photo credit: arcreyes [-ratamahatta-] King Carlos IV and the Manila Cathedral via photopin (license)
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Intramuros is the walled city of the old Spanish Colonial Empire in Metro Manila. Its grandeur was ruined by war but there has been an ongoing restoration and rebuilding of the ruins but the vestiges due to bombing are left to rubble.
When my sister went to Madrid, Spain, I asked her in sheer curiosity how was Madrid like? She thought for a moment and replied it is quite similar to Intramuros.
True enough when I was commuting to work, the TV on the bus showed an action movie produced by a Film company in Hong Kong. And Chinese actors were at their best showcasing Martial Arts. Then, there was an intrepid attempt to make the walled city regarded as Madrid, Spain with a subtitle to boot.
That is normal practice for Movie Makers. Did you know that most Hollywood films that had the Vietnam era as a theme were actually shot here in The Philippines?
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Fort Santiago. You have to keep in mind that it was a protected part of the government. Hence, it had a fortress to keep the enemies at bay.
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Now, it has become a tourist destination. An entertaining and educational experience.
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Every nook and cranny of it is a reminder of the glorious past.
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It was given the title of being the Paris of Asia.
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That is one of the historic buildings that has been restored.
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I had been blessed that I went to Colegio de San Juan de Letran for my second year high school. My school is inside the walled city. The whole experience was surreal. President Manuel L. Quezon also studied in Letran. His desk is preserved for posterity.
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The forlorn debris of war.
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The enchanting effect of the gardens heal the wounds of the past. Truly, life goes on and Mother Nature itself thrives and lives on, masterfully, creating wonders that make human destruction gone into oblivion.
If you are planning to have a tour of Intramuros, we highly recommend Carlos Celdran's Tour. I had seen a feature story of his witty and fun-filled humorous take on history and a detailed account of the iconic walled city.
John Charles Edward "Carlos" Pamintuan Celdran (born November 10, 1972) is a Filipino tour guide, cultural activist, and performing artist.
Walk this Way
In 2002, Carlos Celdran founded Walk this Way, a company providing walking tours of Manila, a city which has been called "notoriously inhospitable to pedestrians". Celdran is the producer, director, and actor in a one-man, multi-venue costumed performance, leading patrons through the city as he alternately acts and narrates along the way. These performances contain theatrical elements, as well as comedy, costumes, and music to explain Philippine history. "My background is the arts; fine arts and performance art," he explained to BusinessWeek. "So I just decided 'why don’t I make it interesting for myself?' That’s why I added music, theater and comedy, fine-tuned the script into a performance and so it became interesting for me". The tours put special emphasis on issues surrounding Philippine arts, culture, and international geopolitics in order to place Philippine history within a global context.
His tour offerings have included "If these Walls Could Talk," a half-day walking tour of Intramuros, wearing the Spanish-colonial garb of an illustrado and the "Living la Vida Imelda!" tour, where he dons bell bottoms for a tour of the 1970s-built Cultural Center of the Philippines and relates both facts and myths about former First Lady Imelda Marcos. Past offerings have included half-day tours of Quiapo and overnight tours of Corregidor Island. According to Time magazine, "Celdran offers up rich narratives that are by turns gossipy (his account of Imelda Marcos' rise and fall is hilarious) and compelling (the description of a bombed-out Manila, at the end of World War II, is unforgettable)."
(*From Wikipedia- Slightly Edited)
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The main attraction, of course, is none other than the Manila Cathedral. You should like not to miss it. Your tour would not be complete without seeing its splendor.
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