A strange adventure

When a group of Filipinos agree that they’re going to meet at 7:30 AM, they actually

mean 9AM. And that was what happened when our group met to go to diverse places

related to Rizal. Some members arrived late for some reasons.

StreetsOur adventure started on the intersection of Lacson Ave. and Maria Clara Street. It

was raining too hard then but it didn’t stop us from walking. Some stand-by men gave

nonsensical comments to Balbuena herself, (nonsensical comment like “Ikaw ang Miss

Universe ng buhay ko”, or more insane comment like “Hi ate, kaya di pa ko nag-aasawa

hanggang ngayon, hinihintay kita” )and Besonia’s “world map” sling bag, but it didn’t stop us

from walking too.

It was a very long and tiring walk that we thought we wouldn’t be able to find the

streets bearing the name of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo characters. Each of

us looked like Sisa, who’s looking for her lost son Basilio.

After a few minutes, we’ve already spotted Basilio Street! Literally a stone’s throw

away from it, we found the streets named after Sisa, Simoun, Ibarra and Crisostomo. A tad

far from those were Tiago, Elias and Isagani Street. Besonia often came up with the

concept of our photos, but the attempt wasn’t successful for most of the group members

were camera shy. There’s one photo that’s quite successful though—the one we took on

Sisa Street. Since Moran didn’t know how to count and just abruptly took photos, an

eccentric scene was captured. Besonia was like a “Sisa guru” while the others

(Balbuena,Betanio,Mabon,Reamico and Tatel) really looked like the insane Sisa. And who’s

the best Sisa among us? Take a look at the photo. Balbuena, undeniably, was the best

Sisa! On the other hand, Reamico was too shy to show her true color as Sisa.

On one of the said streets, we bumped into a group of PUPians. How did we know

they’re PUPians? Why, one was still wearing his PE uniform and they looked foreign on

those streets. It’s a no-brainer to deduce that they’re PUPians, and most probably students

of Mr. Ramos too, unless of course if all PUP professors ask their students to do the same

project.

The farthest among these streets was Florentino Street. We took a very long road

that seemed to never end. From this tiring and boring scene of our adventure, there was a

comic relief. Reamico and Mabon jumped to their feet when a massive dog barked beside

them. This seemed to be a dangerous situation, yet it was still funny.

And at last, our group had already arrived on Florentino Street! The streets that bear

the Noli and Fili characters must be one barangay. And surprisingly (or not), their barangay

abruptly turned into a tourist spot. We would not be surprised if a few years later,

Department of Tourism would ask for entrance fee from each “tourist”.

We ended our search for the streets by eating at a carenderia where foods were a bit

expensive. We must have been deceived. The owner must have known that we were alien

at their place or maybe her “talk” was included in the fee. She kept on saying to Moran and

Betanio that the level of PUP’s B.S. Accountancy was like UP’s. But, frankly, who cares?

Since this woman was too talkative, why didn’t we think of interviewing her? Sayang.

It would have been great if we could at least ask “How do you feel about the fact that you’re

living on Florentino Street? Do you feel ashamed or proud?”, “Do you know who Florentino

is?”, “Have you read Rizal’s novels?”, “What can you say about Rizal?”. But then, maybe

right after the first question, thinking that we‘re nerd or probably dreading the next question,

she must have already thrown us out of her carenderia.Luneta

After hunting for the 10 streets, we rode a jeep going to Luneta. We knew the guards

in front of the monument didn’t move whatever you do to them. It was surprising that the

guards were waving their hands to Balbuena! The guards were in their headquarters

because it was raining then. We have been to Luneta many times. Thus, we didn’t stroll

around the place and just took some photos in front of Rizal’s monument.

The former UST and AteneoFrom Luneta, we walked to Intramuros. There we found the places where the old

UST and Ateneo were standing so many years ago. If you’re not looking for the two places,

you wouldn’t find them. The places looked abandoned. Perhaps you wouldn’t even think

that the two famous universities were previously there if you wouldn’t see the signs that

give information about the schools. According to the signs, the universities were destroyed

during World War I. It is evident that the old place of UST was not even well-maintained for

the floor of it was covered by moss, making it so slippery. Some of the group members

were already swearing the thick moss, but Reamico found it enjoyable. She found it funny

whenever some of the group members slipped. Fantastic.

Fort Santiago (Rizal’s prison)

Inside Fort Santiago, we stopped at the playground. The children Betanio, Tatel,

Moran, and Mabon played the seesaw. Tatel even enjoyed playing at the hanging thing (We

didn’t know what to call it but we’re sure it looked like a playground for monkeys). Because

of this, Besonia jokingly blurt out “May RH factor si Tatel!”, and the whole group laughed

aloud. For the uninitiated, RH factor’s present in the blood of monkeys and some human

babies.

After playing, we proceeded to Rizal Shrine. We were about to enter the place but it

was postponed because the NBA Players entered Rizal Shrine. VIP! But thankfully, after 30

minutes, the guard allowed us to enter too.

We first checked the prison of Rizal and tried to take a decent photo of the place. We

thought it’s impossible to do that since the place was so dark. Fortunately the camera we’re

using had a manual mode, and Besonia had little knowledge about camera. We set the

highest possible ISO to make the photo brighter, but we forgot that it’s set to Black and

White mode too! So apparently the product’s still crappy.

On second floor of the Shrine, the NBA players were still there. While Mabon, a fan of NBA,

was busy gazing at the players, Besonia was busy trying to secretly photograph the

gorgeous host of the show.

What we learnedWhen the foreigners left the place, we remembered what our group’s supposed to do

in Rizal Shrine – to appreciate whatever we can appreciate there. And that’s what we did.

We didn’t take notes. We just enjoyed checking every item we could see.

There we saw some clothes of Rizal that made us think “Ang liit pala ni Rizal.” We

also learned that other than writing, Rizal was also into sculpture. One of the things he

created was the “Triumph of Death over Science”.

On the second floor too there’s a store selling some books related to Rizal. We didn’t bother

to ask how much each book cost for it’s clear they’re expensive. It would be great to have a

copy of the thick Biography of Rizal made by National Historical Institute though.

On the first floor, we saw Leonor Rivera’s photo. Now we know how one of Rizal’s

women looked like. She has curly hairs, a seductive pair of eyes, a beautifully curved nose,

and firmed lips.

Turning around, you’ll see one of those black vertical things in the room. There we

noticed Rizal’s prophecy, stating that America will soon colonize Philippines. Rizal’s indeed

a futurist!

It’s the end of our Fort Santiago adventure and we’re now heading to Teodora

Alonzo’s former house in Binondo. We didn’t ride a jeep. Mabon said Binondo’s near from

Fort Santiago. Oh yes, it’s very near. So near that most of the group were already

complaining silently and even Balbuena said “Mapipilay na ko.” Besonia told her “Nakikita

mo yang mga jeep? SM Manila-Divisoria. Ganyan ang nilakad natin, sobra pa. Pwede na

tayo pumalit sa jeep.”

Teodora Alonzo’s house in BinondoWhen we arrived at Teodora Alonzo’s “house”, we were a bit disappointed. There’s

no house, only a vacant lot. Like the former UST and Ateneo, you wouldn’t know it’s a

historical place if not because of the sign in front of it. We just wish National Historical

Institute (NHI) would notice this place and decide to build a replica of Teodora Alonzo’s

house.

The endAnd there ends our exhausting, but enjoyable little adventure. It may seem pointless

to go to these places, since we didn’t learn anything on the streets, former house, former

universities that we went to. But if you’ll think of it, if this project did not exist, would we still

visit these places? Maybe not. It’s still a chance given to us. And someday we can tell our

own story to our descendants or even friends who love to listen to eccentric stories. “Once

upon a time, we had a very strange adventure!”