Balete Drive
Balete Drive | |
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![]() Balete Drive, looking south towards Mabolo Street | |
Route information | |
Maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways – Quezon City 2nd Engineering District | |
Length | 1.3 km (0.81 mi) |
Major junctions | |
North end | Dead end, 160 meters (520 ft) north of Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue |
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South end | Nicanor Domingo Street |
Location | |
Country | Philippines |
Major cities | Quezon City |
Highway system | |
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Balete Drive is an undivided two-lane street and main thoroughfare of New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines. The road is a major route of jeepneys and cabs, serving the New Manila area, connecting Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue and Nicanor Domingo Street in Quezon City.
The road is noted for a number of balete trees that previously lined it, and urban legends of a white lady ghost.[1]
Route description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/7975Balete_Drive_Quezon_City_Landmarks_38.jpg/220px-7975Balete_Drive_Quezon_City_Landmarks_38.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/8114Balete_Drive_Quezon_City_Landmarks_34.jpg/220px-8114Balete_Drive_Quezon_City_Landmarks_34.jpg)
Balete Drive connects the long span between Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue and Nicanor Domingo Street in New Manila, Quezon City. The Balete Drive corner at E. Rodriguez is a bustling business area mushroomed with fast foods and other establishments.
This north end of the Balete Drive starts at a dead end next to the Diliman Creek, 160 metres (520 ft) north of Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue[2] Running in the NNE to SSE direction, it ends in a T-junction with the Nicanor Domingo Street near the San Juan Reservoir for a total length of 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi).[3] One of its major intersection is with the Aurora Boulevard, a major road which leads to Cubao, a major commercial district in Quezon City. The Manila Line 2 Betty Go-Belmonte station is located 330 metres (1,080 ft) east of this junction.[4]
The avenue is classified as a national tertiary road of the DPWH's Philippine highway network.[5]
History
Balete Drive was named after a gargantuan balete tree that used to stand in the middle of the road. The road, although the exact construction date is unknown, had been cemented and asphalted and became a main thoroughfare during the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1970s. There are several Spanish houses in the area, including the famous 200-year-old "Centennial House", which supports the claim that Balete Drive has been in use since the late Spanish era towards the end of the 19th century.[6]
Urban legend
In the past, the street was lined with large balete trees that darkened the area considerably and made it appear "frightening" to some Manila residents. In Pinoy folklore, balete trees are believed to be a "home for spirits and mysterious creatures".[1] Various legends and folklore have circulated since the 1950s that the street was haunted.[6]
Most of the legends describe a kaperosa (white lady) ghost, a popular character in the Philippine folklore, who is supposedly haunting taxi drivers "for eternity". According to legend, the ghost is a teenage girl who was run over and killed by a taxi driver at night, then buried around a Balete tree in Balete Drive.[7][8] One variation of the legend claims a student at the University of the Philippines was sexually assaulted and killed by a taxi driver, and her spirit roams the street looking for her murderer. Another version of the story claims that a female resident of one of the ancestral mansions lining Balete Drive was abused and killed by her own family, and her spirit haunts the road, seeking help from passing drivers. According to local rumor, the legend of Balete Drive was "fabricated by a reporter in 1953 in order to come up with an interesting story".[1][8]
In 2005, a Quezon City barangay official proposed that the city could use the legends to boost tourism by declaring the street "haunted" and making it available for Halloween parties.[7]
Zoning laws
The segment of Balete Drive from Aurora Boulevard to Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue has been zoned by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for regular residential and commercial purposes.[9]
In popular culture
The street is featured in the 1988 horror film Hiwaga sa Balete Drive, where it retells the supposed paranormal activities experienced by people who live, or have traveled, along the street.[10]
The Netflix-exclusive anime-influenced series Trese features Balete Drive as the location of a crime scene. The exact intersection and its street where it occurs however is fictional, as 13th Street in New Manila does not actually intersect Balete Drive.[11]
See also
- Major roads in Metro Manila
- Aurora Boulevard
- Haunted highway
- List of reportedly haunted locations in the Philippines
References
- ^ a b c Sanchez, Shaina. "The Story Behind the White Lady in Balete Drive". Maganda Filipino. MagandaFilipino.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- ^ "Kamuning Road". Google Maps. Retrieved on April 18, 2012.
- ^ "Balete Drive". Google Maps. Retrieved on April 18, 2012.
- ^ "Balete Drive". Google Maps. Retrieved on April 18, 2012.
- ^ "Quezon City 2nd". Department of Public Works and Highways. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ a b Philippines Insider. "Myths Surrounding Balete Drive". Philippines Insider. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ a b Yap, Dj (November 1, 2005). "Balete may be official "haunted" site". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ a b Dianne De Las Casas; Zarah C. Gagatiga (30 September 2011). Tales from the 7,000 Isles: Filipino Folk Stories. ABC-CLIO. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-1-59884-698-0. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ "Zonal Values – RDO No. 39-South Quezon City – Barangay Mariana". Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines). Retrieved on April 18, 2012.
- ^ "Takutan 2018". ABS-CBN Entertainment. October 31, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ Santos, Kara (June 17, 2021). "Locations featured in 'Trese' – comics and series – in real life". The Philippine Star.
External links
Media related to Balete Drive at Wikimedia Commons