Hola a todo! :) 100th Post Baby! yeah! And because the Philippine Independece Day falls on the month of June, I shall dedicate my 100th post to my beloved country.
The Philippines was a colony of Spain for 300 Years, and 30 years under the Americans and 3 years with the Japanese. 12 June 1898 is the official Independence of the Philippines from the Spaniards. When we were under the Americans they changed it to 04 July but it was changed back to 12 June. This year marks the 114th year of Freedom for us :) Despite the cranky weather, I went to the Quirino Grandstand, walking towards Luneta Park in Manila to see what went on in Manila
In Luneta park you will see the Rizal Monument which is still visited pretty often by foreign and local tourists.
He usually has 2 guards standing by except during bad weathers where they stay in their little "hideout"
The Independece day was celebrated in 3 places simultaneously. One in Kawit, Cavite where the first president, Emilio Aguinaldo's shrine and old home stands, and in Bulacan. Before, there used to be parades of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at the Quirino Grand Stand but now, they don't do that anymore which is a little sad. But they do have Static Displays of the different branches of service but I was only able to catch the booths of the Navy, and most specially, my buddies from the Naval Special Operations Group.
I was able to take a picture of the tanks of the Philippine Army that were displayed though.
These are the amphibious vehicles that the Philippine Navy uses for a lot of purposes including rescues missions in flooded areas.
The weather finally started to cooperate and shining down on the monument of our first Philippine Hero, Lapu-Lapu
This is called the Kalesa or the carriage pulled by a horse (obviously). You'll see lots of these in Intramuros, Manila
This is one of the most typical mode of public transportation, the Jeepney
This guy over here is the barker / unofficial traffic enforcer who halts cars for crossing pedestrians and halts jeepneys for people who need to ride :)
What I really wanted to see this day was the Silent Drill performance but they said it was still going to be in the afternoon and I only had the morning free. But I did see this little parade thing being assembled
The Philippine National Police were very visible that day making sure that the day's event goes smoothly and hopefully crime free. Which made me feel safe lugging my large camera around.
My favorite part of Parades and Precessions in the Philippines is the music. Whether it's by these xylophone players, or by singing nuns or lay people, that's the part I enjoy the most :)
I'm not so sure where these guys are associated with but they were front liner in the parade/
As I walked some more, I realized that it wasn't the celebration that made the Luneta Park semi-packed with people but it was actually because of the Job Fair. This just shows that a lot of Filipinos are still unemployed. But I guess this day is about the Filipinos so might as well help them :)
The Philippine coast guard had a small booth there so as the others like the Metro Manila Developent Authority and the Department of Interior Local Government and
The Philippine Boy Scouts were there too! :)
As I continued to explore the place for interesting things, this caught my eye as I very seldom see people playing the Philippine Instrument called the Kulintang, which is a native instrument played by the Maranaos and other tribes of the Philippines. They are made out of gongs placed side by side.
It was nice to go people watching that day but compared to the Philippine Independence Day Celebrations here and by the Overseas Filipino Workers abroad, well, I guess to some, it's just going to be another one of those "hey there's no work today!" or "no classes!" kind of days. But I still thank our heroes for our freedom.
Belated Happy Freedom Day! :)
- Mil Besos y Abrazos Chiquititos!
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