May 05 2008
Rizal Park (Manila City)
This one should come easy. I mean, Rizal Park is in honor of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, and we’ve studied about him and his life since elementary. So, writing about this Philippine landmark should be easy.
I’ve driven by the park countless times, but I never got the chance to check the place. The most I could do was snap this photo. Maybe this is the problem of being immersed in a place too long. One ceases to appreciate things that others travel miles just to see.
Anyway, Rizal Park is the shrine of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. It’s formerly called Luneta Park. During the time with the Philippines was still a colony of Spain, it was called Bagumbayan (which is short for Bagong Bayan, or New Town). On 30 December 1896, Jose Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan. Death through a firing squad, for his “subversive” ideas. Reminds of a conversation in a movie about someone’s terrorist being somebody else’s hero.
Rizal Park is across the Manila Hotel. It’s an open public park, so you could come anytime, for free of course. It’s location was discussed in our previous post on the Manila Ocean Park, which is just a few meters away from Rizal Park.
[...] to the park. There are a number of parks, like Luneta or the Baywalk in Manila, where the little ones could be themselves — run around like crazy. [...]