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| Places We Visited - Quiapo Remembering what I used to do before when I visit Manila ... visiting Quiapo is one of them (Quiapo Church, especially the backdrop of my favorite serye Batang Quiapo). Not because I love myself being exposed to extreme elements like being jostled around ... because Quiapo is where the action is. The place is just incredibly crowded ... it is teeming with people ... where people are breathing in each other's neck ... you could almost smell somebody else's sweat. Before the day is over ... you are severely bruised because, whether you like it or not ... you are going to bump body to body and you rub elbows with strangers you don't even know ... not only once or twice ... but a dozen times. Quiapo has that special magic that entices you one more time to experience what it is to live a life of the ordinary "madlang people." If you have been having a life confined in your ivory tower ... you have to come out of your shell one more time and savor how it is to be a common tao. If you are used to a high society living in the areas of the Forbes and the Corinthians ... and frequent the high-priced playgrounds of Belair and Magallanes, this will be baptism of fire for you once you step out in Raon or just within the Quiapo Church area. In front of the church your memories of your childhood playing tumbang preso will be rekindled … at buwis buhay kang nakipagpatintero sa mga kalaban makapaaok lang sa simbahan. All over the place, candles were lighted by vendors as part of their respect to the Poong Nazareno and at the same time, hope for a better income when the day is over. You will squeeze yourself in some narrow pathways while your eyes feast on the usual Quiapo merchandise clandestinely sold in stalls around the Basilica - it becomes the haven of peddlers for herbal medicines … unsafe abortifacients … card and palm readings …herbal potions and remedies. One wonders, however, the Philippines being the only Catholic country in Asia … it is ironic that within the cross section and microcosm of Quiapo business activities … the. Church leaders have been feckless and inutile about turning off the plug for its increased presence. And one wonders … with abortion being illegal …and with these goods becoming like a permanent fixture in this area … are these living testimonies that unwanted pregnancies are alive and well … making these goods and merchandise … a brisk business? |
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