Casa Manila

One of the houses inside Plaza San Luis Complex inside Intramuros, Manila is Casa Manila.




The house museum  showcases a life style of the Illustrados - the rich Filipinos during the 19th-20th century, who were given almost equal privileges as the Spaniards who ruled our country then.

It has a beautiful courtyard which presently is a popular choice for wedding reception venue and other events. 

The house is huge and now a days it could easily be mistaken as a hotel. But during the 19th-20th century, it was just but a typical home of an Illustrado family. Inside are authentic antique furniture of the said era.

It was a Monday ( photos taken in 2010 ). The museum was close. Cousins were very insistent. I suggested we used the exit stairs to enter the house.

A guardia civil ( guard in character of Spanish soldier ) suddenly appeared by the kitchen window and stopped us from entering the premises. haha. 

Oh well, have you noticed?_ I knew quite well my way in here? Hold tight cos I'm going to reveal to you one of my secrets...

I used to reside in this house.. eerie? haha. It's me! 16 years ago! Relief?.. that I didn't say hundred years ago? haha.

Fact is : I was assigned there for couple of months when I was an employee of Dept. of Tourism. How's that?  Yes my dear, yours truly was once a bonafide government employee ( for a long time actually). 

Now, I'm not going to just give you a peek of the museum but also of my shameless vintage photos, taken pre-digital years, haha.

A blast in the past!

Right here ( daughter & me photo) my older daughter was only 3 years old.

 There was a period that I didn't have a nanny so I had to sneak her in and brought her to work everyday. Haay, the story of my working mom life. Now, this girl is turning 19 next month. Can you believe it?

Yes, I had to sport sets of authentic Filipina dresses of 19th-20th century as daily uniforms.

If you're going to visit the museum these days, the included exhibit of the 19th-20th centuries Filipino dresses during my time, is ofcourse not there anymore. It was just a season exhibit which was also why we were assigned there for a certain period only.

I actually attempted to give you a short tour of the house and wanted to share something about the specific parts shown on the old photos. Mind you, we memorized a scripted 5 pages tour of the museum and had them recited everyday for every visitor/group , countless times a day.
So here, after 16 years, approaching (if not there yet, in denial?) old age, I couldn't grasp a word . I couldn't even remember the parts of the room.

I just hope the vintage photos somehow gave you a glimpse of what's inside, and hey  Casa Manila museum is just there in Intramuros , in case you haven't been there and keen on a heritage tour.

Plaza San Luis

Let's indulge in a small historical city tour. Inside Intramuros, Manila, one of the interesting places to visit is Plaza San Luis Complex.




A feel of Spanish era conveyed right upon at the entrance of the complex with the guard in ensemble worn by a guardia civil during the said era.

Plaza San Luis is named after one of the old barrios of old Intramuros, this is a cultural-cum-commercial complex currently composed of five houses - Casa Manila, Casa Urdaneta, Casa Blanca, Los Hidalgos and El Hogar Filipino. You would find a museum, a restaurant , a cafe, a hotel, events venue, a souvenir shop inside this villa while being transported to an era of the Illustrado , the privileged class of the 19th century to early 20th century. Enjoy taking a peek of the lifestyle an Illustrado ruled from authentic replicas of the structures during the Spanish colonial era.

the hotel

the gift /souvenir shop - The Papier Tole. see here




And this pretty coutyard is actually part of Casa Manila. see here.

Paper Tole

 In the midst of  busy heavy heart days, I found light weight surprises at the Papier Tole Shop. A shop chockablock with colorful paper art creations and many pretty others.

The shop was being manned by a staff who was also a paper tole random artist himself. On his table I saw folded papers, about to emerge as another art creations.

Snap facts on paper tole :
Paper tole, also known as three-dimensional decoupage, is the art of handcrafting three-dimensional pictures from flat prints. Paper tole art is created by skillfully cutting, shaping, and assembling pieces of paper layered onto an image until a three-dimensional version of the image emerges. Though paper tole is an art form that stems from decoupage, a paper craft that originated sometime in the 18th century involving cut pieces of paper shellacked onto wooden furniture and other objects, paper tole has reemerged over the years in several different forms. While framed prints are most popular, people often employ the techniques of paper tole when creating handmade greeting cards and other paper 
crafts. 

Others thu' not paper tole tickled the same effect on me. God is  so good_ He created us to create something, for others to get by and get inspired.