Quiapo, Manila

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Quiapo
Country Philippines
Region National Capital Region
City Manila
Congressional districts Part of the 3rd district of Manila
Barangays 16
Population (2007[1])
 • Total 23,138
Façade of the Quiapo Church
Green Mosque
Green Mosque

Quiapo is a district and a primary city square of Manila. It derives its name from the water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes), which is named Quiapo or Kiapo in the Tagalog language. Referred to as the "Old Downtown of Manila", Quiapo is home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with millions of people attending annually. Quiapo has also made a name for itself as a place for marketplace bargain hunting.

Plaza Miranda, in the heart of the Quiapo district, is a town square named after Jose Sandino y Miranda, who served as secretary of the treasury of the Philippines from 1853 to 1863.[2] It is located in front of the Quiapo Church, and has become a popular site of political rallies. On August 21, 1971, while the Liberal Party held their Miting de Avance in the plaza, a bomb exploded, killing nine and injuring almost 100 civilians.

The Quiapo district is also home to a sizable Muslim population in Manila. The Golden Mosque and Green Mosque are located there. A veritable army of fortune tellers and stores offering herbal products surround the Quiapo church. Ongoing sales of pirated goods and thievery are prevalent in the district.

During the American insular government and commonwealth periods until the late 1970s, Quiapo and its surrounding vicinities like Avenida Rizal, Binondo, Santa Cruz, Escolta and the Manila university belt, were the centers of trade, fashion, art, higher learning and activities of the social elites of Manila. However, as the Manila Light Rail Transit System's Yellow Line was built over Rizal Avenue, smog and vehicle emissions were trapped under the line, leaving the streets below dark, gloomy and promoted an increase in crime and transients, as well as the exodus of many long-time establishments. After the People Power Revolution in 1986, the vibrancy of Quiapo further diminished, with the void being filled with makeshift markets to accommodate visitors to the Quiapo Church.

In recent years, the local government of Manila, spearheaded by then Mayor Lito Atienza, launched the Buhayin ang Maynila ("Revitalize Manila") project which greatly rehabilitated Quiapo and its vicinities, most especially Plaza Miranda, the Arsenio Lacson Underpass and the University Belt. Parts of Rizal Avenue, starting from Carriedo Street to Claro M. Recto Avenue, were converted into pedestrian shopping arcades.

Quiapo is geographically located at the very center of the city of Manila. It is bounded by Estero de San Miguel to the South, San Miguel to the east, Recto Avenue to the north and Quezon Boulevard to the west.

Contents

Barangays[edit]

Quiapo contains 16 barangays: Barangay #306-309 and #383-394.

Barangay Population (2007)[1]
Barangay 306 936
Barangay 307 576
Barangay 308 988
Barangay 309 727
Barangay 383 816
Barangay 384 2,833
Barangay 385 3,484
Barangay 386 1,332
Barangay 387 2,526
Barangay 388 758
Barangay 389 1,279
Barangay 390 1,335
Barangay 391 1,523
Barangay 392 575
Barangay 393 2,283
Barangay 394 1,167

Hidalgo Street in Quiapo[edit]

Photographers' Haven[edit]

R. Hidalgo street

Felix Resurreccion-Hidalgo Street (sometimes erroneously called Ramon Hidalgo) in Quiapo is a hodgepodge of vendors that specialize in photography-related items. In 2006, John Chua, a well-known advertising photographer based in Makati and Jason B. Lindo, an advertising consultant, proposed the Hidalgo Project to the Manila city government. The proposal includes the rehabilitation and beautification of Hidalgo Street as a Photographers' Haven. It was very well received and the mayor immediately appointed government personnel to execute the projects.

Hidalgo Street towards San Sebastian, August 2006.

Heritage Street Project[edit]

Basilica Minore de San Sebastian

Hidalgo Street was regarded in the late 19th century as the most beautiful street in Manila. Today, there are proposals to restore preserve the buildings on Hidalgo Street.

Among the historic structures along the Hidalgo Street area are:

  • Basilica Minore de San Sebastian
  • Basilica Minore of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church)
  • Ocampo Pagoda (Bilibid Viejo Street)
  • Nakpil-Bautista House (Ariston Bautista Street), Masterpiece by Arcadio Arellano, Viennese Secession motifs, home of Julio Nakpil, musical composer of the Katipunan, and Gregoria de Jesus, organizer of the women's corps of the Katipunan.
  • Boix House (beside Nakpil house), Beautiful 1890s house with Neo-Renaissance ornamentation.
  • Paterno Mansion (F. R.-Hidalgo Street), Large mansion with Neoclassical details.
  • Enriquez Mansion (formerly on Hidalgo Street, transferred to Bagac, Bataan), 1890s house with Ionic columns. Praised by Maria Morilla Norton in the 1910s as "the most beautiful house in the islands." Became the site of the School of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines.
  • Ocampo Mansion (F. R.-Hidalgo Street), Home to Francisco Santiago, composer of the Ave Maria. Original site of the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music. Dignified example of early 1900s style.
  • Zamora House (F. R.-Hidalgo Street), Residence of Manuel Zamora, inventor of 'tiki-tiki' for fighting beriberi. Superb sequence of inner courtyards.
  • Padilla House (F. R.-Hidalgo Street)
  • Don Jose Sulpicios Orpilla Mansion (F. R.-Hidalgo Street)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Coordinates: 14°36′00″N 120°58′59″E / 14.600°N 120.983°E / 14.600; 120.983