flower lamp

mac arthur's twilight

I love how brightly the street lamps turned out in this twilight photo (no this isnt manipulated in photoshop) , twas already getting dark when i took this shot but you can still see a tinge of orange in the sky, a soft blush left by the king sun. By the way, you would also notice that half of the lamps were stil not lit, most probably because it's still early then. Tomorrow the close up shot of the lamp on the right side of Mac Arthur bridge.

ongpin

This is the Ongpin Street at Sta. Cruz, where Manila's chinatown is. I also call this the golden town, why? Because, this is where you could buy inexpensive gold jewelries :)

carriedo fountain

A fountain was originally erected at the intersection of Legarda, Nagtahan and Magsaysay Streets in Sampaloc to mark the inauguration of the Manila Waterworks that was funded out of the Carriedo Legacy. The fountain was then brought to Balara in Quezon City, infront of the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage Authority Building when the water agency’s main office was moved from Arroceros to Balara in late ’70s.


During the first term of Alfredo Lim as Manila mayor, he negotiated with MWSS administrator then Mr. Luis V. Z. Sison for the original Carriedo Fountain to be brought back to Manila. The MWSS administrator only agreed on the condition that The City of Manila had to allow the MWSS to have the fountain replicated before it was returned.

MWSS commissioned national artist Napoleon Abueva to do a replica of the original Carriedo Fountain that would stand on the spot where the original used to stand in Balara. It took a year for Abueva to come up with a beautiful rendition that won’t be suspected as a replica using plaster as chief material.

The original Carriedo fountain now stands at Plaza Santa Cruz.

to read more please click here.

Source: http://traveleronfoot.wordpress.com

church of sta. cruz

Sta. Cruz Church, Plaza Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines

Church of Sta. Cruz was built and administered by the Jesuits up to 1768. Adjoining was the Jesuit College of San Ildefonso, founded by Governor Alfonso Fajardo de la Tenza on January 9, 1724. The titular patroness of the church is Nuestra Señora Del Pilar, whose statue was brought from Spain prior to 1768. The confraternity of Nuestra Señora del Pilar was canonically founded in this church in 1743. On the surrounding plaza the British returned the City of Manila to Simon de Anda y Salazar in 1764.

pedicab

Pedicab or Padyak, a bicycle with a sidecar which is a human powered transportation in Manila and all through out the Philippines. Can accommodate a maximum of three passengers and can easily navigate the narrow streets of Manila, best alternative especially with the high prices of gasoline and when the streets are flooded, even Quentin Tarantino rode a pedicab when he was here in Manila.

plaza fair

Plaza Fair located at Plaza Lacson, Carriedo, Sta. Cruz, Manila

Plaza Fair is one of Manila's first shopping centers, thriving when Escolta used to be Manila's fashion hub. Just beside the Plaza Fair is Isettan Department Store and across it the firse ever sm store used to be called just Shoe Mart.

asociacion feminista filipina

a piece of history in an obscure place, this history tablet is placed in front of the merriam & webster bookstore along avenida, sta. cruz, manila. the tablet says - in a building on this site was organized the asociacion feminista filipina on 30 june 1905.

On June 30, 1905, Concepcion Felix and other Filipino women founded the Asociacion Feminista Filipina (Philippine Feminist Association) in Manila. It was the first women’s club in the country that promoted social welfare and women’s involvement in public affairs.

so it seems that the filipina has learned early to fight for their rights having formed a feminist movement in the philippines as early as 1905. And the asociacion feminista filipina has paved way for Filipino women to the right of suffrage.

mami

A carinderia along Hidalgo Street offering mami for only 5 pesos, and 10 pesos with egg. So do you wanna grab one?

fresh veggies

Fresh veggies available at Hidalgo Street.

hidalgo street

Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, Manila - Considered to be a photographer's haven because you can findin here anything and everything camera related, a mecha for photography equipment at a cheap price.

But aside from camera equipment, Hidalgo Street is also a hodge podge of different vendors, such as vegetables, ukay ukay, cheap food, pirated CDs and DVDs

LRT carriedo station

LRT Carriedo Station - Located at Carriedo Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila

Carriedo Station is the tenth station for trains headed to Monumento and the ninth station for trains headed to Baclaran.

The station is near some famous Manila landmarks such as the Quiapo Churh (the home of the famous Black Nazarene), the historic Plaza Miranda, and is also near Escolta Street (what used to be Manila's fashion and business hub).

carriedo street

Carriedo Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila

just another playground

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." but for these kids... the world is just another playground.

plaza lacson circa 2007

The Plaza Lacson today, after Mayor Lim re-opened carriedo street to traffic again. But if my memory serves me correctly i'd say that this actually looks exactly the way it was before former Mayor Lito Atienza closed it.

MacArthur bridge

Still at the MacArthur Bridge. Of the 8 major bridges that spans Manila, this bridge is my favorite.

Photo below was taken at the center of the bridge, with LRT1 and the Pasig River ferry.

i shall return

Gen. Douglas MacArthur famous quote, his statement after leaving the Philippines in 1942 during the World War II and he did return two years later. This statue depicts his return. This statue can be found at the foot of MacArthur Bridge (from Ermita to Sta. Cruz)

Trivia: This statue used to be at the grounds of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, just right at the entrance... when i was in freshman i used to wonder why does MacAthur have a statue in my school? Then on my senior year, the statue "walked" to its rightful place.

by calesa or by foot?

When i took this photo i didnt realized that there was a man in front of me because i was so intent in capturing the calesa passing by, but the man made my photo more beautiful i think... it looked like the calesa and the man were on a race.

I have always been fascinated with calesas, and i really love riding them. Maybe its because they are so scarce now a days that you only get to see them at escolta, binondo, divisoria, and at intramuros. Let me share with you this beautiful calesa song that we used to sing during elementary days.

Kalesa'y may pang-akit na taglay
Maginhawa't di maalinsangan
Nakahahalina kung pagmasdan
Kalesa ay pambayang sasakyan

Kabayo ay di natin problema
Pulot at damo lang ay tama na
Matulin din sa kalsada
Tumatakbong maginhawa
Wala pang gasolina

Kalesa ay panghatid tuwina
Nung panahon nina maria clara
Mga bayani nitong bayan
Sa kalesa'y dinuduyan

Kalesa'y nakaaaliw
Lalo na pag gumagabi
At kung kasama ko ang aking giliw
Mangangalesa na rin kami

Matulin din sa kalsada
Tumatakbong maginhawa
Wala pang gasolina

regina building

This is one of the old buildings at Escolta, a history still standing at the corner of Burke and Escolta streets. I intentionally shot the building at this angle because i cant find a way to capture the whole lot without the power cable lines hanging.

Escolta was once the place to be, the center of commerce (plush shopping) during the pre-WWII period, as what my mother used to tell me... but today, the glory of this place is gone. I'm not sure if the proposed plan of Mayor Atienza to transform Escolta into an IT center pushed through.

an ordinary day

An ordinary day in the life of an ordinary person in a not so ordinary place.