Manila’s district
“What’s in a Name?: Manila and the Names of its Districts”
by Karl De Santos (2023)
What’s in a name? And where did the names of Manila’s district come from?
Here is a playful take by Karl De Santos, a member of Renacimiento Manila, presenting the names of Manila’s historic districts as well as the origin of their names. The work is partly inspired by the icons used by Carlos “Botong” Francisco for one panel of his opus “FIlipino Struggles Through History”, where the artist used icons beside the names of the districts to represent them.
Manila’s district
- Tondo
- Sta. Ana
- Intramuros
- Pandacan
- Paco
- Sta. Cruz
- Ermita
- Quiapo
- Binondo
- San Nicolas
- San Miguel
- Malate
- Sampaloc
- Sta. Mesa
- San Andres Bukid
- Port Area
What is the best district of Manila in your opinion? Comment down below. 🙂
Note:
Some of the names of Manila’s districts, including the name of the city itself, came from plants, while the rest are from saints. In the case of Tondo, Karl used the old interpretation (as popularized by the writer and National Artist, Nick Joaquin) that the name of the oldest district in Manila came from a description of the height of the terrain. Interpretations of the origins of Tondo’s name have changed in recent years.
Binondo is shown with hilly terrain. In old maps of Manila (until the 1700s), Binondo is labeled as Binondoc. Interestingly, in topographical maps, Binondo appears as a ground relatively higher than the surrounding area (along with adjacent parts of Santa Cruz and San Nicolas.
There is always something interesting to share and know about Manila’s history.
Mabuhay ang Maynila!
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