June 11, 2009

Totem

In a little green spot in the Quezon City Hall grounds stands a totem pole which serves as a friendship marker between Quezon City and New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, which have been sister cities since 1991. The marker was installed during the first official visit of New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright (now on his third term) in October 2004 when Quezon City celebrated the 65th anniversary of its founding. I can't find any information about the totem pole though. Is it an authentic totem pole shipped in from Canada? Or was it carved by Philippine artisans to mark the occasion?

totem pole commemorating the visit of New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright to Quezon City

15 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 11, 2009 at 10:58 PM

    √ Howdy ! from the cornfields of Brookville, Ohio

    Thunderstorms rolled over my house this morning at 4:00 AM and thunder and lightening woke me up. By the time I was up and drinking my first coffee, the rain was hitting my skylight pretty hard. It sounded like some kind of war going on. The noise is great.

    Your photo is really nice.It is a reminder of a people who are, in many ways, like your own there in your country. I have seen some totem poles in British Columbia and in Seattle, Washington and those were huge. I would guess it was shipped in and assembled there on the spot. Each totem has a meaning.

    Abe Lincoln
    Brookville, Ohio

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  2. JamesJune 11, 2009 at 11:19 PM

    I love totem poles and hope to see some authentic ones in the North Western parts of the U.S. and Canada someday. I'm interested to know what the figures on this one stand for.
    I hope you have a great weekend Hilda!

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  3. OlivierJune 11, 2009 at 11:21 PM

    ce totem restera un mystère, mais il est beau. Peut être un cadeau du Canada ?

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  4. VPJune 11, 2009 at 11:22 PM

    A nice gift (or memento) to mark a friendship between two cities so far away. I hope we can find an answer to your question, the totem is beautiful anyway and I really like how is placed.

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  5. Don and KriseJune 12, 2009 at 12:07 AM

    Good subject Hilda. I had a post not too long ago about our sister city. Somehow I believe you will find the answer to the mystery.

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  6. HalcyonJune 12, 2009 at 12:33 AM

    What a lovely reminder of the friendship between the two cities!

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  7. LoisJune 12, 2009 at 2:06 AM

    I really like totem poles and this is a nice one!

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  8. dianasfaria.comJune 12, 2009 at 4:30 AM

    cool totem. I like that uit isn't painted and all one color.

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  9. LowellJune 12, 2009 at 6:40 AM

    I like the "sister-city" concept, I think...if the powers-that-be provide for ways that people can connect...I think in many cases, no one has any idea their city has a sister city...

    This is quite a nice display, though.

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  10. magiceyeJune 12, 2009 at 1:25 PM

    impressive!

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  11. gogouciJune 12, 2009 at 1:49 PM

    The gifted totem pole is such a symbolic and beautiful and gesture.

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  12. KaoriJune 12, 2009 at 1:55 PM

    I like the bird figure at the top of the totem pole! Neat!
    I thought I'd let you know that I included your blog in the list of people I pass on an award to! I always love learning something new about Manila, thanks Hilda :)

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  13. B SQUAREDJune 12, 2009 at 10:05 PM

    Nice, wherever it came from.

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  14. marleyJune 12, 2009 at 10:46 PM

    Its an unusual marker but a good way to highlight the Twinning of the cities.

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  15. GeorgeJune 14, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    That certainly looks like a totem made in Canada, although I am only guessing. My hometown has a monument to its Sister City and the monument was given to my hometown. Regardless this is a very interesting post.

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