Martial Law in the Philippines has been told so many different ways. But there is a gem at the heart of Quezon City that will open your eyes to the horrible truth during one of the darkest times of our history,
Seven vans with 8-10 travel and lifestyle bloggers invaded Quezon City and visited historical, cultural entertainment, and food venues to celebrate the 75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of the Great, Green, and Growing city of the Philippines. The tour, dubbed #QCBlogventure, opened the eyes of these bloggers to places in Quezon City, they never knew existed! Personally, it was such a pleasant field trip for me!
I used to live in Quezon City and I have been passing by these major places, I’ve always wondered what they were but my curiosity never led me to actually go there. The #QCBlogventure tour finally got me to see and experience the place up close.
This was the first time I learned that we have a Martial Law museum…
Bantayog ng Mga Bayani
If you are from North Fairview, coming from Commonwealth Avenue going to EDSA towards Quezon Avenue, you will see this monument on your left side. This is the Bantayog ng mga Bayani or Shrine of Heroes.
The shrine is where heroes of Martial Law were honored and their names etched on granite walls. The wall of the heroes used to be surrounding the monument, but when the names grew rapidly and so it was transferred to the user to be a vacant lot now a beautiful park of remembrance.
Museo ng Bantayog
Behind this again is the Jovito R. Salongga Building where the Museo ng Bantayog can be found. This is where all the memorabilia and everything else from the Martial Law leading to the EDSA Revolution is exhibited. You may call this a Martial Law activist museum. They also have a 1 hour documentary about martial law all the way to EDSA revolt in case you want to watch. The museum is open to the public with a Php50.00 entrance fee.
There’s more to see inside the museum and are too heavy to share, there’s a documentary show and other installations that will make you feel what the Martial Law victims felt during those times.
ETON Centris
We all think this was just built somewhere in 2000 but we were told it was built in the 1990s. There are many other ETON places around the Philippines but the ETON was relevant to Quezon’s non-stop economic growth. Eton Centris is about 17 hectares. All the way to that new McDonald’s almost near Kamuning is part of ETON Centris Quezon City. Eton Centris is easily accesible via Quezon Avenue MRT Station.
But what makes me wonder a lot about this place (and I am sure you also wondered too), is what are those gigantic mushroom-like structures all about. Does it have a technical purpose or something or is it purely aesthetic? I used to think it serves as a vacuum for air or something as it is always breezy in the area, it is so nice to hang out in there. So the truth be told, it is for aesthetics only and those structures are called The Constellation!
Chinatown in Banawe Quezon City
Long before the Chinatown in Manila, there was Chinatown in Quezon City. The Chinatown was there because Intramuros used to be off-limits to Chinese people during the Spanish Era in the Philippines. The Spaniards think very low of the Chinese and they think they are inferiors so they drive them away from Manila and Quezon City, particularly in Banawe where they find their home.
Now the area is filled with auto-mechanic shops and Chinese restaurants. It only took us a few minutes to find a nice Chinese place to dine in for heavy before-dinner snacks haha and we even have to use Waze to find it (Thanks to Kat Enerva for navigating!) Eat Fresh is a Famous Hongkong Street Food venue serving all sorts of delicious street food like Laksa, Hot Pots, Dimsum, Fried Noodles, and many more!
Stay gorgeous everyone!
