“ENTERTAINING and engaging, this walking tour will give you a wonderful introduction to Manila.” Every spot in the world has its own history. And history is as much entertainment as walking. Historical walking tours can be started in almost any place where people are willing to take walks and discuss the historical events of that community.
The advantage of a historical walking tour is that you learn details that people who lived there may never have heard. You get to savor the experience as you go around these places, rediscovering history classics while setting out for ‘the road less traveled’. For persons with disabilities, for example, wheelchair historical tours or tours for the deaf community also are resources to help others learn the history of a neighborhood, institution or city.
Here’s a quick ‘tour’ of two of Manila’s most popular historical and commercial sites as well.
Binondo: Manila’s Chinatown
Binondo was the main commercial center in the Philippines before the last World War where Spanish Filipinos, Chinese and the Chinese mestizos conducted business and finance complete with banks, insurance companies and financial institutions from the United States and Great Britain. During the Spanish era, the Chinese in the Philippines were the major players in the trading system to Mexico and to the rest of Europe through the two and a half century of Galleon Trade. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) opened their first Philippine branch in Binondo in 1876 taking advantage of the booming sugar industry while financing infrastructure projects like railways which connected the rest of Luzon to Manila. Escolta, nicknamed as the “Wall Street of the Philippines” was then the equivalent of Ayala Avenue in Makati now.
It was said that the Filipino-Chinese (also called Chinoy/Tsinoy) are the most assimilated Chinese community in Southeast Asia. Out of these Binondo intermarriages came St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the First Filipino Saint. (Binondo Church is officially named Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz). A visit to Binondo is never complete without dropping by the church whose original façade survived the massive bombings of Manila during World War II. Another prominent Chinese mestizo is the Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo who is the founder of the first congregation for Filipino women.
Like other Chinatowns in other parts of the world, Binondo is also known for its yummy delicacies such as the Eng Bee Tin which serves “hopia”, a bean-filled pastry introduced by Fujian immigrants. Eng Bee Tin literally revolutioned this pastry by using different kinds of filling, the most popular of which is the ‘ube’ (Filipino term for purple yam) which became a big hit and is now exported to different countries abroad. The owner of Eng Bee Tin donated a fire truck colored purple to the community in reference to this famous ‘Hopia Ube’.
Tomas Pinpin, considered ‘Prince of Filipino Printers’ is said to have worked in a printing press in Binondo, Manila between 1523 and 1627. Today, the place had been turned into a warehouse, almost dilapidated one won’t even recognize it as a historical place if not for an old, worn-out marker.
To learn more about Chinese heritage in the Philippines, one can drop by the Bahay Tsinoy Museum at the Kaisa Heritage Center along Anda cor. Cabildo Streets, Intramuros. The museum is a repository of the Filipino-Chinese heritage in the Philippines even during pre-Hispanic times.
Quiapo
Quiapo, on the other hand, mirrors the soul of the Filipino. Where else can you find fanatical Roman Catholicism mixed with elements of voodoo? The average Quiapo church-goer will hear mass on a Friday or Sunday, and then think it perfectly ordinary to take a seat in front of his or her favorite fortune teller to see what the coming week has in store.
Every January 9, the Black Nazarene is paraded around Quiapo while hundreds of thousands of devotees try to touch the image, believing that they will be healed of any sickness or have a wish granted if they succeed. Need a love potion? Perhaps a cure for asthma, arthritis, AND heart disease? Or a good-old fashioned anting-anting (amulet) that will make you bulletproof? There’s a little alley behind Quiapo Church that sells all these. Vendors hawking charms that ward off the ‘evil eye’ ply their wares side by side with others selling replicas of the Black Nazarene and the Virgin Mary.
Take the pedestrian tunnel to cross Quezon Avenue towards Hidalgo Street, where you’ll find crumbling remains of once palatial mansions that have now been converted to dormitories. Walk all the way to the end and you’ll find yourself at the San Sebastian Church, the only neo Gothic, all-steel church in Asia.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the basilica was pre-fabricated in Belgium, and the first of its parts arrived in Manila on June12, 1888.
Try it one day. Who knows, you may also be able to start a business conducting historical walking tours.
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Prof. Soriano is the Turnaround Advisor of wongadvisory.com and the Chairman of the Marketing Cluster at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. For comments please check his Facebook account or email writer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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