Luneta is alive again

Shot with my Nikon D-3100. yipee!

Luneta, once go-to place by Manilenos, is alive once again, thanks to the efforts of the current Luneta administration to encourage and bring together numerous cultural acts to enliven the place. 


Luneta, or Bagumbayan to those who lived during the Spanish era, was an entertainment place. It was here where people flock to have a picnic, or play games. Of course, this place was also witness to horrific crimes and executions of martyrs, those who oppose the Spanish administration.


Now, Luneta is still like that--a place of entertainment and at some point in its life, a haven of the destitute and the criminal. 

shot again with my Nikon D-3100

Fortunately, some people realized to make every Saturday and Sunday a show day for families at the Luneta. When I was a kid, we used to go to Luneta, all of us family, including my grandparents, and encamp there. 


There, I learned how to fly a kite, enjoy volleyball, play soccer and badminton. Luneta, really, is the biggest park in the entire Metro. It can accommodate more than a million people at one time. Government's plan to revitalize the place is excellent, to say the least.


Luneta is full of colors, every single weekend, a feast to the eyes and a delight to numerous amateur photographers, like myself. 

After so many years, I have saved enough to buy me a Nikon D-3100. It is not much. But it is turning out to be what I expected it to be---a delight to me and my family. 


Look at what I did with this church, I think this is an Augustinian church in Intramuros. I used the Nikon D-3100, great for amateurs like me.


I am greatly impressed with the photos I've taken so far. I just can't wait to go out of the Metro and take as many photos of this wonderful country of ours. Of course, budget would be a consideration but if the Department of Tourism (DOT) would just allow bloggers like me to go out more often, I would promote this country.


There are many beautiful things this country has to offer. Filipinos are a beautiful race, and it is a delight to take photos of Filipinos.


By the way, yesterday, I also took photos of floats which were featured in the Luneta affair. You know, my family and I just stumbled upon the affair. We did'nt know that there is one. I was just looking for subjects when we chanced upon this wonderful event.

My two lovely kids

I want my kids to enjoy what I was given a chance of when I was still a young child. Those were the days when you can stroll around every park and not worry about your safety. Yes, those were martial law days, but, hey, officials are not as greedy as we have right now. As they say, during those days, there was only one family getting all the spoils. 


Now, there is a pack of ravenous wolves out there, getting ready to get their share of the loot. 


Anyway, with the things being done right now by this administration, this specie of the bureaucracy would, hopefully, be a thing of the past. 


My kids enjoyed the floats, especially this one. This is one of the floats of the participating city in the festival. There is also another one, from Baguio, straight from Panagbenga. 


There is a feeling of pride when I saw these floats. Filipinos, despite their poverty, love to party and enjoy. This day, I realized that the culture of the Filipino is still being much promoted and practised by most of us. We have'nt lost an inch to globalization. Yes, many of us are now exposed to a globalized culture, but fortunately, our own remains or continues to hold itself mightily against others.

We are proud to see our heritage being paraded before the eyes of the world. These events at the Luneta is one way of really telling every one that we are still alive, that Manila is still pulsing with great activity and that we are a unique people.


We love being in the thick of things. We are an active people. 


I just hope that government encourages more activities in Luneta so that people will once again appreciate this place.