Manila as i remember her...

REMEMBERING THE OLD MANILA

Visiting Manila during my childhood days was just like spending a week end in Paradise. We would take a Pantranco bus from San Manuel which stopped at the PARADAAN ( BUS STOP ), a strip of stores under a towering canopy of very old Acacia trees in front of the South Central School.

For Asinganians with several luggage, the option was to take the ANGAT TRANSIT whose terminal then was stationed near the market place, northern gate of the sprawling Market. The good thing about the ANGAT BUS was it would pick up all baggage ( sacks of rice, livestock, bundles of firewood,) everything except the kitchen sink. Then upon reaching Manila it would patiently deliver you personally to your boarding house. Which was convenient but time consuming. What you save in taxi fare you would lose in the time you could have spent gallivanting in the city. The fare at that time was 2.50 pesos. I think the luggage were only 1.00 peso and it does not matter how pieces were there. ANGAT was just trying to attract many riders as possible. The bus would also pick up passengers in the barrios.

By the time the bus was already full, the clock is already about 10:00 am and that’s the time you would head for the city, sometimes via Carusucan.

But some Asinganians are smart. If they have one or two luggage, they would take the PANTRANCO. Otherwise, it is the ANGAT. Hey they are carrying quite a load, including some live chickens or a small goat which would be hauled up to the roof of the bus for the duration of the voyage.

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Our boarding house before was a small unit in Quirino Homesite, Project 3 just long the Aurora Blvd going to Marikina. This 2 bedroom house was sometimes crammed with about 15 people, including the servants. Most of them were College students, my cousins ( I was still in the Elementary then ). When I reach Manila ( or in this case, Quezon City ) it would already be around 5 or 6 at night. The bus deliver first the Metro Manila passengers. We will be the last ones to be delivered. At least we have a free sightseeing of Manila sights.

In our neighbourhood in Project 3, there were 2 small movie houses near our boarding house. Upon arrival, the first thing I would do was to check the movies being shown in both theatres which were just a few minutes walk from our house. I usually select the American movies preferably action or war movies.

The next day, I would first look at the Manila Times movie page for the current downtown movie exhibitions.

When I was younger I was usually accompanied by my elder brother Donato. He would bring me to a 2nd run theater which were cheaper ( 85 centavos ) and we had the choice of TIMES THEATER , or MAIN, or BOULEVARD all along the same side of Quezon Blvd. Of course there are other theaters like SOCIETY, SCALA, PALACE, MAYFAIR, ESQUIRE, PEARL, HOLLYWOOD etc.

Some burlesque houses were INDAY, ASTOR or along Ongpin in Chinatown, you have KING’S or DRAGON. I discovered these adult theaters only when I was already a College student.

I only watched the first run exhibitions when I was already older ( I was already in High School ) and I can already take the Manila bound bus by myself..By then I already know the streets of Manila. Some of these streets were already Mean Streets ( like the film by Scorcese ) where a wary provinciano would be ripped off by some crooks who seemed to be able to spot a provinciano who was fresh off the bus (FOB )…#

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a BIG thank you for Sammy Antonio for sending the photos to me..Sammy is one of the more successful Asinganians abroad who was able to find work along his line: ( Fine Arts ). Sammy is also a good poet..I still have 4 more photos which I could use in the sequel. Send me more!..

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To Sunrise, thank you for remembering me..I feel OK..Had a good sleep last night, felt soooo good!...:)Especially when I woke up this morning...:D

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