BAKÁS PILIPINAS, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Ateneo de Manila University recently launched the BUHAY QUIAPO RESEARCH STUDY PROJECT. The Project will focus on Quiapo, one of Manila’s historic cores, a vibrant but deteriorated area rich in tangible and intangible heritage. During the turn of the 20th century, mansions where the city’s elite families lived, lined the streets of Quiapo, as they still do today although in deteriorated states. These mansions are part of the nation’s tangible architectural heritage.
Quiapo looms large not only in Manila’s image but in the nation’s imagination. Three major religious institutions are located in the area - Quiapo Church, or the Church of the Black Nazarene, San Sebastian Basilica (the only all-metal church in Asia), and the Golden Mosque. Every January, the Black Nazarene procession winds its way through the streets of Quiapo, with a stop in front of San Sebastian Basilica. Up to 6 million people participate in this procession, making it the largest annual gathering in the country. Healers, herb sellers, fortune tellers and food vendors have been part of the Quiapo scene over the centuries and constitute the nation’s intangible cultural heritage. Historically, it is also a commercial and financial hub of the city.
Quiapo today is a chaotic and diminished version of its former self. It suffers from a multitude of social and environmental issues: poverty, limited livelihood opportunities, substandard housing, environmental pollution and tension between Christian and Muslim residents. Yet this deterioration has not obliterated its rich history and sense of place. The Quiapo of the past is still very palpable in the Quiapo of today. But maybe not for long, as Quiapo is under threat of obliteration by neglect and new construction.
Working with local groups in the area, the Project will start with an ethnographic survey of the community. The goal of the Buhay Quiapo Research Study Project is to determine how Quiapo’s rich living heritage can be the catalyst for improving the well-being of the community and for addressing issues of their concern.
R. Hidalgo Street, Quiapo, in 1910, showing the residential mansions lining both sides of the street. San Sebastian Basilica is at the end of the street.
R. Hidalgo Street today, where the the same buildings still exist. San Sebastian Basilica is seen at the end of the street.
Three major religious institutions are located in Quiapo, making the area an important pilgrimage zone.