MANILA’S GREEN OASIS, RIZAL PARK
Jan 10 '05
The Bottom Line A pleasant outing in a fascinating city.
Manila the capital and largest city in the Philippines is a modern bustling metropolis in most every respect. In parts of the city it almost seems that everywhere one looks there is a veritable sea of concrete steel and glass towers. In this modern urban jungle though there is one major green space, located downtown on the edge of Manila Bay.
Rizal Park is a large rectangular park stretching over half a kilometre long and a quarter Kilometre wide. It runs from Roxas Boulevard, which runs parallel to Manila Bay, in the west to Taft Avenue in the east. To the north of the park is the elegant green roofed Manila Hotel and the Intramuros the Old Spanish colonial part of Manila. Across the street from Roxas Boulevard is another large open area the Parade Ground that seems to add to this open oasis in an otherwise crowded downtown core.
In past days the park also known as the "Luneta" was a place where the upper classes conducted their ritualistic evening promenades to see and be seen. These days the park attracts almost all types, from early morning joggers aerobic and martial arts enthusiasts, to families enjoying a day outing.
Vendors of all types can be found throughout the park, hawking everything from film, to colourful balloons to snacks of various types. In the evening’s lovers, young and young at heart seem to find both a suitably romantic setting and needed privacy in the parks confines.
There are actually quite a few attractions within the park and to fully explore and appreciate it all could take at least a day. At eastern edge of the park near Taft Avenue is a large three-dimensional map of the Philippines. Just past this is a roller skating rink. North of the rink the Museum of the Filipino People is included in the parks limits. The National Library rests on the southern edge.
Past the Museum on the North Side is the Planetarium. It is flanked by two enclosed gardens, one Japanese the other Chinese. Both of these offer some seclusion for those seeking it.
The most striking parts of the park though are those for whom it is named after. Jose Rizal was a Filipino Doctor, poet, scholar and most of all a patriot, one of the leaders of the independence movement from Spain in the later half of the nineteenth century. Unlike many of his predecessors who advocated revolution, there were some 100 revolts and rebellions prior to this; he advocated peaceful means for independence.
The Spanish authorities arrested and imprisoned him for his actions and in 1896 had him executed by firing squad. On the eve of his execution, Rizal penned the stirring poem "Mi Ultimo Adios" (My last Farewell) a stirring prose of his love for his land, his people, and the desire to live free.
Rather than stopping the independence movement as they had hoped, it ensured that it would succeeded as more and more Filipinos joined the cause of independence and opposition to Spanish rule grew.
In 1898 with assistance from the United States the Philippines achieved their independence from Spain. It would take many more years and few setbacks but full independence was finally achieved in 1946.
At the western edge of the park near Avenue Roxas is the Rizal Monument a fifty-foot high granite obelisk. Several large panels flank the monument on which "Mi Ultimo Adios" has been transcribed in English, Spanish and Tagalog. Philippines Marines in immaculate uniforms mount guard over this imposing monument.
North of the monument near the Chinese Garden is another small enclosed section of the park. This is the actual site of Rizal's execution. Larger than life dioramas show his final days in captivity and his death at the hands of his own countrymen. The Spanish authorities used Filipino and not Spanish soldiers for his firing squad. As the diorama shows, Rizal's last act of defiance was to face away from his executioners.
The larger than life statues in this park are more than a permanent tableau to this important page in Filipino history. There are regular sound and light shows here that tell Rizal’s story. Entrance to the Rizal Diorama is 10 Pesos (17 cents US) and the times for the light and sound shows are posted at the ticket kiosk.
Exiting from this small and sombre enclosure back into the park proper one only has to look at the crowds of Filipinos enjoying themselves in simple daily pleasures to realise that a park like this really is a fitting memorial to this man.
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