Paco park

his former cemetery is now a manicured park and venue for fairs and concerts featuring
local artists and musicians.

There are a number of stories regarding the origin of Paco Park but what is certain, is
that it was built in 1820 and victims of the Cholera Epidemic were buried there.
Historically, it is important because 3 martyr priests Fr Burgos, Gomez and Zamora
were buried there as well as Jose Rizal, who was buried in a grave marked RPJ to hide
his identity from the Spaniards. His remains were recovered by his family in 1898,
cremated (apart from a piece of spine with a bullet wound which is now in the Rizal
shrine in Fort Santiago) and in 1912 placed in the Rizal Monument in Luneta which was
formerly called Bagumbayan and is now Rizal Park.
It is 3 years since I had been there and what a surprise I had! All the old fallen trees had
long been removed, the damage caused by them had been repaired and it was now
possible to walk between the concentric walls that contain the graves of the cholera
victims.
The circular church of St Pancratius has become one of the most popular wedding
venues in the city and its beauty among the trees is striking.
Many flowering plants add to the beauty and tranquility of the park.
But the most surprising thing of all is the peacefulness. There is hardly a sound to be
heard inside from the traffic just outside on San Marcelino Street.

Intramuros

located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spanish in the 16th
century and is the oldest district of the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Its
name, taken from the Latin, intra muros, literally "Within the walls", meaning within the
wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by
thick, high walls and moats. During the Spanish Period, Intramuros was considered
Manila itself.

The site of Intramuros was originally a large Malayan Muslim settlement named
Maynilad headed by Rajah Sulayman. The name came from may nilad, nilad being a
water plant whose star-shaped flowers clustered in abundance along the low-lying
riverbanks. The strategic location of Maynilad, being on the Pasig River and the Manila
Bay, made it an ideal location for the locals to trade crafts and produce with other
peoples of the then pre-Hispanic Philippines and other Asian countries, especially with
ethnic Chinese merchants. Maynilad was also the seat of power for native chiefs who
ruled the area before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil. In 1570, Spanish
conquistadors led by Martín de Goiti, Juan de Salcedo and Miguel López de Legazpi
arrived in Manila. Goiti and Legazpi's men waged war on the Muslims and indigenous
tagalog peoples before they were able to take control and establish a permanent
settlement in the area. In 1571 after the Spaniards were victorious in battle, Legazpi
made a peace pact with the native Muslim rulers, who, in return, handed over Manila to
the Spaniards. Citing the rich resources, strategic economic, political and military
importance of Manila, Legazpi declared Manila as the new capital of the Spanish colony
in the Philippines on June 24, 1571. The King of Spain, delighted at the new conquest
achieved by Legazpi and his men, awarded Manila a coat of arms and declared it
Ciudad Insigne y Siempre Leal ("Distinguished and ever loyal city"). The planning of the
city of Manila was commenced by the Captain General - Governor, Miguel López de
Legazpi, who established forts, roads, churches and schools. The plans for Intramuros
were based on King Philip II's Royal Ordinance issued on July 3, 1573 in San Lorenzo,
Spain. Its design was based upon a medieval castle structure and covered 64 hectares
of land, surrounded by 8 metre thick stones and high walls that rise 22 metres.

Luneta

Rizal Park is an urban park situated in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines. It is at
the northern end of Roxas Boulevard, overlooking Manila Bay.

Rizal Park's history began in the early 18th century during the Spanish rule. While
Manila's social and business activities were confined within Intramuros, a small area just
south of the walls was cleared to prevent sneak attacks from the patriotic natives. The
area was shaped like a small moon (lunette) and thus was named Luneta. The Park
was also called Bagumbayan (English: New Town) in Spanish colonial era, and later
known as Luneta.

Luneta has been the site of some of the most significant moments in Philippine history .
Among them are the execution of José Rizal on December 30, 1896, whose execution
made him a hero of the Philippine Revolution. (It was officially renamed Rizal Park in
his memory.); the Declaration of Philippine Independence from American rule on July 4,
1946; the political rallies of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in 1986; and the 11-
hour hostage crisis on August 23, 2010.

The 0 km marker across the monument also serves as the point of origin or Kilometre
Zero to all other cities in the Philippines

Bronze and granite monument

The bronze and granite Rizal monument has long been considered among the most
famous sculptural landmarks in the country. It is almost protocol for visiting dignitaries to
lay a wreath at the monument. Located at the Luneta is not merely the statue of the
national hero, but also the mausoleum that houses his remains. Both statue and
mausoleum are located near the very spot where Rizal was executed.
On 28 September of that same year, the Philippine Assembly approved Act No. 243,
“granting the right to use public land upon the Luneta in the city of Manila” where a
monument shall be erected to José Rizal.” As conceived by the Act, the monument
would not merely consist of a statue, but also a mausoleum to house Rizal’s remains.

A Committee on the Rizal Mausoleum consisting of Poblete, Paciano Rizal (the hero’s
brother), Juan Tuason, Teodoro R. Yangco, Mariano Limjap, Maximo Paterno, Ramon
Genato, Tomas G. del Rosario and Ariston Bautista was created. The members were
tasked, among others, with raising funds through popular subscriptions.

The estimated cost of the monument was P100,000. By January 1905, that goal had
been oversubscribed. When the campaign closed in August 1912, the amount collected
had reached P135,195.61

More than twelve years after the Philippine Assembly approved Act No. 243, the shrine
was finally unveiled on December 30, 1913 during Rizal’s 17th death anniversary.

Rizal Park Since 1930s.

The Rizal Monument in Luneta was designed by a Swiss sculptor named Richard
Kissling. Furthermore, Kissling was only the second placer in the international art
competition held between 1905–1907 for the monument design.

The first-prize winner was Carlos Nicoli of Carrara, Italy. His scaled plaster model titled
“Al Martir de Bagumbayan” (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan) bested 40 other accepted
entries. Among his plans were the use of marble from Italy (in contrast to the unpolished
granite now at Luneta) and the incorporation of more elaborate figurative elements.

Many accounts explained that the contract was awarded to Richard Kissling of Zurich,
Switzerland for his “Motto Stella” (Guiding Star) because of Nicoli’s inability to post the
required performance bond of P20,000 for the duration of the monument’s construction.
Some sources say that Nicoli failed to show up at the designated date for the signing of
the job contract. Another narrative declared, “parenthetically, the contract was awarded
to Richard Kissling because his quotation was lower that that of Prof. Nicoli’s.” A
complaint was reportedly filed by Nicoli through the courts of justice.

Some of the local press lambasted Kissling’s model. It was satirized in a cartoon and
labeled vulgar y tosco, meaning “lousy.” The constituents of the Jury of Awards – all
Americans and none of whom were artists, architects nor engineers –were also
questioned. (Then Governor James F. Smith headed the jury.)

There were plans for the famous Filipino painter Felix Resurrección Hidalgo to inspect
and modify the design. However, the latter was ultimately left “as it is” since the bronze
of the statues had
Fort Santiago

Fort Santiago (Spanish: Fuerte de Santiago Tagalog: Moog ng Santiago) is a defense

fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is part of the
structures of the walled city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines. José Rizal, the
Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned in the fort before his execution in 1896. the
site features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his final footsteps representing the
walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution.

The location of Fort Santiago was once the site of the palace and kingdom of Rajah
Sulaiman, a Muslim chieftain of pre-Hispanic Manila. It was destroyed by the
conquistadors (Martin de Goiti) when, upon arriving in 1570, they fought several battles
with the Islamic natives. The Spaniards destroyed the native settlements and erected
the Fuerza de Santiago in 1571.

The first fort was a structure of logs and earth. Most of it was destroyed in the Spanish-
Chinese War of (1574-1575), by invading Chinese pirates led by James Alquizar also
known as "tatang". Martin de Goiti died during the siege. After a fierce conflict, the
Spaniards eventually drove the pirates out to Pangasinan, where the last conquistador
(Juan de Salcedo) avenged the death of Goiti by capturing James Alquizar and burning
him to death with his subordinates. Reconstruction of the fort with hard stone
commenced in 1589 and finished in 1592. It became a main fort for the spice trade to
the Americas and Europe for 333 years. The famous Manila Galleon trade to Acapulco,
Mexico began from the Fuerza de Santiago.

The fort is shielded by 22 feet (6.7 m)-high walls, with a thickness of 8 feet (2.4 m) and
an entrance measuring 40 feet (12 m) high. It is located at the mouth of the Pasig River
and it once served as the premier defense fortress of the Spanish Government in the
Philippines. During World War II it was captured by the Japanese, and sustained heavy
damage from American and Filipino mortar shells during the Battle of Manila in
February 1945. It was later restored by the Intramuros Administration during the 1980s.
Today the fort serves as a museum which houses well-preserved legacies of the
Spanish government, José Rizal (which is called the Plaza de Armas), Rizal Shrine, and
the prison dungeons for criminals used by the Spanish officials.

The National Museum of the Philippines is the official repository established in 1901
as a natural history and ethnography museum of the Philippines. It is located next to
Rizal Park and near Intramuros in Manila, a component city of Metro Manila. Its main
building was designed in 1918 by an American Architect, Daniel Burnham. Today, that
building, the former home of the Congress of the Philippines, holds the National Art
Gallery, natural sciences and other support divisions.

The adjacent building in the Agrifina Circle of Rizal Park, formerly housing the
Department of Finance, houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions and is
known as the Museum of the Filipino People.
Works of art are appreciated by their own merits. But oftentimes a painting or a
sculpture has a story that adds to its worth. Or a brushstroke, almost imperceptible, that
needs pointing out, and expanding a painting’s dimension.

John L. Silva’s renowned three-hour tour of the National Museum’s painting and
sculpture collection incorporates history, interpretation, and even a little humor.

Get to know the Philippines from as far back as 40,000 years ago through its fascinating
archaeological artifacts from stone-age tools to exquisite textiles.

Understand the country today with its colonial period collection from Spanish ware to
American architectural influence on the two buildings housing the National Museum.

All tours begin at the rear entrance of the Museum of the Filipino People (formerly the
Finance Building) located on Finance Road and fronting Rizal Park. Tour covers two
buildings and over 20 galleries.