Historic Manila (Crash Course in Filipino History)

Hello Friends,

I haven't had the time to write a blog post about our visit to historic Manila on our first day. We visited the older part of the city in the afternoon, after visiting the open market. As many Americans are reading this blog, I don't expect many of you to know much about Filipino history. I myself only know recent Filipino history, mostly from WWII to present day, and even then I still have a lot to learn. However, I do know about Dr. Jose Rizal, which is what most of the historic memorials in Manila are about. First: the Spanish.

The Spanish were the longest colonizers, and their influence on Filipino culture is evident everywhere. Tagalog shares many Spanish words (I've noticed that many Filipinos interchange Tagalog numbers with Spanish numbers when talking about the time or prices). Catholicism is still huge here. Everything from religion, to fashion, to language was influenced by the Spanish, and many Filipinos have Spanish names still.

We visited Fort Santiago, where the remains of the Spanish forts are during the colonization period. Inside the Fort are the Rizal memorials, which include his prison cell, a collection of his books, and golden footprints showing his walk to his execution site (several of which have been stolen).

 I happened to have read an English version of Noli Me Tangere, the book that has permeated Filipino culture by Dr. Rizal. It is about Filipinos under Spanish rule, in particular about the corruption of the Catholic clergy. One of the main characters, Maria Clara (who represents the Philippines), engendered a unique dress called the Maria Clara. This book is required reading in all Filipino high schools, and is the book that angered the Spanish enough to call for Dr. Rizal's execution.

In the memorial the Filipinos are shooting Rizal (though only one had the real bullet), and the Spanish soldiers are pointing their guns at the Filipinos. Behind them are the clergy. 

Dr. Rizal is the Philippines' national hero. I honestly think he is a fascinating historical figure. He died young, spoke several languages, and was just an all around interesting guy. I intend to re-read his books, maybe someday in their original Spanish. I hope that my visit to Manila will help me read Noli Me Tangere and its sequel in better historical and cultural context. And visiting all of these memorials for this influential writer is something that I like to do anyway, as I'm always interested in literature and its influence on history and culture. 

Most of the tour (by Carlos the tour guide, while we rode on a Cartela in the middle of the crowded street) was dedicated to Dr. Rizal's memorials and more recent history (WWII). I had no idea that Manila used to be a walled city, which was the biggest surprise of all. I happen to like learning about the history of cities, especially since I have so many relatives in Manila. While I was sad that the cathedral is still under renovation, I'm glad I got to go visit the city. And I'm especially glad that I got to visit the memorials of another highly influential writer.