• City of Manila

    Plaza Dilao: The Memory of Paco’s Japanese Community

    Note: This is a long overdue entry that was originally planned for last year. I managed to have it published today though the plaza has been affected by the ongoing works of  the Skyway project that it looks different now. We can only hope this plaza will manage to survive and its legacy intact Plaza Dilao in Manila’s Paco district these days finds itself in an interesting spot. As an open space of sorts, it finds itself being sadly squeezed in between the major traffic chokepoints of Quirino Avenue and the old Quirino Avenue Extension. So apart from the few trees, the sights you mostly get to see are vehicles,…

  • City of Manila

    The “Roma” in Intramuros

    While it is true that Intramuros is known as the “Little Vatican” because of the presence before of 7 churches in the Walled City and the fact that it is until now the seat of Roman Catholicism in Manila, and perhaps the country as well, this entry would not be about any of these churches. The “Roma” here would refer to the plaza, Plaza Roma, considered to be the “plaza mayor” or the main plaza of the city in the olden times.