July 22, 2009

Spanish Dramatist or Filipino Saint

This ornate white fountain stands in Plaza Calderón de la Barca in front of the Binondo Church in Manila's Chinatown. The plaza is named after Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a Spanish dramatist of the 17th century whose play La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream) continues to be reinterpreted and staged until today. This tiny space is also known as Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, after the first Filipino saint who happens to be from Binondo.

white fountain in Plaza Calderon in Binondo

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.
Watery Wednesday

38 comments:

VP said...

I know Calderón de la Barca but it's the first time I hear of San Lorenzo Ruiz. How does locals really call this square?

Cezar and Léia said...

Hello my dear friend Hilda!
How are you sweetie?
wowwwwwwww In fact this fountain is amazng!I loved the white colour and I guess there are little mermaids on the top!
I would like to thank you for so kind comments and visits in our blogs!
God bless you!
Greetings from Luxembourg
Cezar, Léia and Luna

Lois said...

Lovely capture of the falling water Hilda!

Kate said...

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I know the image is shocking, but the commentary explains its legitimacy on the post.

Your fountain photo is excellent!

Dina said...

Beautiful picture with color showing through the frozen water drops.

marley said...

Very grand fountain :)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous as always - I like the way people peak as silhouettes and bursts of color through the water! Beautiful fountain!

Jim said...

An amazing fountain.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

betty-NZ said...

Such a delightful photo! It's stunning the way the water is frozen in space!

Ken Mac said...

beautiful shot

Anonymous said...

Oh the falling water looks like a curtain of crystals. Very nice.

Redzlan said...

Beautiful!
High shutter speed freezes this water and made it look like crystals.

Lowell said...

'Tis a beautiful fountain...and I can imagine a nice place to sit and relax on a hot day!

penny said...

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink... Fabulous fountain, Hilda.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic & beautiful fountain!

Happy WW!

Tash said...

Your watery Wednesdays are always a treat! Fascinating combination of cultures all in one small square.

Unknown said...

it's been ages since i've been to Chinatown in Binondo. great shot..i could almost hear the sounds of water.

Frankie / Nick said...

How refreshing, we could sure use a ton of these around here. It hot, tinder dry and the fires are ablaze.

Maria Verivaki said...

absolutely beautiful - this shot captures perfectly the way the water cascades over the fountain!

Olivier said...

très belle photo de cette fontaine

MurciaDailyPhoto said...

Hi Hilda,
and now, How Filipinos prefer to call this plaza?

Jane said...

A very beautiful fountain, thanks for sharing:)

Anonymous said...

I've not been to this place yet and great to see such places I've not been to through your blog Hilda. Thanks and this is nicely captured, I can almost hear the water falls.

airplane5312 said...

Looks like a great place to cool of those feet on a hot summer day.

GreensboroDailyPhoto said...

Love, love, love the photo and AS MUCH the fact that "La vida es sueno" is still acted out today! When I come to Manila, it will be during the time of that play!

B SQUARED said...

A beautiful fountain. I'm not familiar with the dramatist, however.

Tammie Lee said...

beautiful water fountain! we just love the sounds of water falling, eh?!

Anonymous said...

Very attractive fountain - can almost hear it.

Halcyon said...

What a beautiful fountain. Are people allowed to splash around in it?

Don and Krise said...

Beautiful Hilda, and it looks very refreshing.

Hilda said...

Vogon Poet & Murcia:
Most people call it by the name it has had for a longer time: Plaza Calderón.

Snapshutter & Halcyon:
I don't think you'd want to splash around in this fountain. Notice the color of the water in the pool — yuck!

George said...

What a beautiful fountain. Thanks for sharing it and the information about the dramatist and the saint.

Copenhagen said...

:)Great fountain

b.c. said...

great shot, i like it :)

Regina said...

Great shot!
Nice one.
Regina

Arija said...

So beautifully photographed with the strands of silver water suspended in air.

escape said...

you get to make simple subjects so beautiful through your shots. like this one, taking it from a different perspective wont be that nice but you captured it so well here.

im amazed how you avoided those wires. hehehe...

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Pretty fountain!!! :-D Very refreshing.