One Last Look at Dia Del Galeon Manila 2010

I managed to get these shots from my friend Dennis's facebook. He's a Mabuhay Guide and a former ballet dancer for the CCP. Luckily, he was able to board it and he snapped some great photos.

A message from Dia Del Galeon posted on my Facebook page: 

Friends, we thank you for your comments and suggestions and we do hope to make the registration as seamless as possible for the next time it arrives. We really wanted people to see the galleon and that is why we chose to give it to the people for free. And as this was the first run, we now know the issues that we can work on--booths for water, lines for disabled and seniors, tents, more ushers and staff, weekend run, longer run etc. You comments are very well noted for the next run of the galleon.  And please feel free to send us more comments at diadelgaleon@yahoo.com. We might not get back to your right away, but we will get back to you.

The whole galleon business was not an easy task.  All the pier's in Manila are not suitable for galleons anymore so we had to work with a private pier and it was still not suitable. We had to rent extra fenders and other items so that the galleon could fit in Pier 13. The cost was enormous not only to bring this galleon in, but for it to even stay in Manila. The pier had many restrictions such as load capacity and visitor registration. Actually that pier cannot hold a lot of people at one time, it is not stable and could cave in. Further the boat could only accommodate 300-400 in an hour.  At one point, about 5000 people arrived even before registration opened, so the safest thing to do was to turn people away. As much as we wanted to accommodate everyone, if we did, the pier would cave in and the boat would be destroyed, and alot of people would have gotten hurt. And to top it off, it rained. So all the things that could have happened did happen.

Also, we wanted the entire country to see the galleon, that is why we worked with other provinces, so that the people in other parts of the country could see the galleon. And it seems like the pier's everywhere else are more suitable for a galleon than the pier in Manila. Isnt that such an irony?
Again, thank you for your comments and support. And we are so glad that people are interested in our history. If you were inconvenienced, we do apologize. The Filipinos were an important part of the Galleon Trade. We built the Galleons, and almost 80% of the crew on the Galleons were Filipino.

Thank you again!
Sincerely,

Dia Del Galeon

A View of the Galleon

Can you spot the Galleon Andalucia?

This was as near as I could get to the famed galleon replica. I was hoping to board it last Saturday along with my friends so we dragged ourselves out of bed to be there as early as 8am. We got to the pier an hour late and we were met with a crowd of thousands. Apparently, even people who got there at 7am were no longer being let in because there were just too many people. It was quite sad because I had wanted to write about the experience for PDI. We consoled ourselves with some halo-halo and putobumbong at the nearby hotel. It was there where I managed to sneak in to catch a glimpse of the galleon.

A lot of people left annoyed and disappointed that day.  A friend of mine was willing to check out other piers or even rent a boat to be able to see it.  I could hear the familiar rumblings of, "Only in da Philippines!" One photographer angrily snap, "Kaya maraming umaalis sa Pilipinas eh" as he was leaving the venue. I think that's uncalled for because this could have happened anywhere. However, I do believe in not letting it happen again so I'm offering some constructive criticism to the organizers.

1. Charge an entrance fee. Students should be free but no one is going to mind paying P50 or even P100 to take part in this. This would have helped manage the crowd and provided some basic amenities like a shady area to wait in.
2.  There should have been other activities near the boat that could have kept people busy. A tent with an exhibit would've done wonders to calm people's nerves and would've gotten their minds off the wait. An exhibit would have also helped to educate people about the galleon trade.
3.  Most people (including myself) are constricted by a 9 to 5 job. So I have no choice to go except on Saturday. It defeats the purpose of Dia del Galeon to sail a galleon all the way here and have it closed off on a Saturday- the day that was sure to attract the most visitors. It should have docked for a full weekend.
4. Lastly, they should have allowed people to line up on the pier so that at least, everyone could have seen the galleon. It can be explained to the crowds that boarding will no longer be feasible due to time constraints. But everyone who made the effort to come should have gone home with a picture of the galleon safely tucked in their mind but better yet, stored in their digicams. No one can be sour when they're posing for a picture!

So for those like me who were shut out, here's a peek from high up and far far away.

I hope that they sort it all out because I for one am looking forward 

to boarding the galleon next year.

The Return of the Manila Galleon

 

If you happened to be in Manila Bay on the morning of October 6 and you spotted a 17th century ship sailing towards the shore, do not panic. Ghost pirates are not attacking. You are looking at the famed Manila Galleon, grand ships built in Manila during the Spanish colonial times. After a century and half of being absent, it is coming home in the form of a working replica christened, “Andalucía”. This replica was built late last year as part of the Dia Del Galeon Festival and it’s travelled from Spain to China and now to the Philippines using the power of the wind, two emergency diesel engines, and minimal navigation and communications technology.

The Manila galleons were the world’s first supersized malls. The largest ships of their time, they were once laden with the treasures from Southeast Asia, China, India, and Arabia. They carried goods like porcelain wares, silks, spices, jades, jewels and luxury items to Mexico and the rest of the Americas and even Europe. When the ships came back from Mexico, it brought home chests filled with the Spanish Dollar or silver pieces of 8, the first world currency. The galleons allowed for the lucrative Manila-Acapulco trade to thrive from 1565-1815.

These giants of the seas voyaged once or twice a year serving primarily as vessels for exchanging goods but it also transported the cultural cargo of two Spanish colonies, eventually paving the way for a global exchange. Here are some quirky trivia you may not have known about the Filipino Mexican connection:

-       Mexicans gave Filipinos words like “tatay” and “nanay” from their own “tata” and “nana” meaning father and mother. Filipinos gave them the words “palay” and “palapa.” Palapa is coconut frond in Filipino while in Mexico; “palapa” is a beach hut.

-       In Mexico, a clan with the last name “Maganda” has resided for more than 2 centuries. People from their area have the habit of drinking sap of a coconut which they call “tuba”.

-       The town of Mexico, Pampanga was originally named Masicu because of the abundance of chico that grew there. But the Mexican emigrants who settled there renamed it.

-       The Philippines got a taste of Mexico’s through culinary flavors like sampaloc, achuete, and tsokolate batirol. Filipinos added sugar, groundnuts, or milk making for their own version of the Aztec drink

-       80% of the crew on the galleons was Filipino. Perhaps it was due to the Manila-Acapulco trade that the Philippines developed an enduring relationship with the sea and shipbuilding. Filipinos are currently the most sought after seafarers making up 1 out of 3 seamen in the world.

Learn more at the exhibit “Connecting Continents: The Filipino in the Galleon” at the Senate Building and by boarding the Galleon Andalucía at Pier 13, South Harbor, Manila from October 6-9. Open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is free. These events are part of the Dia Del Galeon Festival organized by UNESCO, NCCA, and the office of Senator Angara. For more information contact: Ms. Charisse Aquino-Tugade (632) 527 2192 local 616 or email diadelgaleon@yahoo.com.

The Return of the Manila Galleon to Manila

This is a video of the Galleon Andalucia, a full replica of the Manila galleons that used to sail from Acapulco to Manila as early as 1565. Now, it's on its way back to Manila Bay as the Philippines hosts the International Dia del Galeon Festival 2010: History, Heritage, Habitat, and Language starting October 5. I'm actually very curious to get aboard this ancient vessel. I want to ask the Captain how it's like to control of a large multi-decked ship that's powered only by the wind. It would be pretty cool if they're also limited to using the technologies available in the 1500s but that's probably not possible. How would they blog on board?

Kudos to UNESCO for spearheading the Day of the Galleon as way to pay tribute to this crucial trade route that fostered exchanges among 32 communities, which include the Asian countries of Japan, China, Borneo, Malaysia, Vietnam (to name a few). For over 250 years, the Philippine port was an integral part of global commerce encouraging the mingling of cultures between the East to the West.

Find out more by checking out these events:

MANILA SCHEDULE FOR THE DIA DEL GALEON FESTIVAL 2010

*ARTES TALLERES: THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP

September 20 to October 8

Venues: National Museum, National Historical Commission , DOT WOW Clamshell Intramuros

A three-week interdisciplinary festival of workshops, demonstrations, exhibits, and performances with participants from the Philippines and all the continents with the Galleon Trade experience Participants (artists and cultural workers) include 40 from abroad and 100 from the Philippines.

 ·           Workshops on arts and heritage

 ·           Collaborative workshops on cultural exchange

 ·           Theatrical production of Miguel Sabido's Juana la Loca

 ·           Literary and visual art exhibits

*PACLAS LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CONFERENCE

October 5: De la Salle University, Taft

October 6: University of Sto. Tomas, Manila

A forum organized by the Philippine Academic Consortium of Latin American Studies, which will bring together scholars to share current research.   This year's theme is "The Bicentennial of the Independence of Latin American Nations."

 ·           The emergence of Latin American identities including the role of culture and language in nationhood

 ·           Independence movements, personalities, and leaders

 ·           Post-Colonial Development, including national and regional histories

 ·           Parallelism in the Philippines

Results of the ARTES TALLERES will be showcased in this conference as modular artistic models showcasing themes on the Galleon Phenomenon (Then and Now) and on the Independence Movements of nations impacted by the Galleon Trade.

*ESPECTACULOS

October 6 to 8

A harvest of performances and media arts modules reflecting on the themes of the Galleon Trade through its history and impact. It will include multi-cultural performances, with a climatic production of Juana la Loca by Mexican playwright Miguel Sabido. The play will fuse Spanish and Filipino languages in a unique intercultural dialogue involving a multinational cast.

*GALEON ANDALUCIA

A replica of the 17th Century Galleon from Spain will dock in the Manila Pier for public viewing. Guests can climb aboard and view the traveling museum.

*REUNION

October 8

An intercultural dialogue and culminating activity for workshop participants and guests. This will include presentations, creative industry exhibits, and declarations for unified action on the themes and impact of the Galleon Trade.

Major resolutions and artistic results will be highlighted by special messages from the Heads of State of the three main countries of Spain, the Philippines, and Mexico. This special program will be beamed in a simultaneous international broadcast.

*VIAJE DEL GALEON

October 8 to 11

A four-day educational trip from Manila to Cebu with on-board activities and tours around Cebu. The conference and workshop participants will lead the activities, to be shared to youth passengers.

 ·           On-board seminars, interactive performances, exhibits

 ·           On-land Galleon Trade significance re-enactments, city and heritage tours

*COMMEMORATIVE and REGIONAL EVENTS

A series of commemorative events and gestures will be programmed to provide focus and emphasis to this international celebration.

 ·           Commemorative Stamp displaying the Galleon Trade route

 ·           Bilingual declamation and oratorical contests

 ·           Pilgrimage to the 35 Philippine heritage churches

3D Rendition of the Galleon Ship

For more information log onto www.ncca.gov.ph, www.diadelgaleon.blogspot.com, Facebook, email diadelgaleon@yahoo.com or call 527-2192 local 616.