By YOLANDA L. PUNSALAN
THERE are sections of Binondo that are not in the itinerary of bloggers, and food and culture trippers.
For the generally young crowd who want to experience the sights, smells and flavors of Binondo, Ongpin Street is always the hands down winner. The famous street has the dynamic appeal and vibes of Hong Kong and its corners are feasts for the eyes, as well as ideal for delightful shopping.
There are quiet sections, though sans the entertainment and tourist traps, like San Fernando. It is that long street directly in front of Binondo Church, intersected by Quintin Paredes and Juan Luna Streets and begins with a pretty bridge with white stone art on both sides.
Some historical nuggets are waiting to be dug up in this area. There are stories about a certain relative of Dr. Jose Rizal, the only one living to this date, who resides near this San Fernando Bridge.
Further down this cemented road, on Urbiztondo Street, Emilio Aguinaldo is known to have been a tenant for some time in a two-storey narrow house, which was also occupied by the cousins Samson and Nemesio and Nicasio Co.
Since most Chinese prefer to live and work in the same area, a lot of establishments in the vicinity –general merchandise, travel agencies, school supplies, dealers in sacks, sugar and onions, etc, have the Filipino-Chinese families living on the second floor and the ground floor serves as the store or office. The dentists and dermatologists among them also hold their clinics right in their dwelling places.
The streets of Binondo are surrounded by esteros or canals, tributaries of the Pasig River. In the time when Imelda Marcos was First Lady and concurrent Governor of the Metro Manila Commission (the precursor of the Metro Manila Development Authority or MMDA), she and several Filipino-Chinese businessmen were already concerned about the beautification of Chinatown and the esteros. Way back in the early eighties, dining by the esteros was already in vogue and yuppies from the Makati business district would troop there in their executive business suits to dine by the esteros, getting introduced to fried pigeons, frog legs, oyster omelet and spinach soup.
Surely, to make life easier for the Binondo dwellers and their visitors, bridges had to be bullt over the esteros, though just a few feet in length, most of them are quite artistic and fortified, except for one, which only serves as a footbridge connecting Alvarado and Insular Streets, which are just across the new posh Lucky Chinatown Mall, where once stood the Raja Soliman Public High School.
he long San Fernando Street branches out to these streets—Elcano, Jaboneros, Mestizo, Tribune, Penaranda, San Nicolas, Urbiztondo. Many condominiums averaging ten storeys high stand in the area, amidst rundown Spanish houses. At the end of this road is a weatherbeaten arch of solidarity and many homeless families live in this section , particularly on the sidewalks of the P. Guevarra Elementary School.
The Chinese in Binondo are known to be helpful and swift to the rescue when there’s a fire in the Metropolis . At the foot of the San Fernando Bridge is the South San Nicolas Volunteer Fire Brigade with several brightly painted fire trucks on standby. Right beside the Lucky Chinatown Mall are two fire trucks at the ready, with Garfield pictures right beside the name Middletown Volunteer Fire Brigade.
At the right side of Binondo Church are the streets Reina Regente, V. Tytana, E.T. Yuchengco, Alvarado, Davidson, Veronica, Insular. In this hidden spot of Alvarado is a three storey-school beside a store that sells aquarium fish, the Philippine Jin Nan Institute, which boasts of alumni who have topped engineering board exams and passed the pharmacy board.
Binondo is also home to many Episcopal and full gospel churches. While it was Holy week, the St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish remained closed, as well as the Philippine Buddhist Laity Fellowship and the Miao Boddhitsava Society Foundation, which is said to teach Chinese language.
Local fresh fruits in season and even from abroad abound in the Binondo sidewalks, and even surprising finds like cogon shoots which when boiled and drank can cure urinary tract infection.
Binondo is a place for vegetarians. Happy Veggie which has mushroom siopao is on Guillermo Masangkay Street while Happy Daily Veggie and Quan Yin Chay (Goddess of Mercy) are on Ongpin Street.
They both offer ingredients for vegetarian cooking.
Aside from the Minor Basilica of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, (the official name of Binondo Church), there are other Catholic churches: San Jose de Trozo and St. Stephen’s both on Masangkay.
The youth are blessed with the excellent facilities of the Manila Chinatown YMCA on Sabino Padilla Street. This summer they can enroll in midget basketball, table tennis, martial arts, make up artistry aqua aerobics and jewelry beading, with daily bible study.