See-Food Diet and Nostalgia

I heard Mass at Robinson's Mall at 11:30 am today.

That's the trend nowadays...Malls having their own congregation...

But I suppose it's the more pragmatic thing for malls to do. Since they're open on Sundays anyway. Families go to the malls for some rest and relaxation. They seem to goon autopilot heading for these commercial centers to get some shopping done, roaming around and finding great bargains or just trying to see what the latest trend is like. Oh, and there's free airconditioning too. So it's a Pinoy thing, families and malls...

My obligation completed, I started heading for the fastfood area. I was getting hungry. Okay, so prior to Mass I had gone to the gym. It's a lifestyle choice for me, you know. Keeping fit is like breathing. So I was pretty amazed at the fare they were serving up. I was looking for smart choices... fresh vegies, low calorie meals...

Horrors!!! Everything was greasy, fat-laden, high caloric meat-based dishes. I finally found a stall that had sea food. You'd think I'd eat healthy at this point. Yeah, right. I ordered a cup of rice, laing (taro leaves cooked in coconut milk until it renders coconut oil), a slab of Marlin in garlic and butter, and KILAWIN ( our Filipino version of ceviche). Tuna is filleted and cubed and drenched in a vinegar based concoction of slivered tomatoes, onions, chilli peppers and salt and pepper. and a tall glass of Coke!

That was great. My hunger was sated and had nothing else to do. So I decided to burn off the calories and started roaming all over Robinson's Place Ermita. It's been constructed over the years but recently undergoing reovation to keep up with the development sprouting up in the Malate area. It now has an adjacent condominium on bothe the Adriatico and Padre Faura wings, basement and podium parking, 4 floors of commercial space for lease, 8 cinemas and dozens of stalls for fastfood and other stuff.

It's a far cry from what it used to be. The area was once the enclave of the rich and famous who had started moving out of Intramuros' walls. Eventually, the community grew and became a bohemian center where artists could congregate, mingle, and where the rich patrons were within easy reach.

Historic areas, Ermita and Malate were completely destroyed in the carpet bombing of Manila in 1945. Priests and nuns were martyred. Civilians were tortured and killed. The area was a vast wasteland of rotting corpses and rubble.

But like a phoenix rising out of its ashes, Malate has come alive again! Robinson's Mall was once the Assumption Convent (Herran), The Padre Faura wing was what used to be the Ateneo Campus (where the school transferred to after the Intramuros campus was gutted by fire.) The St. Paul's College is still there, albeit a co-ed school now. Yes, they have accepted male students in some of the courses! The UP PGH is still beiing renovated and new buildings are being built.

Malate Church, which was built by the Augustinians as a Visita has it's own Catholic School run by RVM Sisters (originally established from Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo's Cofradia) and the Nstra. Senora de los Remedios is now administered by the Columbans mostly of Irish priests who were running the Malate Catholic School during the American period until after the Liberation of Manila up to the present.

Times have changed. Along with it the physical makeup of the place. Too bad we had no concept of heritage then. We would have kept the memories of Malate's and Ermita's glorious past even in the old colonial buildings and mansions that were rebuilt after the war. Everything is so modern now. Condos and shopping malls are sprouting up like mushrooms and in its place our Pinoy take on the contemporary touch...