Craft of Writing t1

Maria FatimaA. Viltena ,Y

Manila's Heritage.tHi+4lntrarnuros
,p
lntramuroshas-bee*flrernost-travelled
in'the historically-richManila. Peopletravelthis
,+
corningbacfwhat is knownasthe.yileAlY''. Every

rA
studies. andfathersandgrandmothers,usuallyeldersat the prime
t-

of their livelgo backto Intrarnurosto rekindlethe passionof their gloriouspastor sometimesevenviolentmemories

,/
maybeto put behindtheburdenS thel"ysbeencarryingfor thepast.5()yearsor so. n ^
0nt'4t* t
I, forone.have
beenanIntrarnuros
aficionado. m\,eleme"fuIl navffio
Since theplace
fivetimesand
I almostmemorizeeverycornerof its walls. Yet" its walls seeurto becalling me andl.decidedto give the placeanother
' classmates
r- A.,
' , ofeg{torrg
.u ' -e-
tour. Nou'. I antgoingto bewalkingaroundaloneandnotail'Igre u'ith or friends
AsIentertlregatesofFortSarrtiago.,funk1ffiatimecapsrrlervhereIcanpossiblyrubelbor,vs
.A, _ 00- 4- -Y
rryitlrMariaC1araarrdCrisostornoIbarra.n!i{a.iourner,todhepasr'indeed,Mnowdefuncteraof
.tDll )
Hispanicgrandeurairdrnig1rt.LiketlretradiIionatFiiipina'IW,*,,,.,,u,ifIamwearing^y9ara,'outfit

of fine linen andsilk.coupledu,ith an unbrella and"panvolito"arrda chokerin the neck. I

)

andlearntheplaceUvrr.ort.f,&n aodnow.
experience : nU'
JL
perceptiorlabout
' Intramur
ornffier changed.
Thatit is a
L/
./

true. in the real senseof the word. authentichistoricalconfinernentof Manila's culturalandHispanicheritage.

Ilistorv savsit all

Intrarnuros
wastlte centerof it all. It wasknorvnto be Manila. then.
fl-z
fl
Prosperitl'ruledover the commuritiesresidingalongthe banksof PasigRiver andthis includf{tlaynilad. a
/
palisadedfort. ruledby rajahSolimiur"a nativechieftain. tJrecitadelrvasa tradecenterfor Asiangoods.
7-?
The old settlementhadvanisheduponthe arirral of the Spaniards
andin its placeroseHispanicIntramuros,

walledandmoated.Led by Martin de Goiti andlaterb1'conquistaclor

Miguel LopezdeLegazpi.the log palisadeof the

MalaychiefsbecameSpain'sfarthestoutpost.the'capital
andsealof Spanishsovereignty
in theOrient.
 For almost four hundredyears until its destmctionin 19"15.Inrrarnuro
,o%"enter of Trade
*L
Fromitspalace
commerce. tro.uuig@overned. Fromitscathedral
andmonasteril*a#iielon

$irt9/ofr-,,,.1/*trcated
consistingof high stonervalls. bullwarksandmoatswaspromptedbecauseof
The constructionof defenses

to 4.5kitometefinlength"enclosinga pentagonal
threatsof invasion.Thewalls stretched 64
areaof approximately

hectares.Residences.churches.palaces.schoolsairdgovernmentbuildingssurrounded
the area. Entry wasmade

possible through gzlteswith dravvbridgeswhich rvere closed before midnight and opened at the break of dawn.

It wasin this uumnerthatflre city eamedthe nalneIntramuros,meaning"within the walls".

f Uu, the r,r,alls.though. did not discourageotherarnbitiousEuropeanpowers. Dutchpiratesdrearnedof taking

.L/
over the placeandthe British invadedit andruledfor ahnosttrvo1,ears.

liberatedthePhilippinesfrom theJapanese
Intramurostookthe deiuhblon'u,henthe Arnericans in 1945.

lglren-it wasover. Intraururoswasa deadcitr'.

After the UnitedStatesrecognizedPhilippineIndependence. no changeshaveoccurredin the ryalledcjw*. The

/LLe/r''
devastationit hadaccumulatedafterthe"savagesof r,,arrnadethe citr evenmoredespairing.It becamea vastwasteland
/
overrunby squattersandwarehouses.

On April 10. 1979.Presidential

Decree1616createdthe IntramurosA&ninistrationto urdertaketherestoration

anddevelopmentof Intramurosasa rnonlrmentto the Hispanicperiodin Philippinehistory.

tlut rvasleft of ourHispanicperiod.,rrr

nationallreritage in its conquest
for historical
valueandin
ffi"*s
in the mindsof the Filipinopeople.
cultivatingappreciation

X'ortSantiago.nn euitomeof grcatness

tt'/u
InsideIntrarnuros
areotherhistoricalattractiorg u,hichis Fort Santiago.It is namedin honor$
/"rof
SpanishpatronsaintJames"slayerof moors(SantiagoMatarnoros).Fort Santiagoservedasthe militaryheadquarters
of

occupatiorq it wasa dreadedplace.

regirnes.Duringthe Japanese
the Spanish.British. AmericanandJapanese

Hundredsof menandwomenwerejailed. torturedandexecutecl rnilitary policeinsideits dungeon/

bl the Japanese

In the 1950s.it wasrestoredasa publicpart afterit rvasdestroyed

by Americanforcesduringthe 1945Battle

of Manila. It wasdeclaredasthe"Shrineof Freedour"b1,'theCongress

of the Philippines.
 *€a*{al'{+}eLJltte
\ryholeof Fort Santiagois interestingandhistoricalbut fur+sreqrphasq/the rnost
=// a-
memorablesight is the Memorial Cross. It rnarksthe corurnongra\,eof 600$odies-o6rerillas and civilians found inside

the powder magazineof Baluarte de SantaBarbaraafter World War IL

The Rizal Slrine at the left is zllnuseuln in honor of the national hero. At the entranceis a life-size painting of
o/ilr)
Rizal's executionand carved inf glassis his Last Faren'ellPoern. The Chamberof Text housesthe nuurerousrvorks of
9/
the national hero. Starting u,ith a sculptureof Rizal in /uood. therrhis specirnensand utensilsas a medical doctor. The

original rnanuscriptsof his trvo great norrels-Noli Me Tangercand El Filibusterislnoare also situatedin the rnuseurn

protectedby glass panels.

nyv -
Rizal's"reliku,aryos"areseenat the StainvellGallen:ytfc secondfloor of the museum.TheReliquaryRoom

containshis dugbonerryithbulletplaceclin an ivon' urn. Clothes.coatandfencingswordsl6'erryithinglasspanels.

Lastlv.theConteurplation
Roouror cell rvhereRiz-alstavedin seclusion
beforehis execution
is alsoa must-see

attractionin the uluseur

-novel and flilfilling experienceto be relishedas a Filipino citizen of

Casa Manila. a reflection of Hisltnnic grandeur

ftrr-,1
CasaManila is a "colonial lifestvle" nurseLrp+:A sectionof PlazaSanLuis Cornplex" a commercial-cultural
+/ q/
comp1ex.tlrefacadey'oftlrislnLlSeLI111i't@'colorrialperiocldesigns.T1rernainfacadeofCasaMarrilais
-___?

copied frorn a houseat Calle Jabonerosin San Nicolas. a distlict acrossthe river. The rvalls of the gtourd floors are
,-{rNuu
rnadeof adobestonesand theseare quarried fronr Makati andJvtevcauvan,Bulacan during the Spanishcolonial period.
l
The rnuseumis a Spanishstvlehousethatshou'sthe grancleur
of Spanishliving herein thePhilippinesand
4
presentthe differenceof the upper classto the lou'er class. This colonial housesserveseveralroolns.

ZaguanandPatio. Zagutnis an arabicu'ordrneaning"corridor." It is throughzaguanthatthe carriages

passengers
enteredanddeposited by the stairs.

lo. It literally uleans"betu'een floors". This is u'lrcrc clients, tradesmen

Entre,sue andestateuranaqers
,*Y'r
before
A
being admitted in the oficina.

or Oficina.Thisis u4reretheou'nerof thehouscconducted

Despacho business.

L-uarlo,s.
Theseareroomssituatedat theentresueio
for extended
families.
 (-aiclaor.lntesala. Thc word caida ilra\ probzrbh'rfromthc Spanisltcaer (to fall).
becausehere the ladies let
A
fall their long. voluminous skirts. The rootn is useclbv the faurih' cluringthe day for playing parlor galnes. eltertaining

close friends and having merienda.

Sala. Verv important people are entertainedin the sala. This is thereforedecoratedto show off one's statusin

soclety.

oratorio. The farnilv gathershere even, night to pral the rosaryand Angelus.

Blue Roonr. It housesartisticallvand creativelvclrau,uuall paintings.

Cuarto Principal. The tnasterrooln useclbv the ou,nerl'ith rnarblervashstandthat sened as

syrnbol in the socictr,during the Hispanic periocl

(-omedor. The dining room u'here platerasare situateclcontainingthe family's porcelain.

silver and glassrvare.

Cocina. This is the kitchen u'ith stovetoltrr.adeof ash anclu'ater.

Letrina. The familv's toilet roour and is good for tu,o persolls.

Baiio. The batlroom containstu'o sizesof buiieras uradcol'stonewarefrom China.

Azotea. Activities requiring plentl' of u,ater such as the laundry are done here.

San Agustin Museum. a monument of strength

This tuonasterywas couvertedinto a lnuseul'llaftcrthe halls u,ererestoredin 1973. It was originally usedby
w
Azustinians
astheirlivingquarters.
classroom. rel'ectory'.
I'estn,.sacristy,
librarvandinfirman,.Several
u,ars
Ka|-------
destroyedits r.lallsand foundationsbut rniraculousl_r
stooclup to this clay.

There's tnuch to be said about the tnuseutnbut the urost prortrisingof them all is the "sala de profundis" /crypt.

It u'ztsthe fortner clining rooln of the priests. Tlte untere.fbct.rtr.t'

u as trsedby the prieststo sav gracebefore ald after
d. lt.,
tneals.It rvasconrrerted
to-mausoleutu
for the Afirstiniansandlateron for Filipinofamilies. A nonumentrecallsthe
l
victirnsof theJapanese (19{2--15).
occupation

Ifow to reachIntramuros?

Frotnthe heartof the citl of Quiapo.\'ou c:urridea Picr/Quiapo

jeepnevthatwouldtakeyou to Fort Santiago

in lessthan30 tninutes.InsideFort Santiagois thc infonnertiou

ccntcru4rereyou cangeta rvalkingtourbroclurethat
-r
would get you to tttttneroushistorical attractionsiu Intralnuros. ln the brochureis a map ttlflffitd guide you

throtrglrout f/ dt,.
"g6ig^tories.
voui tour sincetouristsguideareonlv availableuponthc requestdof
official guests Entrance
feesfor adultsrangcslrom P40 to P50 pcsosancllbr slrrclents;rncl
clrilclren
frorn Pl-5to P30 pesos.A cheaptreat

to a host of historicale.rpericurfurrnrrrr llncl. A conrltlcrctour at the IntrarnurosincludeFort Santiago.

cornparecl
,/'
CasaManila. San Agustin Muscum. BahavTsinor unclAcnario clc Manila.

Be it for thc sakeof stittrrre

itncltourisnr.onc thing is lbr srrrc.the illustriouspastof Intramurosu'ill star and

linger ont l te p a g e So fo u rl ri s to rrb o o k s a ndthrorrgl rtl tcscl ri stori cal S trLl ctuf?rr' eeonti + uc
L/
.ettltttft#heritrse.