"Grave Hunting" in Paco Park and "Miracle Searching" in Malate Church

- Sept. 29, 2017, Friday.

- When one thinks of touristy things to do in Manila, the first two places that come to mind are Intramuros, and the adjacent Rizal Park. Both of these places are, of course, related to Manila's Spanish colonial past. While these two iconic places are definitely worth a visit - regardless if you're a resident or a tourist/visitor of Manila - there are other nearby places that add puzzle pieces to the narrative of what we know about our colonial past.

- My first stop for the afternoon was Manila's humble Paco Park. It can be reached by riding the LRT1 line to UN Avenue Station, then walking a couple of blocks along Gen. Luna Street (diagonal with UN Avenue.) This park was originally a cemetery named "Cemeterio General de Dilao" that was inagurated in the early 1800s. It was a burial site for the affluent of Manila, particularly those who lived in nearby Intramuros. After ceasing all interments in 1912, it was later used as an ammunition depot and some sort of fort by the Japanese. The park/cemetery's walls, after all, were so thick that the Japanese thought of repurposing the cemetery/park, this way. Also, the Paco Park's structure has an outer ring and an inner circle, which meant that there were two walls that protected the heart of this small space (one to protect the outer ring, and another to protect the inner circle.)

Most people today don't know that the park was once a cemetery.

The door to the inner circle.

The main attraction: St. Pancratius Chapel.

- Today, the Paco Park is not only for tourists, but a also place where students from nearby schools hang out and rehearse for their class activities, where people can just sit down and relax, or where people can shoot prenuptial photoshoots or actually get married. The main attraction can be instantly seen in this small park: the St. Pancratius Chapel, also known as the "Paco Church." This romaneque church was formally opened the same time the park/cemetery did. From what I understand it only opens whenever there's mass or special occasions, but I was able to take a photo through the slightly tinted and dusty windows of the main gate.

Close up of the chapel.

What it looks like inside, took a photo through the tinted/dusty window. The worst photo of the day turned out to be the best one (after a few adjustments to lighting and contrast.)

Beside the chapel; of course I didn't miss the opportunity to take this shot. By the way I'm wearing my Indian kurta that resembles the clothes Filipinos wore during the Spanish era.

- Going around the park can take anywhere from 30minutes to an hour (or even an hour and a half if you REALLY want to take your time,) because visitors can climb up the inner wall and see the whole park from the "second floor." I thought I liked the park already from flat ground, but boy did it look a lot more stunning from above the wall!!

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, thankfully he didn't have a great fall!!

- For history buffs, the park/cemetery's past won't be the only thing that will be of interest. In my case, the main reason for going to the park is not just to see the park, but to see two important tombs. The first one is the tomb where the three priests of Gomburza (Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora) were buried. The three priests were executed in Bagumbayan (now the Rizal Park,) because they acted against the Spanish authorities. Their "joint" tomb is located in the outer ring at the right side of the main entrance (while facing the Paco Church.) It's not hard to find because the park is small and their tomb has a big cross and a visible marker.

It wasn't much of a grave hunt actually since it was right there, before my very eyes.

- The more significant tomb - and the more controversial one - is the first burial site of Jose P. Rizal, the country's national hero. Although most Filipinos will know that the body of Rizal is currently buried underneath the ever-famous monument in Rizal Park, the first burial site was actually in Paco Park. (If the GOMBURZA one is to the right of the outer ring, Rizal's is at the left side of the outer ring.) Again, this won't be much of a "hunt" since the grave site is clearly marked. Now, this is how the story goes. After Rizal was shot in Bagumbayan (again, today's Rizal Park,) his body was hastily buried, and not even a proper burial (i.e. no coffin and all, and his body was just dumped in a hole) in Paco Park, which, if you've been following this post attentively, was a cemetery. Rizal's sister was looking for her brother's burial site, and eventually found her brother's grave in Paco Park. She then had a plaque placed on the grave, both as a marker and a sign of respect, with Rizal's inverted initials - "RPJ" (instead of "JPR.") Two years later, Rizal's family was granted permission to relocate the body (after identifying it as Jose Rizal's) first in their home in Binondo, and in 1912, the remains eventually found its way to the Rizal monument in Rizal Park after the statue was built. Today, the better-looking and well-labeled burial site in Paco Park still bears the inverted initials.

To be honest, you don't need much "grave hunting" to see this. This is said to be the original burial site.

Please read. :) :) :) :)

See the inverted initials??

Rizal's bust.

- Before leaving the park, I got to see the other burial areas of the park at the outer ring. Currently, there are people hired to restore the tombs by breaking and restoring the tombs' seals. I got to see an open tomb with a perfectly preserved Spanish-era coffin. Too bad I couldn't go near (and I wouldn't dare actually,) and I wasn't allowed to take photographs. There was also another empty tomb near that one that used to be infested with bees. How do I know this? The empty tomb had a large empty beehive. (Thankfully, the bees weren't there anymore!!) Of course, even if it was an empty tomb (or at least I thought it was empty since the beehive was blocking my view?) I was also not allowed to take photos of that. By the way, since the park/cemetery stopped interments in 1912, as mentioned a while ago, many tombs were relocated by the families, and so only a few tombs in the park today have coffins/remains in them.

- After my surprisingly informative and exciting "grave (not too much) hunting," I left and took an ever-reliable Uber to a lesser-visited historical church in Manila: the Malate Church. The church is this old and quiet church that has a stunning view of the Manila Bay since it was built in the late 1500s; it's a little bit more than 2 kilometers from Paco Park. (Bonus: this church is close to the original and still-open Aristoricat Restaurant, so maybe you'd like to have a meal after visiting the church?) The main entrance, from my understanding, is not used unless there is a mass or a big event; otherwise, only the side door is open for casual visitors of the church. There are people who visit it for weddings, masses, and other things, but it's just that it's quite rare for me (throughout the years!!) to hear people say that they'll go to Malate Church for whatever reason as compared to other churches in and out of Manila. Drawing from this, I developed enough curiosity to want to visit this church since I've heard of it and seen it from a distance, but never actually visited it ever in my life. (Such a Manileno I am.)

Visitors will be welcome by this plaque and the statue below.

Both are memorials to those who perished in WWII, including some Columban priests who kept the people company and died with them eventually.

 - The church interior might not seem as impressive as bigger and more prominent churches of the city, but its main wonder lies in the statue of the Virgin Mary at the center of the church. History says that the Virgin Mary statue, in her form as "Our Lady of Remedies" ("Nuestra Senora de Remedios,") was brought in from Andalusia, and enshrined in the church in 1624. The statue is said to bring miracles, particularly on thing relating to healing and blessing babies. Until today, the people who visit the Virgin Mary statue ask for blessings in the belief that she can make miracles happen. 

"Our Lady of Remedies" from Andalusia.

Interior.

- For me, the highlight of the Malate Church is not the interior (save the Virgin Mary statue,) but the facade that sets if apart from all the other churches that I've seen in Manila. At first glance, it looks like a typical baroque church - particularly "earthquake baroque style" (wider features as a way to better survive earthquakes) - but a closer inspection of the building shows that it incorporates a lot of moorish elements such as the "fake doors/windows" at the "towers" of the facade. This style of incorporating Muslim/Moorish elements to architecture is called "mudejarismo" (to see more of Islamic architecture in Spain, click here to see my trip to Cordoba!!) Another prominent feature would be the twisted columns that not many churches in the Philippines have; this is a baroque influence. Apart from Baroqie and Muslim influences, there are also aspects of the church facade that show influences of Renaissance architecture.

See everything I mentioned here? It really is a charming church.

The best place to take a photo with the church is in the plaza/square in front of the church. It's called Rajah Sulayman Plaza/Park.

- I finally had to leave Malate Church to go to another appointment for the day; I almost missed it because I had too much fun in my unconventional adventure to Paco Park and Malate Church. It is always fun to be a tourist in your own backyard. No matter how much you think you know the city you live in, give it a chance, know its (hi)story, and it will never cease to surprise you!!