were supposed to go on to Mindanao, the large southern island of the Philippines, for missionary work but since they were known in Manila as educators before their expulsion, they were prevailed upon by the city council and the Governor-General to take over a small private school for the children of Spanish residents. On the 10th of December 1859, the Jesuits began operating the Escuela Municipal de Manila. The school has undergone many changes since then—its name, the nationality of its Jesuit leaders, its mission and vision—but this is the date that the Ateneo de Manila University recognizes as its foundation day. One more year and the university will celebrate its Sesquicentennial, its 150th anniversary. The countdown has begun…

One Big Night

Today's the day—the grand celebration of the Ateneo de Manila University for its 150th anniversary, its sesquicentennial! And the reason why I haven't been online much these past couple of weeks. We begin with a wreath-laying at the Ateneo Heroes Memorial, then a Mass at the Church of the Gesù, where the Marian procession starts which brings the congregation to the high school grounds where the rest of the event is but which is also a commemoration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception last December 8. From 6pm to 8pm, a musical celebrating the history of the university from 1859 to the present, especially commissioned for today, will be performed by members of all the student performing arts groups, though scripted, arranged and directed by theater professionals who happen to be alumni. After the musical, the real party begins with bands from the 1970s to the 2000s, also with members who are alumni, playing until midnight. The problem with working in the office that organizes these things is, all of us have work assignments throughout the entire event. So please keep your fingers crossed that I can watch some of the performances (and take some decent photos), because if I can't, I'll have to wait for the video recording and I really like live performances much better. Whatever happens, I think all of us will be glad to get our lives—and full night's sleep—back. The gates leading to the campus are decorated both for the sesquicentennial and the Christmas season. The stars with tails are traditional Filipino Christmas decorations called parol, symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem which led the three wise men to the stable where Jesus was born.



Actually, the Ateneo de Manila's 150th anniversary was on Thursday, December 10. But it being a school (and work) day, we couldn't have a big or late night to-do. So how did the university commemorate the day? As befits a Catholic institution, with a Mass. As simple as that.

School history

As I promised, here is the Heritage Room of the Ateneo de Manila Grade School where yesterday's mural is located. The room displays mementos from the school's 150-year history, and statues of the Immaculate Conception, the school's patroness, and St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order which runs the school. Another room off to the right, which I wasn't able to take a photo of, features portraits of all past headmasters of the Ateneo Grade School, who have all been Jesuit so far. If I'm not mistaken, the Heritage Room was built soon after the school celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2009.

Blue day

Last December, I mentioned that the Ateneo de Manila University will be celebrating its sesquicentennial, its 150th anniversary, on December 10, 2009. Yesterday was the grand kick-off celebration for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Since the Ateneo is a Roman Catholic university, it was but fitting that the day began with a mass. And since Intramuros was where it all began in 1859, the mass was held at the Manila Cathedral. It was concelebrated by about fifty Jesuit priests (I didn't get an exact count) and the main celebrant was Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, the Archbishop of Manila. The mass was at 7:00 a.m. but we were there at 6:00 a.m. to greet and welcome all who were attending.



I posted a photo of the ruins of the Jesuit San Ignacio Church last week and wrote that the Intramuros Administration would be building an ecclesiastical museum on the site and that the groundbreaking ceremony would be held on the day that the returning Jesuits set foot in Manila in 1859. That was yesterday too. After the mass at the Manila Cathedral, there was a procession to the ruins a few blocks away. The land was blessed anew by Cardinal Rosales and four Jesuits, the Pangkat Kawayan bamboo orchestra performed for the crowd, and breakfast was served on the old walls of the city fortress.



After breakfast, the motorcade began. It stopped at all the past and present campuses of the Ateneo de Manila University. When the Intramuros campus of the school was destroyed by a big fire in 1932, it was relocated to Ermita, Manila along Padre Faura Street. Since the school again transferred to Quezon City in the 1950s, the lot was sold to the Gokongwei family which owns a chain of malls and department stores in the Philippines. So, yes, the first stop was at a mall: Robinsons Place Manila. There was a simple ceremony to unveil a brass marker beside the mall's Padre Faura entrance. On the marker was etched an image of the old school building and an explanation of the school's history in that location. What made the ceremony memorable was the presence of about two dozen alumni who studied in the Padre Faura campus. They even sang one of their favorite Ateneo cheers after the unveiling of the marker.



Unfortunately, I missed the rest of the motorcade because of my assigned tasks for the day. In fact, I missed all the ceremonies yesterday except the one at Padre Faura. I was at the Manila Cathedral, but wasn't able to attend the mass. I saw the procession begin, but wasn't able to join it. I walked to the San Ignacio ruins, but only to immediately get in a car to go to Padre Faura, so I missed the performance and the breakfast. Yesterday was work for me and for everyone in our office, after all. But once it 's produced, we can all watch the video of yesterday's events and be proud of the fact that everything came to be because of us.

History in blue

The mural inside the Heritage Room of the Ateneo de Manila Grade School shows images from the 150-year history of the school. Based on this, the school has had four seals since it was first established as the Escuela Municipal de Manila in 1859. It also has had two special, double seals. One was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the school, and the other its 150th—its sesquicentennial, which filled this blog back in 2009.

I didn't go up to the mural to check what it was made of, but I doubt very much if it was handpainted. Tomorrow, I'll show you the room where I saw the mural.

See murals from around the world in Monday Mural.

Formal Mini

It's not everyday that I see a Mini Cooper on the streets of Manila either. Don't you think that it complements last week's party pug so well? It's not surprising because they're owned by the same person. These two photos were from last year's Ateneo de Manila University's sesquicentennial launch in Intramuros and I had forgotten about them until I decided to organize my files two weekends ago. The Mini Cooper was part of the classic car motorcade but came late and wasn't parked in front of the Manila Cathedral. I remember that I didn't include it in my post about the classic cars because its orientation vis-à-vis the street was different. (Yes, I admit that I can be O-C about stuff like that.)

Find more Odd Shots—or post your own—at Katney's Kaboodle.

Seeing stars

One of the events counting down to the Ateneo de Manila's sesquicentennial was a Festival of Ateneo Music last weekend. Like last year, all the music groups of the university gathered together for a concert in the Church of the Gesù. The star-shaped lights inside the church were cycling through all the colors of the rainbow, though I only caught a few.

Mid-19th century Manila

During the Ateneo de Manila's grand sesquicentennial kick-off event last Sunday, student-actors were recruited to re-create the atmosphere of 1859 Manila. They came in period costumes, walked around the Plaza de Roma and the Manila Cathedral, talked to each other about things that would have mattered to people at the time, and generally acted as if they were residents of mid-19th century Manila. Meet some of the very interesting characters of old Manila:


The pious and devout female Indios (natives), probably spinsters, were walking around the plaza praying the rosary. Sometimes, they entered the Manila Cathedral to pray inside too.



I forgot to ask if she was a Peninsulare (Spaniard born in Spain) or an Insulare (Spaniard born in the Philippines). She could even have been an Indio from a wealthy family who has traveled to Europe. On second thought, scratch that last guess. I don't think she would have been allowed to walk around unescorted if she weren't European.



When it comes to cockfighting, race and education don't matter. It brought together these Mestizos (half Spaniard, half Indio) and Indios. The three on the left are obviously Ilustrados (educated) while the one on the right looks like a peasant.



Two members of the Guardia Civil (civil guard) were patrolling the area the entire time.



A wealthy Chinese merchant was also walking around the plaza, probably to meet with European traders. He wouldn't have had his home in Intramuros though. If he were a Catholic Chinese, he would have lived in Binondo just across the Pasig River.



Two students of the Escuela Municipal de Manila, a primary school for about 30 sons of Peninsulares and Insulares, were running all over the place. Neither the Guardia Civil nor the strict spinster friends caught them.



In 1859, the city-subsidized school was turned over to the Jesuits. In 1865, when it was elevated to a secondary school, its name was changed into the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In 1902, during the American colonial period, the government stopped its subsidy and it became a private school for boys. Six years later, in 1908, the school finally dropped the word 'Municipal' from its name. It has been known as the Ateneo de Manila since then.