Binondo -- The Necessary Necessity

Even the candles that burned for long hours in the 17th-century Binondo church were, of course, products of Chinese alchemy. Newly arrived artisans from Amoy (Xiamen) struggled to replicate European faces in their religious statues. Their Madonnas, for instance, bore distinct Chinese features.

The Spaniards, equally homesick, craved reminders of their homeland. In an effort to mimic the preserved meats they missed, like jamón, the Chinese adopted new curing techniques.

The first bullfight held in Manila was a pale imitation of those held in the Americas. Yet, it wasn't long before enterprising Chinese supplied the event with bulls – a timid crossbreed between Chinese and Mexican stock, as described by Retana.

From bookbinders to haberdashers, Chinese immigrants arrived in droves as the silver economy boomed. The lure of Potosi metal, the first truly global currency, doubled the number of Chinese seeking a new life just a two-week junk voyage away.

Binondo Canal. Manila 1885 -- Incredible to imagine that a great amount of silver mined in Potosi, Bolivia found its way in the busy canal, streets and warehouses of Binondo. Truly the first of the so-called global economy, which was then powered by the Mexican silver peso, greatly appreciated in China. Manila was the transit point. Even after the independence of Mexico from Spain and after the Galleon de Manila or the Nao de China ceased to exist, the silver peso remained the standard currency of the economic contact: China - the Americas via Manila for many years. The small canal of Binondo then connects to waterways like the Pasig River. Bringing lifeblood to the local economy.

The Manila Galleon, or Nao de China, also attracted pioneering ventures. Did you know that by the 18th century, Chinese artisans in Manila were even performing facial prosthetics, like nose replacements for injuries?

The rise of Binondo, the "Chinese Manila," followed closely on the heels of the Spanish founding of Manila. The Spanish needed a diverse economic group to establish their colony, a workforce willing to undertake the less desirable tasks.

The other night, wandering through Binondo, the saying "nothing ever changes" echoed in my mind.

Binondo Manila in the 1920s -- From this photo, we can see the Uy Su Bin Building which housed the Binondo Bazaar. If we have chain stores and big malls today, bazaars and warehouses were their equivalents in that distinct time, where one could even order imported goods from musical instruments to big industrial tools.