Homesick of Quiapo

 We often associate Quiapo with the church and the Black Nazarene plus the annual religious ritual that comes with it -- the traslacion. It is also a place where one finds a considerable amount of folkloric commodities, often bordering between the religious and black magic, from santo" to "anting anting" and "gayuma". In Quiapo, you can know your future for a haggled amount, a few shuffles of cards, and the words of the fortune-teller. But behind the facade of the sacred and the profane that is Quiapo, there looms the reality of its once glory days, the not too often discussed past.

From the 19th century-Spanish era to the early 1900s, the district of Quiapo was an important center of Manila's artistic and cultural life. It once had a number of theaters where Spanish zarzuelas and various European opera companies performed. Theaters such as Teatro Lirico (1830’s) , Teatro de Quiapo, and the Teatro de Variedades -- mentioned by Rizal in El Filibusterismo.

Quiapo was also once home to orchestras and brass bands, trained by maestros and conductors that operate music schools in the said district. There were also pewters, silversmiths and jewelers, artisans that kept flourishing ateliers and shops. It was also where the families of Filipino artists like Hidalgo and Zaragoza once owned spacious and luxurious abodes.

Whatever we know of Quiapo now is hardly distinguishable from what it was in the past... A writer once said, "We are homesick most for the places we have never known". Perhaps we can say that to Quiapo of ages ago.

~ Pasig City.. January 2021