Kiapo: Where Quiapo, Manila Got Its Name

The trip to Liliw, Laguna was an eye opener for me since I was taking pictures of those kawai green floating plants that remind me of my childhood in ricefields and on the shores of Laguna de Bay. My ate who saw me remarked, "Pati ba naman yang kiapo kinukunan mo ng picture? (You take pictures even of that water cabbage?)," when it dawned on me that those floating plants were actually what I was searching for for some time now.

All the while I thought they're called azolla that I see almost everyday floating on a pond in Ayala Triangle! :(

Some of you may ask why but these plants used to thrive in the area of Manila now called Quiapo, the seedy yet exciting district of Manila that I love to visit!

Kiapo, water cabbage in english and scientific name Pistia Stratiotes, have fan-like leaves and brown, porous ends servings as roots and grow floating on stagnant water. Large concentrations of these floating plants make good hiding places for surface fishes like gouramies (freshwater fish species introduced in the Philippines possibly from Thailand).

Kiapo plants near 25 centavo coins to give you an idea of their size (taken somewhere in Biak-na-bato National Park in Bulacan)

Now, all I need to look for and take actual pictures of is the elusive Nilad tree, a certain species of mangrove (bakawan) that used to grow profusely in Manila and where Manila got its name.

I blogged/joked some time ago that Manila should change its name to Walang Nila since there are no longer Nila trees growing in the city; I don't think I can also joke about that when the same proposition applies also to Quiapo's long lost kiapo dwellers.

Quiapo attractions:

1. Quiapo Church - Church of the Black Nazarene where the fiesta is held every 9th of February. Within the vicinity of this church you can buy various herbal medicines including abortifacients. Also fortune tellers using tarot cards ply their trade here. Quite ironic for a place of worship
2. Plaza Miranda
3. Hidalgo Street- where you can buy cheap cameras, lenses, tripods, and other photographic supplies and equipment
4. Raon (Gonzalo Puyat) - electronics, parts, musical instruments, trophies, hardware tools et al
5. San Sebastian Church- an all-steel church in Asia, built in Belgium, and designed by the company of Gustave Eiffel
6. Bahay Nakpil-Bautista on Calle Barbosa (now A. Bautista Street)
7. Manila Golden Mosque on Globo de Oro St.
8. Villalobos and Bautista: sidestreets full of pirated DVDs, CDs and bootlegged materials
9. Evangelista St where to buy industrial pumps and generators
10. Ronquillo St where to buy cheap eyeglasses and optical supplies

Please refer also to my earlier blog post about this here where a picture of the Nila (not Nilad) is posted.

How to Get to Quiapo