Soul Waves/Our World-Tuesday

In a small corner of Rizal Park stands "Soul Waves", sculptural waves crafted from stainless steel, a memorial erected in 2010 by the Korean community in the Philippines to remember their loved ones who perished in World War II.  Soul Waves also symbolize the sacred shores of both Korea and the Philippines and the joint efforts of both countries to protect its shores.  

Beside the Soul Waves is the Filipino-Korean Soldier Monument---a fitting tribute to Filipino soldiers who fought side by side with the Korean soldiers during the Korean War (1950-1953).  About 7,500 combat troops known as the Philippines Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), the 4th largest force under the United Nations command, were sent to defend South Korea from a communist invasion by North Korea which was supported by China and the Soviet Union.

Recently, North Korea declares war with South Korea and the US, and as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula, let's all hope that cooler heads would prevail.  An estimated 4 million people were killed during the Korean War.  

Today, April 9th, we commemorate the "Day of Valor" in the Philippines, also known as Bataan and Corregidor Day, the Fall of Bataan during World War II.   

"What a cruel thing is war:  to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world." 

~ Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, 1864

Linking to Our World-Tuesday

Lorenzo Ruiz/Our World Tuesday

 
Most Filipino Catholics recognize the name San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, the first Filipino saint. He was also known as Lorenzo de Manila, born in Binondo, Manila between 1600 and 1610 to a Chinese father and Tagalog mother.  He was an altar boy and was educated by the Dominican Fathers.  San Lorenzo Ruiz was a layman, with two sons and a daughter.

This statue of Lorenzo de Manila is located at the open field near Quirino Grandstand across the Rizal monument.

The caption at the statue’s base reads: “Si yo tuviera miles de Vidas las daria por mi fe."  The on-line Spanish-English translation is "If I had thousands of lives, I would give for my faith."  This was part of his declaration while being tortured and his tormentor taunted him that his life would be spared if he would renounce his faith.  

"That I shall never do, because I am a Christian and I shall die for God, and for Him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them.  And so do with me as you please." ~ Lorenzo de Manila

In 1636, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard.  He sought asylum on board a ship with Dominican priests bound for Okinawa, Japan.  By the time they arrived in Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate was persecuting Christians and the missionaries were consequently arrested and thrown to prison.  Ruiz and his companions went through different types of torture---needles were inserted inside their fingernails, they were beaten unconscious; they were hung by their feet and submerged in water until some of his companions recant their faith.

On September 27, 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the Nishizaka Hill.  There, he was hung upside down into a pit---this form of torture was known as tsurushi in Japanese or horca y hoya in Spanish.  This was the most painful way to die in those times and involved using rocks to add weight to the person until the tortured person suffocates and is crushed from their own weight.  After two days, Lorenzo Ruiz died from bleeding and suffocation.  His body was cremated and his ashes were thrown to the sea.  He never recanted his love and faith in God.  Source

Lorenzo de Manila was beatified by Pope John II during the Papal visit to Manila on February 18, 1981.  Saint Lorenzo Ruiz was elevated to sainthood and received canonization on October 18, 1987 by Pope John Paul II in Rome.  He is recognized as the first Filipino saint and martyr.

I feel sad for this tattered marker.  I feel sad for those who suffered, who are still suffering  and persecuted because of their faith, political allegiance, and ethnicity.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday 

Vendor's cart/Blue Monday

A vendor's cart displaying balls, kites, and other toys for sale at the open field near the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.  The open field at the Quirino Grandstand is usually used as a venue for cultural, political, religious, and sports events;  people also come here to enjoy the open space, and possibly escape the dingy confines of their crowded homes and neighborhoods.  We definitely need more parks in Metro Manila.

Join us @ Blue Monday

Stars & Stripes/Blue Monday

A horse-drawn carriage at the Rizal Park.

More blues @ Blue Monday

Tourism HQ/Our World-Tuesday

The Department of Tourism (formerly Agriculture Building) headquarters in the southern section of Rizal Park in Manila.  I recognize the Corinthian columns (thanks to the designers I have worked with.:p)---an example of neoclassical architecture; designed by Architect Antonio Toledo and was built in the early 1900's.  The DOT building is the future address of the Museum of Natural Sciences.

The DOT building is located at Teodoro F. Valencia Circle, formerly called Agrifina Circle, in Rizal Park.  A marker was erected here to pay tribute to Teodoro F. Valencia (May 7, 1913 - May 4, 1987).

"Teodoro F. Valencia, better known as "Ka Doroy," was widely regarded as the Dean of Filipino Journalists. His many civic undertakings made him a legend, particularly his knack for raising funds to help the underprivileged and the less fortunate. Known as the "Builder of Rizal Park," Valencia was largely responsible for developing Rizal Park into one of the best parks in Asia.

Ka Doroy was born in Tanauan, Batangas where he finished his elementary and high school education. He earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1935 and took up Law at the Philippine Law School where he graduated in 1941.

Pursuant to Republic Act 6836 renaming Agrifina Circle to Teodoro F. Valencia Circle and in grateful recognition of his life-long service to the Filipino people, the National Parks Development Committee under the Department of Tourism, dedicates this circle as a living memorial to Teodoro F. Valencia on this 7th day of May 1990. City of Manila."

Linking to Our World-Tuesday

Lapu-Lapu: Sentinel of Freedom/Our World-Tuesday

Today, August 27th, we celebrate National Heroes Day to commemorate our heroes throughout history.  

One of my favorite Filipino heroes is Lapu-Lapu--a man who resisted a foreign invader and fought guns with spears, kampilan and kalasag. He was the first-ever recognized Filipino hero and freedom fighter.  I was in Rizal Park two weeks ago and visited Lapu-Lapu's 30-foot bronze statue.  This monument is called the "Sentinel of Freedom", a gift from the Korean Freedom League, and was erected here in 2004.  It was conceptualized to give recognition to the first Asian who fought against foreign invasion.

The hero was shown standing guard, holding his kampilan, which is concealed in its scabbard and firmly planted on the ground.  A man of peace yet ready to protect his territory and people if threatened.  The statue faces the west, towards Manila Bay.

Lapu-Lapu (1491-1542) is known in history as the Datu of Mactan in Central Philippines who defeated in 1521 the Portuguese explorer and conquistador Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan, who was under the service of the King of Spain, was the first man to circumnavigate the world.  After the historic battle in what would later be known as the Battle of Mactan, it took the Spanish colonialists 35 years before they would set foot again on what is now the Philippines.

The statue was sculpted by Juan Sajid Imao, a 2001 TOYM awardee for the arts.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday

Stone bridge [Sunday Bridges]

@ mirandablue

A stone bridge over a small lagoon that leads to the marble wall etched with Jose Rizal's "Mi Ultimo Adios" and a diorama of his execution.  Located in Rizal Park, Manila.

Posted for Sunday Bridges hosted by Louis

LP: Publiko [Public]

@ mirandablue

Rizal Park, ang pinaka-kilalang pampublikong liwasan sa Pilipinas.  Dito nakahimlay si Dr. Jose Rizal, ang pambansang bayani, at ang monumento ay sagisag ng kanyang kadakilaan.

@ mirandablue

Ang jeepney ay pampublikong sasakyan na makikita saan mang dako ng Pilipinas.  Ito ay naging simbolo na ng kulturang Filipino.

Posted for Litratong Pinoy

Rizal Park by day [My World-Tuesday]

Last month, I showed you  Luneta by Night.  I went back to see Luneta (or Rizal Park) at daylight on August 21st, two days before the ill-fated hostage crisis just across the Rizal monument on August 23rd.  I wanted to post these photos right after the tragic event but it was too painful and humiliating.  

The dismissed police officer who hijacked the tourist bus full of Hong Kong tourists probably thought of the symbolism of this park to our history when he asked the bus driver to stop at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.  Or he was just crazy and desperate and the open grounds of the park was convenient for his evil plan.

This place was once called Bagumbayan, a marshy land facing the beach which is now Roxas Boulevard.  Bagumbayan Park gracefully hosted flirtations among the Manila elite as well as witnessed the deaths of its disloyal citizenry with indifference. For 74 years, the Spanish used this park as an execution ground for "rebels and mutineers". Between 1823 and 1897,  158 patriots and martyrs were felled on the square by Spanish infantrymen, including the 3 priests, Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora.  Jose Rizal was executed here by firing squad on 1896, and it is said that the blood they shed served as a "spiritual fertilizer which invigorated the Filipino people's yearning for liberty". (Source:  National Parks Development Committee)

It was the Americans who set the motions of building a memorial to honor Dr. Rizal.  The bronze figure is the work of Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling.  It was completed in 1913 and thereafter, Rizal's bones from the Paco Cemetery, where he was secretly buried right after his execution, were transferred to this monument.  Inscribed on Rizal monument:   

"I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for those one loves – for his country and for others dear to him." 

The Rizal Diorama (or the Light & Sound Tableau on the Life and Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal) was one of the highlights of my last visit to the park.  More about the diorama here.

There is a motorized train for those who are not fond of walking.  It's a 48-hectare park, if you're determined to walk, wear comfortable shoes.

There are a lot to see and experience here.  This the entrance to the Chinese Garden.  There is also a Japanese Garden, the National Historical Institute, National Library, Planetarium, Central Lagoon, Orchidarium (it was under renovation), Butterfly Pavilion, National Museum, a chess plaza, and a lot more.  There are concerts and performances at the open-air auditorium.

Ordinary folks with their families on a picnic, couples (young and old), students, vendors, tourists, photographers, joggers, Tai-Chi practitioners are the people one usually sees at Luneta.   It's an oasis in the middle of an urban jungle.

Sleep in the shadows of nothingness

Redeemer of an enslaved land---

Don't weep in the mystery of the tomb

Nor grieve the momentary triumph of the Spaniard;

For if the bullet ravaged your skull

Your idea vanquished an empire!

~ Cecilio Apostol, Filipino poet,

on Rizal's 2nd death anniversary, 1898

Rizal Park, Kilometer 0

Manila,  Philippines

This post is linked to My World-Tuesday

The Rizal Diorama [My World-Tuesday]

As promised in my last week's Luneta post, I returned to the park on Saturday afternoon to see the Rizal Diorama.  The Rizal Diorama is the actual location of his execution on December 30, 1896.  It is located on the north side of the Rizal monument, in a small enclosed section of the park. 

The area is protected by a  stone wall, a moat with a stone bridge.  The small bridge leads to a black marble wall where Rizal's poem "Mi Ultimo Adios" is engraved.
 

The poem, "Mi Ultimo Adios" (My Last Farewell), was written by Rizal on the eve of his execution as many believed.   The poem was actually untitled, undated and unsigned when Rizal's sisters found the folded paper hidden in a small alcohol stove.  On the afternoon of December 29, 1896, a day before his execution, Rizal was visited by his mother, sisters and two nephews.  When the family was about to leave, Rizal told his sister Trinidad, in English (the Spanish guards didn't understand English), that there was something in the small alcohol stove.   The Rizals reproduced copies of the 14 five-line stanzas and sent them to friends in the country and abroad.  The poem was published in the first issue of La Independencia in 1898 entitled "Ultimo Adios", thus Rizal's poem became popularly known as "Ultimo Adios" or "Mi Ultimo Adios".

Before and after Rizal, many innocent Filipinos have been executed in this area of Bagumbayan (the old name of Luneta) by the Spanish colonizers.  Falsely accused of masterminding the Cavite rebellion, the 3 priests, Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora were garroted here in 1872.  In 1897, 13 Filipinos were also executed in Bagumbayan---casualties of Spanish pressure against the revolutionary Katipunan, an anti-Spanish revolutionary society.  Many unsung heroes died in Bagumbayan--patriots from Bicol, Capiz and other parts of the country were brought to Manila and executed in Bagumbayan.  The Spanish version of the "Killing Fields".

Larger-than-life dioramas show Rizal's final days in captivity and his death at the hands of his countrymen.  The Spanish authorities used Filipino, not Spanish, soldiers for his firing squad.  I was awed by the size of these bronze statues--they're about 8-10 feet tall.  It costs about 22 cents to see this diorama; about a dollar to see the light-and-sound  presentation at 7 pm.  I wanted to see the light-and-sound presentation but the gate-keeper said that there were only 6 of us who wanted to see it, they needed at least 15 people.:(

I have read some articles that Rizal's last act of defiance was to face away from his Filipino firing squad.  That is a bit incorrect because his statue here is supposed to represent him spinning away from the firing squad in a last effort to die looking up to the sky, instead of breathing his last facing down.

Some historians wrote that Rizal's last request was to be shot facing his executioners, but the Spaniards refused, citing a Spanish law that seditionists are to be shot in the back.  Legend has it that as bullets hit his back, with superhuman effort, Rizal spun himself so he could die facing the sky.

I sat on the concrete stool and contemplated  at the horrible scene...I almost cried.  I  regret that I never paid much attention to my Rizal classes in school.  His books "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" are obligatory for high school students in the Philippines, and truth be told, I only read those books because I needed to.  I think it's about time I reacquaint myself with the works of Rizal.

The Rizal monument viewed from the stone bridge.

P.S.  Across the Rizal monument, at the Quirino grandstand grounds,  a hostage crisis involving a dismissed police officer and a bus with more than 20 tourists from Hong Kong happened today.  The hostage crisis ended after a 10-hour negotiations, the police assaulted the bus, and the hostage-taker killed by a sniper's bullet earlier this evening.  At least 7 wounded hostages were brought to the hospital.  Aside from the 9 hostages released earlier today, there are no news on others survivors.  A sad day, indeed.

Posted for My World-Tuesday

Luneta by night [My World-Tuesday]

The bronze and granite Rizal monument at Luneta Park is one of the most famous sculptural landmarks in the Philippines, and a major tourist attraction in Manila.  This 48-hectare park was used to be called Bagumbayan (or New Town) during the Spanish regime, then Luneta for the park's half-moon shape.  It was officially renamed Rizal Park as a tribute to Jose Rizal, the national hero, who was executed here on December 30, 1896.  But to most Filipinos, this park is popularly known as Luneta.

Luneta is not my usual weekend destination--for one, it's a bit far from where I live.  For some, visiting Luneta is unglamorous, and most of my friends would  laugh if I'd invite them to visit the Rizal monument.  I don't know if a Parisian would react  in the same manner when asked to visit the Eiffel Tower on a given day.   Many city dwellers consider Luneta as an oasis on hot and humid days and nights, a picnic ground for folks who  prefer open spaces or couldn't afford to go to the malls.  There are gardens, playgrounds, an open-air concert hall, an artists' sanctuary, historical markers, a light-and-sound theater, a grand stadium and fountains in this park.

Ironically, it was raining when we walked around Luneta on Saturday night.  My friend and I pigged out at a restaurant in the nearby Manila Ocean Park, and we decided to walk off the calories in Luneta.

When I took photos of the Rizal monument, I crossed the metal chain  to get a closer shot, then I heard a  persistent whistle.  It was the security guard signaling me to  step out of the perimeter fence.  We asked why there is a perimeter fence when it is a public monument.  The guard explained that people tend to leave their trash near the monument, the perimeter fence also protects the monument from vandals and vagrants.  The Rizal monument is continuously guarded by ceremonial soldiers, known as Knights of Rizal.  It reminded me of a family anecdote about an uncle who had the penchant  to tickle the on-duty ceremonial soldiers when he had one too many.

Across the Rizal monument is a marker with a white ball---the Kilometer 0.   Similar to ancient Rome's Milliarium Aureum, Kilometer Zero is the point of origin to all other cities in the Philippines.

the wet and deserted Roxas Boulevard across Kilometer 0

Rizal Park (or Luneta Park) is at the northern end of Roxas Boulevard, overlooking Manila Bay.  It is a walking distance to the historic Manila Hotel, the National Museum of the Filipino People, the National Library, the neoclassic Department of Tourism building, the Orchidarium and Butterfly Pavilion, the Planetarium, and the walled city of Intramuros.

I promise to revisit the park again soon...at day time, to show you better photos.:p

Posted for My World-Tuesday