Just a post in honor of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal on his 151st birthday celebration.

Tutubi was able to visit the huge Rizal Monument at the 18 foot tall Jose Rizal Shrine in Nueva Vizcaya some time ago which held the record for largest Jose Rizal Monument only for a little time due to the building of this new monument, whose height was allegedly adjusted, to be a little taller, after Laguna officials knew of its presence.




the 22 feet tall Jose Rizal Monument is the largest, tallest, biggest monument in the world honoring Jose Rizal

The giant Jose Rizal Monument, made of bronze and measuring 22 feet, can be found on Chipeco Avenue near Halang, Calamba City in front of the new Calamba City Hall and football field (pitch) and RSM Lutong Bahay Restaurant (the bypass road that avoids Calamba crossing traffic and SM City Calamba). It was unveiled last by Pres. Noynoy Aquino during the 150th birthday celebrations.

Related Post:
Jose Rizal Shrine in Nueva Vizcaya

Labels: Calabarzon, Jose Rizal, Laguna, Monuments, Southern Tagalog

It's unusual for Tutubi to come a place unprepared i.e. without his usual list of interesting places or noteworthy restaurants featuring local specialties and delicacies since he found out that the still promoted yet already extinct Salinas Salt Springs is not worth a visit. In a recent visit to Solano, Nueva vizcaya, he was taken to this place, called Jordanian by the locals, that turned out to be a newly-built shrine in honor of Jose Rizal and 15 other national heroes located in barangay Casat, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya near the road that leads to Mt. Pulag.

The Jose rizal Shrine features a nice hillside park with a fountain, some retail space, winding road (that puts poorly-maintained national roads to shame), nicely manicured garden, an obelisk, helipad and some sort of clubhouse, still unfinished in front of the Jordanian's mansion. The centerpiece of the Rizal Shrine is the (now second) largest Jose Rizal monument built with fiber glass covered by a bronze-colored metal layer. The body weighs 1.2 tons while the base weighs 1.3 tons, according to Mahmoud Asfour, the naturalized Filipino developer of the park.

Jose Rizal Shrine in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya:


a national heroes obelisk

the now second largest jose rizal monument covered in bronze-colored metal. Note the presence of a NHCP (National Historical Commission of the Philippines, formerly NHI) marker

the huge Rizal Monument with a person on the frame to add scale

a nice view of the green fields of Bayombong from the hillside park

About Mahmoud Asfour:

Mahmoud Asfour was former vice president of Citibank International and a former official of the International Monetary Fund.

His "utang na loob" to a Filipino was rooted sometime when he was stranded for two days in middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia before the Gulf War without food and water, when he was found and rescued by a "good samaritan" Filipino truck driver.

He has since married a Filipina and settled in Nueva Vizcaya (Tutubi even met the good man and his son, a newly-minted computer engineering graduate) and helped put up business and charitable works in addition to the new Rizal Shrine. He was granted Filipino citizenship in July 2005.

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The Jose Rizal Monument in Nueva Vizcaya held the title of "largest Rizal monument" for a short time only due to the construction of the giant Jose rizal monument in front of Calamba City Hall in Laguna, the birthplace of Jose Rizal, which was made taller by about 5 feet from this monument upon the orders of local politicians who've heard of the presence of this monument.

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Tutubi, in one of his lucky days, chanced upon Mr Mahmoud Ashfour, sporting a Rizal t-shirt, personally supervising workers of his Rizal Shrine. He asked him his nationality, to which he promptly replied Filipino, and why was he building such a nice place. His reply turned a quizzical look on Tutubi and is not worth publishing here.

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Jose Rizal Shrine and Monument
Barangay Casat, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
Coordinates: N16 31 07.6 E121 08 30.2
road map here with the POI and road network personally added by Tutubi (mapping places is another one of his advocacy and worthwhile pastime)

Other Jose Rizal related posts (you may also click the Jose Rizal Category on the navigation pane):

How to Get to Fort Santiago
Jose Rizal Shrine Dapitan
Jose Rizal in Hong Kong,
Jose Rizal in Paco Cemetery

Labels: Cagayan Valley, Jose Rizal, Monuments, Nueva Vizcaya

A return visit to the historic site of the battle between the natives led by Lapu-lapu and the Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain Ferdinand Magellan where Magellan met his death, mostly due to his ineptness as a general.

Tutubi again visited the place on the request of his peer who wanted to see the famous site of the "battle of mactan".

Ferdinand Magellan’s Monument

A coral stone obelisk Erected in 1866 in honor of Hernando de Magallanes). It bears the words “Glorias Españolas (Glory to Spain)."



The Lapu-lapu Monument, made of bronze, at dusk...



a closer view of the bronze monument...



the Mactan Shrine mural and historical marker. The Battle of Mactan mural wrongly depict Lapu-lapu in combat with Magellan. The marker states "Here, on 27 April 1521 Lapulapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders, killing their leader ferdinand Magellan thus Lapulapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggresion."




How did Ferdinand Magellan die? So many historical myths and hoaxes abound here but it's not really Lapu-lapu who killed him but a poisoned arrow to the leg. It was probably Lapu-lapu who dealt the final blow. He was killed due to his "stupidity" to charge at an enemy he didn't have any information on (remember Sun Tzu's Art of War?), and on the prodding of Rajah Humabon, an enemy of Lapu-lapu.

Rajah Humabon, who converted to Christianity earlier, later poisoned his Christian friends. What was left of Magellan's expedition later circumnavigated the world.

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Travel Information on Mactan Shrine:

Mactan Shrine entrance fees: None but a donation box can be seen at the shrine entrance gate. Parking fee is at P10/vehicle.

There's also a Lapu-lapu Monument at Rizal Park in Manila (Luneta) "watching" the back of Jose Rizal Monument

How to get to Mactan Shrine / Lapu-lapu Monument, Lapu-lapu City:

Commuting from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, you can flag a taxi to take you there directly or a jeepney, popularly called multicab, with signboard Punta Engaño. Tutubi also observed jeepneys with So-ong Maribago signboards passed by the place from Mandaue Highway. The Shrine is near Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa and the the famous Sutukil seafood restaurants. No information on jeepney fares but the taxi fare may be about P250 from downtown Cebu City.

Directions to Mactan shrine? It's just a straight drive from Mandaue City via Marcelo Fernan Bridge then right to M.L. Quezon Highway all the way to the shrine.

Labels: Cebu, Historical Shrines, History, Lapu-Lapu City, Metro Cebu, Monuments

An election fraught with allegations of electoral fraud where ballots counted outnumbered voters and orchestrated by the upper class against a plebeian. Man condemned in a trial for high treason. Wife beaten and raped by his arresting officer. Rapist did not stand trial and got away with impunity. Leader executed and buried in an unmarked grave whose body up to now has never been recovered.

These are not current events, but events that happened more than a century ago to a man whose birthday the country celebrates this day: Andres Bonifacio

Born on Nov. 30, 1863, in Tondo, Manila, in present day Tutuban and part of the vast shopping mecca of Divisoria. He was named Andres since Nov. 30 is the feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle. A monument of him can be seen in front of Tutuban Mall on C.M. Recto Avenue.

His parents, Santiago Bonifacio and Catalina de Castro died from tuberculosis, mother first followed by father a year later.

Was present in the house on Ylaya St meeting when Jose Rizal founded the La Liga Filipina

When La Liga Filipina was disbanded with the exile of Jose Rizal in Dapitan, Bonifacio founded the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (The Highest, Most Venerable Association of the Sons of the People), or the Katipunan, on July 7, 1892 together with Ladislaw Diwa and Teodoro Plata, at a house of Deodato Arellano on Sagunto Street (now Santo Cristo St) in Tondo. There's a historical marker at the site of KKK founding.

Bonifacio used the caves of Pamitinan in present day Rodriguez (Montalban) of Rizal on which he wrote: Long Live Philippine Independence

A poet and well verse in Spanish, his most famous poem's titled 'Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa'

Married twice, the first one to Monica, his neighbor in Tondo, who died of leprosy a year later.

Second marriage to Gregoria de Jesus (Oryang), an 18 year old lass from a wealthy family in Kalookan, at Binondo Church (though church records turned out nil, they could have married under assumed names for Oryang to escape parental objection being a minor at that time)

Notable Bonifacio Monuments:

Cry of Balintawak Monument at the corner of EDSA and Bonifacio Drive in Quezon City by Napoleon Abueva in bronze. There's a plaster version in front of Vinzons Hall at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

The Cry of Pugadlawin near Quezon City General Hospital (Did you ever wondered why there were at least two cries?)

Bonifacio Monument, popularly called Monumento, a national shrine with an obelisk at the heart of a rotonda (roundabout), the meeting point of EDSA, MacArthur Highway, Rizal Avenue(Avenue) and Samson Road in Caloocan City. It's sculpted by Guillermo Tolentino, a National Aritst for Visual Arts.

the western part of Monumento in Caloocan.

Bonifacio Monument in front of National Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, also done by Guillermo Tolentino

Bonifacio Monument at the Mehan Garden near Manila City Hall, a work by Eduardo Castrillo. (Ed Castrillo is also the one who sculpted the EDSA Shrine in front of Robinsons Galleria at the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue, the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on Quezon Avenue, Quezon City and the upcoming Montemaria Shrine in Batangas)

an old photo of the monument beside the Manila City Hall with the clock tower in view

Pinaglabanan Shrine in San Juan City, the site of Andres Bonifacio's battle where he met defeat at the hands of the Spaniards

The Tejeros Convention, the site of the election that catapulted Emilio Aguinaldo as president of the Philippines. Allegations of fraud, called Acta de Tejeros, emerged the next day. The election protest was never resolved (old news, eh?)

Bonifacio was executed on May 10, 1897 on Mt. Nagpatong in Maragondon (this was previously listed in textbooks as Mt. Buntis and sometimes Mt. Hulog ). A shrine is now present at the execution site in a place now called Bonifacio Historical Shrine and Eco-tourism Park in Barangay Pinagsanhan, Maragondon.

Lastly, don't ever try to restart the old debate on Andres Bonifacio, and not Jose Rizal as Philippine National Hero.

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Expect Tutubi to visit the places mentioned here in the future :P

Sources:
Ambeth Ocampo's articles on the Philippine Daily Inquirer
here, here and here.
The "rape" of Gregoria De Jesus was postulated by Ambeth Ocampo in his book Bones of Contention
National Historical Institute

Labels: Andres Bonifacio, Caloocan City, Manila, Metro Manila, Monuments, National Heroes, Philippine History, San Juan

The Quezon Memorial Shrine, a monument built in honor of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, located inside the rotunda at the heart of the city named after the former president with "edifice complex," is a tallest landmark of Metro Manila's biggest city.

The shrine is inside a circle that also hosts a bicycle rental, picnic ground, skating rink, various pocket parks, shopping stalls, various restaurants (Tropical Hut, Max's), food stalls and the World Peace Bell.



Many health buffs jog around the monument in the morning, others prefer to play badminton while a group dance their flabs away. During Eid al-Fitr, many Muslims congregate here to celebrate end of Ramadan.

Trivia:

Designed by architect Federico Ilustre
Height is 66 meters representing the age of Quezon when he died (of tuberculosis while in exile in the US during the 2nd World War)
3 pylons represent the Philippines' 3 island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao
3 Angels at the top of the pylons holding sampaguita garlands designed by Francesco Riccardo Monti (who also has works in Far Eastern University (FEU), University of Santo Tomas (UST), Metropolitan Theater, Don Bosco Technical Institute, Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and Sto. Domingo Church)

Inside the monument is a museum with old photos and memorabilias of the former president and his catafalque. His remains were transfered to the shrine from Manila North Cemetery.

Three angels sculpture by Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti
night picture of the monument

the circle is near Quezon City Hall



Quezon Memorial Museum is open to the public free of charge, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8:30am to 5pm

How to get to Quezon Memorial Circle:

Commute:

Jeepneys plying Fairview or Philcoa in Manila will pass by the place. Drop off in front of Quezon City hall and cross the circle going there (the pedestrian underpass will soon be completed) Buses on EDSA going to Fairview. The nearest MRT station is Quezon Avenue.

Labels: Monuments, Philippines, Quezon City

After leaving Sta Juliana, Capas, Tarlac, (after trekking down the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo) we again passed by the Capas National Shrine, unknown to my companions, which used to be part of Camp O'Donnell: the final destination of the survivors of the infamous Death March of the Second World War.

I was thinking of not posting this picture since it's not that clear but again, for photojournalistic purposes, I posted it here. I wasn't able to get a better picture owing to the gray clouds providing not so good lighting and mostly my trekking mates opted not to get out of the van to even take pictures either they're tired or just plain indifferent/oblivious to history. The shot that you see here taken with my hand out of the window slightly skewed and blurred.


The infamous Bataan Death March (バターン死の行進) began shortly after the fall of Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942 where Filipino and American POWs were forced to march from Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga (where they're herded into suffocating trains) then marched again upon arrival in Capas, Tarlac

Note that survivors of the Fall of Corregidor on May 6, 1942 did not participate in the Death March like what my officemates were saying. The Death March lasted a few days before the Rock fell to the Japanese.

Capas National Shrine is actually the former internment camp of Camp O'Donnell and has a 70 meter obelisk, a wall where names of the Filipinos and Americans who died there is listed and a small monument by the Battling Bastards of Bataan.

This place requires a re-visit by the tutubi in the future for him to get up close to the historic place most Filipinos don't even hear of or taken for granted.

How to get to Capas, Tarlac:

Capas National Shrine is along the national highway in Capas, Tarlac. There's a small entrance fee of PhP5.00.

Labels: Central Luzon, History, Monuments, Tarlac, World War II

After the Paco cemetery visit, we again walked towards Luneta but stopping by Wendys on T.M. Kalaw St where I ordered my favorite-- BMM!

The sun's already setting by this this time making taking pictures more enjoyable due to the lighting evidenced by the photo of Lapulapu (the rear guard of Jose Rizal) with children included to add scale.


nearing the time of the golden sun, we pushed forward to baywalk by hailing a cab to catch the famous sunset (that I never got tired of) where we saw the QTV event and a bunch of photographers (probably a class)




the former Arsenic mayor of Manila sitting on the bench

next, we experimented again with long exposure using the posts at the middle of Roxas blvd as tripod since both of us were too lazy to bring our own tripods. We couldn't get a better perspective as a result of our "indolence."




after 11 hours of walking, cab/jeepney rides and taking pictures, we decided to go home tired and weary yet satisfied with our "historic" journey most Filipinos would not even dare do.

Below is a map of Manila and the route we took from Quiapo to Baywalk



thus ended the tour of the flightless tutubi!

Labels: Manila, Metro Manila, Monuments, National Capital Region, National Heroes, Parks