With over 50 tricycles participating...
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| Melissa Sison-Oreta |
the campaign is led by Malabon Mayor Antolin 'Lenlen' Oreta III's chef-wife,
Melissa Sison-Oreta.
First Stop: San Bartolome de Malabon Parish
We begun with
San Bartolome de Malabon Parish. The
San Bartolome de Malabon Parish just celebrated its 400th anniversary. It was established by the Agustinian friars on May 17, 1614. It has twin bell towers that houses seven bells.
It has a Greek-Roman style facade with the triangular top and columns as support.
It has a beautiful golden carved wood door.
Outside by the door, we also saw these old bells.
Although preserving is baroque architectural structure, the church was been redressed with stunning colorful paintings by their local artists.
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| Tricycle Driver and Malabon City Tour Guide Abril Santos |
With our very polite and friendly tricycle driver
Abril Santos, my friend Sumi, Francis and I left St. Bartoleme Church to head of to
Concepcion Market.
Second Stop: Concepcion Market and Plaza
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| Okoy |
Even during the mid-day, the
Concepcion Market was busy. I couldn't help but stop to sniff the fragrant smell and listen to the delicious sizzles of the crispy Okoy (battered shrimp and beansprouts) being freshly made.
There were a wide-variation of products ...
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| Sweet Delicacies |
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| Fresh Fruits |
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| Longganisa, Kikiam, Rellenong Bangus, Tinapang Bangus and More |
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| Tapang Kabayo |
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| Fresh Vegetables |
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| Fresh Seafood |
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| More Fresh Seafood |
Third Stop: Artes de Paseo Gallery
We then set off to
Artes de Paseo Gallery where we got to see wonderful artistry and the paintings displayed are all for sale.
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| Artist Chris Magbuhos |
I really the work of
Chris Magbuhos. His oil paintings are really astounding with the wonderful mixture of shapes, textures and colors.
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| Melissa Sison-Oreta and Artist August Santiago |
On the field of acrylic painting, I'm piqued by the art pieces of
August Santiago.
Afternoon Snack
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| Valencia |
We had the
Valencia for snack. It was my first time to try it.
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| Valencia |
The
Valencia is a deep.fried caramel-coated triangle-shaped snack filled with banana and Biko (sticky sweet rice).
Fourth Stop: Ibaviosa's House
The
Ibaviosa's House is originally made of bamboo and nipa. It was built in 1940's as fruit of the Ibaviosa's success from the Patis-making industry.
Thus, at the back is a factory for patis. Patis is the main industry of Malabon.
There's also a small factory for pants.
Too bad they don't sell in retail. Their items are directly delivered to retailers.
Fifth Stop: Angel Cacnio Gallery
My favorite stop is the house turned gallery of
Angelo Cacnio, a multi-awarded National artist
whose paintings were used in our Philippine 20 and 100 peso bills circulated in 1982 and 1983. He also designed the Malabon Landmark icon in Letre Road.
Even the architecture of his house alone is worth the visit. It reminds me of our ancestral
Vigan home.
Upon walking in the
Angel Cacnio Gallery, I found his works to be
not only patriotic but very colorful and striking as well.
He has two houses...
There are more paintings...
but mostly photographs and documentations occupying every inch of the house. (Yes, even the restroom)
Sixth Stop: Raymundo's House
Our fifth stop is the
Raymundo's House which had a gate built in 1981. I never imagined how sturdy gates were during those days. The thick concrete boulders held the humongous wooden doors well.
On top, there is an Hapsburg Eagle symbolizing royalty. The roman numbers indicate the year it was established. This property used to host seafood trade during those days.
Seventh Stop: Oreta Sports Center
Malabon City's economic progress has paved way to the establishment of
the
Oreta Sports Complex. This is built only in 2006 and is constantly being renovated. Aside from the courts, it also has two outdoor pools at the back available for the
public: 1 big pool and 1 kiddie pool.
Eight Stop: Malabon City Hall
Our last stop was the 11-storey
Malabon City Hall. It was so cool with lots of elevators. We got to check out the top floor where they have a Multi-purpose hall, an indoor airconditioned and
sound system equipped hall for public events.
It also leads to an open air penthouse. We got to view the beautiful sunset, the town of Navotas and the entire
Malabon City from there.
Overall, we
Travel Tripsters highly recommend for you to try this out. It's just an hour away from
Manila utmost. It's very affordable and one-of-its-kind. You can add restaurant stops to and negotiate a reasonable rate for it.
For more information call the
Malabon Tourism Office: 281-4999 Loc. 1003 or call/text the Malabon TODA Association at (0918) 651-7343 | (0922) 950-1500 | (0922) 809-3010.
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