pista ng nazareno

Today is the feast day of the black Nazarene at Quiapo and it is expected that thousand of nazareno devotees will flock the quirino grandstand and the quiapo church. wishing that everyone will be safe and get blessed.

maligayang kapistahan mahal na poong nazareno! 

you cant!

pakwan

summer is really here and as i have said before fruits aboutn when it is summertime, and its not only mangoes and turnips that is being sold per slice on the street, we also have pineapples and watermelons too

quaipo vendors part 2

quiapo vendors

faith healers at quaipo

Faith healers at Quaipo, Manila.

faith healer

Based on old Tagalog movies that i watched, it is told that the "powers" of faith healers are at its peak on Good Friday... according to wikipedia: "Faith healing is the attempt to use religious or spiritual means such as prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health. Faith healers say they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill and say their practice may afford gradual relief or bring about sudden "miracle cures."
Took this photo of a faith healer in front of the Quiapo church this Good Friday, and the man uses the wooden stick (see first photo) to heal any back pain and there were people who tried and some said the pain is gone.  The second photo, he used his belt, which is a big rosary and uses the crucifix to heal the pain of the man who claimed feeling pain at his lower back.  

The faith healer proceeded on asking for anyone who feels pain and accommodated anyone who come forward and heal them by using the wooden stick, the crucifix, or just by his hand.  There was even a man who claimed that this faith healer cured him last year of his lump at the chest hence he went back this year to be touched and cure by the man.

So do you believe in faith healers?  

cornucopia

mixed vegetables and root crops sold along hidalgo street in quiapo, yes that street is not only known as photographers haven but also with these vegetables and ukay ukay stores :)

black nazarene devotees

Today, the entire nation celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene and i took this photo inside the LRT, as you can see most Black Nazarene devotees join the parade or got to Quiapo Church to offer their prayers and fulfill their panata barefooted.

While on my way to work, i saw hundreds of devotees lining the streets where the Black Nazarene procession will pass from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church, not counting the thousands of devotees already waiting at the church and the number is continuously growing. I haven't attended mass on this feast yet, i wanted to got today but i have work to do but hopefully i can join and offer a prayer next year.

As i am writing this, the procession has started and is expected to last for five hours will pass through Burgos St., left at Taft Ave, McArthur Bridge, going to Rizal Ave, right at Claro M. Recto, right again at Legarda, right at Arlegui St., left at Quezon Blvd, right at Palanca St., right again at Villalobos towards Plaza Miranda.

homeless

pagoda of Quaipo

The Pagoda was built by Jose Mariano Ocampo in 1935 on the northern side of his vast estate, and was to house his realty office. A few years after its completion in 1939, World War II broke out and Pagoda was transformed into an air raid shelter. By the end of the war, while the rest of the city was razed and flattened to the ground, the Pagoda survived the bombings.  Although it retains much of its character the Pagoda is now in a dilapidated condition. Read more about this enchanting structure HERE

The Pagoda is now a boarding house and outsiders are not allowed to visit the inside of the Pagoda.  Too bad if we will let just this structure deteriorate.  I'm sorry if i dont give justice to this magnificent structure, for better photos do visit Sidney Snoeck's My Sari Sari Store.  

old skul

Do you still remember these type of sari sari store? A sari sari store cum carinderia or snack house. 

I was actually trying to find my way looking for the pagoda i saw while walking around and I was drawn to this store seeing that it's like those typical corner store you saw in the old movies, with an old man (on this particular store it is a chinese old man) manning and serving the counter with tons of tambay (standby) who are having some various chitchat or kwentong kutsero :)

i had a close up photo of the old man but he wasn't too keen on me taking pictures of his store hehehe (according to the tambays he is the last authentic chinese living in the area and has been in the area before the war (world war II).  the old man even asked for my ID thinking i was some college student LOL well anyways he asked where am i going to use the pcitures and said that if i want some old structures for my pictures i should go at the end of that street and take pictures of the pagoda instead. 

:) now i kow where that pagoda structure that i saw and i'll share the pictures tomorrow

manila boys

saw these cute young boys idly sitting on a bench in front of a sari sari store, with play guns on their hands (most prolly waiting for their other playmates).  i remember when i was their age, i used to play "baril barilan" too! i also prefered playing tansing, kalog, and other street games with boys than girls before when i was a kid  :)

old house 2

Found this old house and i feel in love with it. it's worn down look adds beauty to its structure and i love the "MLI-JAI'S STORE" signage in front, though the sari sari store is close and i think has been closed for quite some time now it reminds me on those days when almost all the houses have these mini store in front of their house for the housewives to run as an additional income for their family.  But now most family either have tone of their parent working abroad, sometimes both parents are abroad to support the family leaving their young ones at home.

Did you also noticed how low the original fence is? It goes with other houses in our neighborhood as well, when the owner have to put yero (metal sheet) to hide the inside from passerby and also made higher for security reasons. 

How times had changed, when people used to live simply...

sari sari store

A typical sari sari store in manila. The sari-sari store is an important economic and social location in a Filipino community. It is present in almost all neighborhoods, sometimes even in every street. The word sari-sari is Tagalog for "various kinds". Most sari-sari stores are privately owned shops and are operated inside the shopkeeper's house. Commodities are displayed in a large screen-covered or metal barred window in front of the shop. Candies, canned goods and cigarettes are often displayed while cooking oil, salt and sugar are often stored in sacks or cans. A small window is also present where the customer's requested commodity is given. A cigarette lighter tied to the window can also be found. Benches and sometimes tables are also provided in front of the sari-sari store. A shade is placed above it which is also used to cover the large window when the store closes.

PS. did you noticed the parol? hehehe typical with pinoys to keep the christmas ornaments all year round and just put the lights on when its christmas time.  i guess it's not too early if i greet y'all a merry christmas!!! :D (afterall we're already in the 'ber' months)

barber shop in manila

i wanted to show you how barber shops in manila looks like inside but i was hesitant to ask the barbers to let me in because they were having a nice siesta when i dropped by, but was kind enough to let me take pictures.   

anyways i am glad that barbershops and parlors still exists in manila, even though there has been an influx of high end salons that caters to both women and men.  even though men has become more metrsosexual and likes to be pampered like women, i still believe that manila men still prefer these kind of barber shops instead of those laced up shops in the malls :)

the amount for a haircut in manila these days is 40 pesos (less than 1USD) for all the regular barbershop (meaning those little barber shop within your street) and its around 60 pesos for women in your suking parlor (salon).  but the price is higher in high end salon 

graffiti

yellow

saw this nicely yellow painted house and the yellow signage slow down school zone, and i thought it would be perfect if someone come along who is wearing a yellow shirt, and i just got my wish, right after my first shot this man wearing yellow sando passed by riding his yellow bike!!! :D

manuel l. quezon university

Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU), Hidalgo St., Quiapo, Manila, Philippines

The Manuel L. Quezon University is founded on the principle of Know Thyself. On its logo is emblazoned the words Pro Patria et Jure: For Country and Law. It owes its existence to the idealism of the seven men, who envisioned an institution that would provide ambitious but financially disadvantaged young people with the education and professional training needed to get ahead in life.

It was founded in 1947 by several prominent justices and lawyers who saw the need for a quality educational institution catering to the less privileged. Among these visionaries were: Leoncio B. Monzon, Lorenzo M. Tañada, Arsenio P. Dizon, Carmelino G. Alvendia, J. B. L. Reyes, Manuel O. Chan, and Anselmo S. Claudio.

They were inspired by the following words of the great Manuel Luis Quezon, former President of the Philippine Commonwealth:

"I believe that education is the right of all citizens. An educated people is needed to insure the upliftment of the masses and the creation of wealth for all."

public phone

an public phone mounted in one of the old houses along f. r. hildago street, reminds me of the old song tatlong beinte singko. hmm kinda miss those days when all you need is three 25cents to make a phone call :), now it is 1 peso per text and 8 pesos per minute using a cellphone.