First things first, the Urban Roamer is proud be on print. You heard it right folks! Your friendly, neighborhood, urban roaming blogger is proud to be a contributing writer for an upstart and promising publication, the DDG Magazine. Please check out my contributions there (yes, I manage to write a couple of articles there) as well as the other articles there which are very informative. For a lifestyle magazine, it is one of the few publications out there that has managed to pack in so much diverse content with substance that should make it a must-read. I am proud to be part of such a promising publication. DDG Magazine is…
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The Urban Roamer’s Quiapo Shopping Guide (Part 1)
It is said that the name “Quiapo” came from the water cabbage plant “kiapo” that used to grow along the riverbanks in the district before. So much has changed as Quiapo grew from a sleepy suburb to an area of frenetic activity happening 24/7 as it gained importance as becoming Manila’s geographic center and part of the bustling commercial center of the city. On the flipside, Quiapo has also become a textbook example of urban decay in the city as it has become riddled with problems of traffic, lack of planning, and petty crime activity which in turn have adversely affected the district’s image. Add to that the notoriety it…
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The home of Manila’s beloved Catholic icon
January 9 each year is a special day in this particular part of Manila, the city’s geographic center known as Quiapo. This is the Feast of the Black Nazarene, that darkened Catholic icon which represented Jesus Christ carrying the cross that is beloved by many Catholics, a majority of which belong curiously to the male gender. On a sociological level, such a deep, fanatical as some might say, devotion of Catholic men to the “Nazareno” (as the Black Nazarene is called) can be considered a peculiarity at the very least as commonly in the realm of the Catholic faith, it is the women who exhibit such devotion. The Urban Roamer…
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“Can we defend it at Plaza Miranda?”
The title of this entry refers to the famous quote of Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay (whose birthday falls on the month of August as well) whenever a national policy that was to be implemented is something the public would support or not. It was a testament to the importance of Plaza Miranda as the venue for public opinion. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here as it is important to know first the story of this particular spot that has become a national landmark of sorts. History tells us that Plaza Miranda was named after Jose Sandino y Miranda, the Spanish-era Treasury secretary from 1853-63. While his “claim to…