Quiapo and Binondo: A Cacophony of Philippine History and Culture
Binondo is a wonderful cacophony of sight, sound, smell and taste. It’s a place that somehow looks like it stood still, while at the same time giving the very strong impression that it is moving forward at a very rapid pace. People always say the real money is in Chinatown. Maybe it’s the humming caused by the movement of massive amounts of money that one can sense. This area has always been the true heart of the Philippine economy.
Quiapo, on the other hand, mirrors the soul of the Filipino. Where else can you find fanatical Roman Catholicism melded with elements of voodoo? The average Quiapo church-goer will hear mass, and then think it perfectly ordinary to take a seat in front of his or her favorite manghuhula (fortune teller) to see what the coming week has in store. Or if she thinks one of her neighbors turns into a manananggal at night (in Filipino folk lore, a woman who leaves the lower half of her body and flies off on bat-like wings in search of pregnant women in order to feed on their unborn child), she will very matter-of-factly head for the little alley behind the church to buy the tail of a stingray which is guaranteed to drive the evil spirit out of her neighbor! The Spanish may have thought that they succeeded in “civilizing” the Filipinos. What they actually did, was lay a thin veneer of Christianity over the native paganism – the manananggal, the mangkukulam (the witch), the albularyo (the witch-doctor) and the kapre (giant smoking a large cigar) are all still alive and well in the Filipino psyche.
In both Binondo and Quiapo you will find unmistakable traces of the former grandeur of the city of Manila. The promise it once held, before World War II leveled the city - art deco buildings on Escolta, palatial mansions on Hidalgo Street, the graceful Jones Bridge, and wide, tree-lined boulevards, all reduced to shells or piles of rubble in the “liberation” of Manila from the Japanese. In true Filipino fashion, the city was rebuilt and the nation moved on. But like the Filipino with his scarred national identity, the scars left on this once beautiful city are still evident to the careful observer. And nowhere more visible, so close to the surface, than in Binondo and Quiapo.
Where to eat (Binondo):
• Lan Zhou La Mien on Benavidez St. – try the fresh hand-pulled noodles (watch them being made while you wait for your food) and dumplings (about P100/head).
• Mezzanine Café on the corner of Ongpin and Yuchengco Streets – proceeds support Binondo’s famous volunteer firefighters. Try the kiampong and the iced brewed coffee (P200 to P300/head).
• Wai Ying Roasting also on Benavidez St. – for the dimsum and roast duck (starts at P100/head)
• New Po Heng Lumpia House on Paredes St. – located in the art deco Uysubin Building (which used to be a hotel), you get to eat the best fresh lumpia (P40) in a great hidden little courtyard in the center of the building.
• Estero – for those with cast iron stomachs, it’s a row of carinderia-style eateries along the canal (or estero, hence the popular name) that cuts across Ongpin St.
• Dong Bei Dumpling – on the Binondo Church end of Yuchengco St. It’s a little hole in the wall eatery which has the best dumplings! You can also get them packed to take home with you.
What to do:
Binondo
• Take home a pack of the original monggo hopia from either Polland or Holland
• Sample the ube hopia from Eng Bee Tin. Its popularity saved the company from going under.
• Have a bite of the fried siopao (only P15!) from Shanghai Fried towards the Sta. Cruz end of Ongpin
• Feeling besieged lately? Get charms and other feng shui paraphernalia which you can get in any of the countless shops lining Ongpin St. But if you get them from Dragon Phoenix Enterprises on the corner of Ongpin and Padilla, they’ll perform a little blessing ceremony on your charms before handing them over to you.
• Say a prayer in Binondo Church. Built in 1596, it was repeatedly damaged by fire and earthquakes and by the bombing that practically leveled Manila during World War II. Only the façade and the bell tower are part of the original structure.
• Duck into narrow Carvajal Street where you can buy anything from apples, kiwis, dragon fruit to fresh fish!
• Check out Plaza Sta. Cruz where you’ll find the centuries old Sta. Cruz Church and the Carriedo Fountain, honoring Manila’s first water system.
• Off to one side of the plaza is Escolta Street, pre-war Manila’s 5th Avenue. Walk along it and re-live the city’s great past as the Queen City of the Far East.
Quiapo
• It’s a chaotic 10-minute walk from Plaza Sta. Cruz to Quiapo Church – across Avenida and along the dizzying, crowded Carriedo Street. If you don’t feel up to it, you can get on a calesa, the traditional horse-drawn carriage that was the city’s main mode of transport before the war (P100) or take it’s motorized, modern cousin, the tricycle (P50).
• Go bargain shopping in Carriedo. You can get everything from jeans, bags, tops for under P300, to bananas and fresh vegetables, even jewelry-making paraphernalia. If you’re not vigilant however, you can also get your pocket picked.
• Hear mass in Quiapo Church, then climb up the stairs at the back of the church’s altar to kiss the feet of the miraculous Black Nazarene. Every Jan. 9, the Black Nazarene is paraded around Quiapo while hundreds of thousands of devotees try to touch the image, believing that they will be healed of any sickness or have a wish granted if they succeed.
• Just for kicks, get your fortune told by one of the numerous card or palm readers right outside the doors of Quiapo Church (P50).
• Light a color-coded candle – each color corresponds to an intention: green for wealth, red for love, black if you want an enemy to suddenly become a friend (P10 for every 3 candles).
• Need a love potion? Perhaps a cure for asthma, arthritis, AND heart disease? Or a good-old fashioned anting-anting that will make you bulletproof? There’s a little alley behind Quiapo Church that sells all these. Vendors hawking charms that ward off the evil eye (kontra usog) ply their wares side by side with others selling replicas of the Black Nazarene and the Virgin Mary.
• Take the pedestrian tunnel to cross Quezon Avenue and find your way to Hidalgo Street, where you’ll find crumbling remains of once palatial mansions that have now been converted to dormitories. Walk all the way to the end and you’ll find yourself at the San Sebastian Church, the only neo Gothic, all-steel church in Asia. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the basilica was pre-fabricated in Belgium, and the first of its parts arrived in Manila on June 12, 1888.
• If you want a more structured experience, join Carlos Celdran’s walking tour (P600/person). The tour kicks off at the Binondo Church, and ends at the Quiapo Church, 2 1/2 hours later. You can get details, schedules as well as info on the other tours he offers at www.celdrantours.blogspot.com.
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