DIY Manila heritage tour: Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church

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After our tour of Fort Santiago, we proceeded to two of the landmark churches in Intramuros: the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. It's not my first time to drop by these two churches of course, but it's the first time in a long time that I visited the cathedral when the façade wasn't under repair and covered in scaffolding.


I have always wondered who this statue is supposed to represent. A bit of research taught me that this is King Charles IV, the king who sent smallpox vaccines to the Philippines. It was quite a rapid response because within a few years from Edward Jenner's development of the vaccines (1798), batches of them were already on their way to the Spanish colonies. This philanthropic medical mission was lead by one Dr Francisco Javier Balmis, the royal doctor. 

So though the medieval Spaniards have always been seen primarily as antagonists in Philippine history, this is one example of a Spanish king showing compassion to the colonised. I'm starting to see grey in Philippine history... it's not as black and white as I have grown up to understand.


While walking to the San Agustin Church, we passed by a statue dedicated to those who died as collateral damage during the Battle of Liberation in 1945 (World War II). This monument is a mark of a dark portion of Manila history... even claimed to be the darkest of urban fighting in the Pacific Theatre. In this battle, many of Manila's cultural and historical monuments were destroyed by the fight between the Japanese and the Filipino and American troops. Worse, thousands of civilians died. Hence, we lost our countrymen and we lost part of our historical heritage too. A sad period in Philippine history indeed. I guess this is a monument that exemplifies the saying, "The darkest hour is just before dawn." Each time I pass this quiet monument, I feel sorrowful because it's a mark of a city that has burned to ashes. Somehow, I couldn't see a city rising back to life while standing on this spot... neither could I notice the two survivors of that awful battle: the two churches. 


But after paying my respects to those lost lives, it was time to continue walking to visit the country's oldest surviving church. As we approached San Agustin, my mood once again recovered because this church has always been a good place to visit for me. Aside from the history of the place, I liked the vibe when a wedding takes place here, especially with that long carpeted aisle, the series of glowing chandeliers, and the ancient wooden doors. I don't plan on getting married here because it's too fancy for my taste (and the difficulty in parking) but I still like to visit it for the aesthetics. 

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