Old Manila

Wow! I chanced upon these three videos of pre-war Manila and what gems they are. I had to watch them several times because there are many details worth discovering and enjoying. Some of these are the native costumes, the cars, the gypsy boats on the Pasig river, the pre-war Intramuros, the caromatas (two passengers) and caretelas (up to six passengers), the Tranvia (streetcar), the famed Escolta and the colonial buildings.

In the second video, I found the piece on the Hospicio de San Jose's revolving crib very interesting. The narrator tells of the Philippines Constabulary Band which won the grand prize in a competition in the St. Louis Expo and still then one of the world's bests. Then and now, Filipinos are the best musicians. The Manila Bilibid Prison's 'cadet' formations then make me think the present day Cebu Prison phenomenon a poor copycat.

The third video shows the very beautiful Dewey Boulevard, now Roxas Blvd. And there's a shot of a very clean beach and a nice pier! Listen to the very beautiful soundtrack of video #3.

Wow, wow, wow. And more wow.

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