Breakfasts and Dinners at Café Adriatico in Malate

  

 

Famous for the Shrine of Remedies of the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, the bohemian district of Malate has been a busy weekend place in Manila.  Several restaurant and cafes offering a variety of flavors has dotted this once middle residential district. From the pricey to the budget-friendly, from the historic to the modern, dining spots in Malate has been satisfying the varying taste and preference of urban dwellers.

 

But for me, nothing beats a specific type of café or restaurant in the metro that offers good food, good drinks, a relaxed atmosphere, a genteel company and reasonable price. One of these Malate restaurants that meet or exceed these standards is Café Adriatico.

 

 

This quaint café/restaurant in Remedios Circle traced its beginnings as an antique shop. The antique business was not doing well as might be expected. Having such a penchant for beautiful objects owner Larry Cruz, son of Ambassador E. Aguilar Cruz,  was always reluctant to sell them. Instead, he has decided to convert his antique shop into a café using his collection of old objects as conversation pieces. 

 

  

 

Initially, the café served as a meeting place Larry’s friends. At Café Adriatico, they enjoy good coffee, tasty food and a drink or two while discussing matters while in a cozy environment. Until it came to the point people began to spill that it became necessary to set-up extra chairs and tables outside the cafe to accommodate its burgeoning clientele. By the 1980s, Café Adriatico has become a blueprint for an exciting addition to the urban lifestyle of that era. 

 

   

 

Café Adriatico has been our favorite restaurant where we have our breakfast or dinner usually after hearing mass at nearby Malate Church. For breakfast, I particularly like their generous serving of the Pinoy Breakfast combo which they called the Landlord’s Breakfast. For dinner, our family enjoys their flavorful pastas and Filipino dishes which they served with culinary twist.  

 

   

 

But what made us keep going back to Café Adriatico aside from the good food is the old world charm where the eccentric mix of art and antiques fills the café’s cozy space. 

 

 

 

San Miguel de Manila

 

 

The historic past of the second shrine of San Miguel de Manila includes being the parish church of Philippine Presidents as well seat of the Archdiocese of Manila when the Arsobispado and the Cathedral, both in Intramuros were destroyed during World War II. More to the historical accounts was the miracle attributed by the parishioners to the Prince of Heavenly Hosts which save the church and houses of San Miguel from a great fire.

 

With expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territories, the new San Miguel settlement across the Pasig River was placed under the care of the Franciscan friars. In 1799, the first Franciscan parish priest, Fray Pedro Malo de Molina started constructing a provisional chapel. The new shrine of Saint Michael took 36 years and 17 parish priest to construct before it was finally inaugurated in 1835.  

 

 

In 1871, Doña Margarita Roxas de Ayala, matriarch of the old-rich Ayala clan, funded the reconstruction of the San Miguel parish rectory. At the time, San Miguel fiesta was celebrated on May 8 during the feast of the Apparition of the Archangel and not on September 29. Nick Joaquin suggested that the shift of the fiesta from May to September apparently occurred in the 1900s, when a renovated church financed by the Roxas de Ayalas was inaugurated on a September 29, which thus became fixed as the fiesta of the San Miguel de Manila. 

 

    

 

At the end of the 18^th century, the rustic village of San Miguel rivaled with the upriver arrabal of Sta. Ana as favorable summer places for the wealthy and powerful. During our Afternoon Stroll at San Miguel  with Ivan Dy of Old Manila Walks, we went inside to one of the most elegant villas in the district. Owned by Don Luis Rocha, this villa would later be the summer residence of the Spanish Governor-Generals. By the latter half of nineteenth century, the Church of San Miguel had become a regal parish.  Thanks to the fame of the Rocha summer villa that has been glorified into a palace where the Spanish and later American Governor-Generals then later by Philippine Presidents held residence in what is known today as the Malacañang Palace. 

 

    

 

After World War II, Archbishop Michael O’Doherty designated Church of San Miguel as the Pro-Cathedral of Manila until a new Arsobispado and cathedral could be built in war-torn Intramuros. San Miguel has become twice regal for aside from being the parish of Malacañang, it was also became the seat of the Prince of the Church. The old rectory was replaced by a grander edifice to house both the parish and the archdiocese. Moreover, both the last foreign and first Filipino Archbishops of Manila, Michael O’Doherty and Cardinal Rufino Santos were buried in San Miguel Church when it was still a pro-Cathedral of Manila.  

 

 

Of the Malacañang residents, President Carlos Garcia and First Lady Inday Garcia were its active parishioners and generous as donors during their incumbency. One of their donations was the Lourdes grotto at the east end of the patio. Future tenants of Malacañang also add to the glamour of the Church of San Miguel when Romualdez-Marcos Nuptial was held there in 1954. 

 

 

There where many stories when the parish folks of San Miguel implored their patron whenever calamity threatens their genteel arrabal. Famous of the stories was a great fire that was put to a halt, as if rebuked by the image of San Miguel when it was enthroned by the parish priest on the courtyard. This miracle had saved the rest of the houses and business establishments behind the church which includes Malacañang and the old San Miguel Brewery.

  

 

The mighty monument to prince of heavenly hosts and protector of San Miguel District that stands on the churchyard was donated recently by businessman and church volunteer Antonio L. Cabangon. The 12-foot statue of St. Michael the Archangel has become a landmark within the environs of Malacañang Palace. It was created by known Filipino sculptor, Florante “Boy” Caedo.

 

Related links:

The Moveable Fiesta of San Miguel Archangel de Manila and the Village in Extramuros Dedicated to the Heavenly Soldier

 

An Afternoon Stroll at San Miguel

  

References :

San Miguel de Manila by Nick Joaquin

Almanac for Manilenos by Nick Joaquin 

 

The Moveable Fiesta of San Miguel Archangel de Manila and the Village in Extramuros Dedicated to the Heavenly Soldier

  

  

I was born on a Sunday and according to tradition, San Miguel Archangel was the archangel assigned to watch over those who were born on the first day of the week. Following that tradition of naming children after angels and saints using the Catholic calendar as guide, my parents included Miguel to my lengthy four-word first name. 

 

  

 

Although, the Catholic calendar has dedicated September 29 to be feast day of celebrity angels namely; Gabriel, Raphael and Miguel, the warrior Señor San Miguel is highly venerated in Iligan City through a traditional dramatization of his triumphal battle over Lucifer called the San Miguel Comedia.  

 

In Manila, the Prince of the Heavenly Hosts has become the patron of the Malacañang neighborhood. Its fiesta however is recognized on 29th of September although the celebration is moved on the next Sunday after the traditional feast day. Like in all fiestas in the country, novena mass is celebrated and sacraments of baptism and confirmation is also given to San Miguel parishioners.  The highlight of the moveable fiesta in Manila is the procession led by the Seven Archangels and the Virgin Mary.  

 

 

The original San Miguel District in Manila is one of six Villages of Extramuros or a series of settlements on the banks of the moat that surrounded the walls of Intramuros. The village of San Miguel used to stand on what is known today as the San Marcelino area. The original parish of San Miguel was established as a Jesuit mission to bring the growing Japanese community together in Manila. Nick Joaquin explained that since many of the refugees were samurai warriors fleeing from the prosecution of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Jesuits hit on an idea of proclaiming the heavenly soldier Michael the Archangel as the patron of the Japanese community to attract the knights among the migrants.  

 

 

After winning a battle against the Moros during an expedition in Mindanao in 1631, Governor-General Sebastian Hurtado de Concuera fulfilled his vow of building a chapel in honor of San Miguel de Archangel. The provisional chapel of nipa and bamboo in Extramuros was replaced by Corcuera with a structure of hardier material.

 

After the British Invasion, Spanish authorities have decided to clear away all six villages including their respective churches. Of the six original settlements, San Miguel is one of the two that remain to this day. The new village of San Miguel was transferred across the Pasig River were the Malacañang neighborhood stands today. 

 

Related link: An Afternoon Stroll at San Miguel

Reference: Nick Joaquin’s San Miguel de Manila

 

Hand Made Manila Cigars

 

 

One thing I like about SM Malls lately is how they present Filipino products in an engaging way. The last time I was at the Kultura section at SM Department Store in North EDSA, tobacco-making is being demonstrated.

 

From the tobacco plantations, the leaves are fermented and aged for two years. After going through quality control procedures, they are places into varying classifications of wrapper, binder and filler. The classifications determine which blend would most suit the leaf. 

 

   

 

Basic cigars are formed by wrapping filler tobacco in binder leaf. These are then placed in a mold that gives the cigar its shape. The molds are placed in a press overnight. The tobacco is then hand rolled into the cigar. The cigars are placed in an aging room to preserve and enhance the flavors. 

 

  

 

Tobacco production became a stronghold of the Spanish colonial economy. It was towards the end of the 17^th century when the Spanish galleon San Clemente brought to the country 200 ounces of Cuban tobacco seeds. These exquisite seeds were cultivated by the Spanish friars and flourished in the fertile region of Cagayan Valley, Isabela, a province in northern Luzon named after the Queen of Spain. 

 

 

The Spanish administration became interested in all aspects of the production and trading of tobacco that it became a state monopoly in 1780. The tobacco monopoly, which was directed by the public Treasury, was a source of wealth in the 19^th century.

 

In Manila, the Arroceros district was the home of the tobacco factory and warehouses, which provided jobs for 8,000 women and 1,500 men. 

 

 

In 1881, the entire tobacco manufacturing industry in Manila became united and established the Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas. This union gave rise to what is known today as La Flor de la Isabela, a name given in honor of the province where the first Cuban seeds were first cultivated and flourished. 

 

 

La Flor de la Isabel holds the title of being the first and oldest cigar factory in Asia and one of the oldest cigar companies in the world. Tabacalera is its oldest and most popular brand. Called as the Manila Cigar, it is described by discriminating cigar connoisseurs world-wide for its mild, sweet, and very spicy taste. 

 

 

 

More Morbid Images at the Bantayog Museum’s Hall of Remembrance (Last part of a series)

  

 

Since I’ve posted the article The Dark Side of Mariang Makiling and A Traveler’s Traumatic Encounter at the National Arts Center in Los Baños (parts one and two), several people made revealing comments relating to Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) Deputy Director Reynaldo Wong. The two-part article narrates a blow-by-blow account on how the school’s current deputy director went on a power tripping spree and demonstrated rudeness to show his superiority over an ordinary citizen and his one-man-rule over the entire National Arts Center.

 

Reading the comments below those two blog entries has made me feel sad and worried. Sad for learning that the rudeness and arrogance which I’ve encountered in Mr. Wong is not a single occurrence but was also experienced by different people from the same impudent public manager. Worried because he holds an influential position in an institution whose goal is to create future leaders of this country (nyayyyy!!!).

 

 

CCP President Nestor Jardin forwarded me the reaction of Mr. Wong against my incident report in which Wong denies the facts I stated in the complaint letter. What is fascinating is that he has whipped up stories to make me look disrespectful to his authority during our encounter. He mentions that the statements were malicious attacks on him which I have chosen to smear at the expense of truth and objectivity.

 

To begin with, my purpose of going to NAC is not to pick a fight with Mr. Wong or finding out about his arrogance or lack of courtesy or ignorance in running an art school or incompetence as a public leader as stated on the blog comments. I didn’t even know that he exists on that side of the world.  

 

Traveler on Foot is a website dedicated to what is beautiful in this country and my experiences as a local traveler. I wanted to exclude my UGLY experience with Reynaldo Wong because it ruins the general theme of this blog. Moreover, it ruins what is supposed to be beautiful in Mount Makiling. But not mentioning that event is against my commitment to be objective and truthful. The reactions posted by different people mirror how the they know Reynaldo Wong as a public manager, senior citizen, a school administrator and teacher.

 

Our teachers were trained to inspire us to be good and responsible citizens. They serve as our models in demonstrating truth in our words and in our actions. We were thought by our parents to look up to them as our second parents. In the same way we observe our parents we watch how our teachers behave and how they interact with society. In short, their inputs strongly influence our knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and convictions in life. 

 

 

The role of our teachers and the youth of today brings me to share my experience at  Bantayog Museum’s Hall of Remembrance. Despite of the images which I find morbid because of the pictures of dead people, description of their violent deaths and the relics of martial law victims on display, the museum gives tribute to the heroes and martyrs who offered their lives in the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship.

 

Due to their efforts, freedoms that were prohibited at that time are available to this generation today. Even then, they already upheld the people’s right to topple a repressive regime.  They were businessmen, politicians, parents, students, priests, teachers and mostly ordinary simple citizens of this country.  

 

 

Ateneo student Artemio S. Celestial used his influence as Student Council Secretary General to call students to get involved in protests. Upon the declaration of Martial Law, he was later expelled from school after joining with other student activists. He was last seen February 1975 taking a cab. Three days later his body was found floating in Montalaban River, near Wawa Dam with a broken skull and mangled body.

 

Looking at the pictures of men and women and reading the stories on how heroes died under the military rule are morbid enough to give me goosebumps. One is a series of pictures showing Jun Quimpo Jr. singing with a guitar, with a toy gun and a photo of Jun after being shot. 

 

 

Among those who met a violent death were Emmanuel Lacaba who was shot in his mouth, Liliosa Hilao who was poisoned with acid, Antonio Hilario was buried alive, Soledad Salvador, Resteta Fernandez and Fr. Nilo Valerio were beheaded. Serving as reminder of Fr. Valerio’s heroism is his favorite shirt that he last worn before he was killed is on display in one of the two glass showcases. 

 

 

Our Martial Law heroes were teachers too. Not just in profession as well as in passion. Many of those who belong to the academe, despite of their awareness of prosecution and death for those who speak out against the dictatorship rule, continued to use their talents and skills in educating society about the truth and evils of the Marcos regime.

 

One of them was Carlos Bernardo del Rosario. A political science instructor at PCC (Philippine College of Commerce now PUP). He has held different position in various movements in opposition to the excesses of the Marcos regime. He was last seen putting up campaign posters inside the PCC campus and was never found despite search efforts. His disappearance was the first case of the Desaparecidos. 

 

 

Perhaps those who acted against martial law were firm believers that evil exist because good men do nothing. They were thought of the values of freedom and to respect human rights. But if this country continues to hire, promote, assign, and tolerate public leaders and educators that demonstrate bad attitude, arrogance and deception in the presence of our youths, then this country will never produce good, kind-natured and truthful citizens. Perhaps we might produce another generation of dictators.  

 

 

But if we continue to develop teachers who are selfless, advocates of truth and idealism, respectful to human rights and freedom and are committed to casting servant-leaders, then our country may have a greater chance of having the kind of leader that this nation have been waiting for. 

 

Whenever we sense and experience evil lurking and thriving in our community, it our responsibility as citizens of preventing and stopping it from playing with power (as in power tripping), dominating the good (demonstrate arrogance and rudeness), destroying the beautiful (represent what suppose to be beautiful e.g. Mount Makiling) and repressing the free (control according to their ambition and whims).

 

The sacrifices of the countless martial law heroes and martyrs is a flame forever ignited at the Bantayog Musuem’s Hall of Remembrance. Their morbid black and white portraits next to the description of their violent yet meaningful deaths are valuable lessons to this generation and the next  that we should never allow evil to exist and oppressors to humankind to rule over this world. 

  

 

In memory of those who perished in the cause of freedom during those dark years, Traveler on Foot will not be posting articles in the next three days.

 

Last part of a series on Bantayog ng mga Bayani.

Click here for part one of this series