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By Go Bon Juan
Editor’s note: The Sixth Dr. Jose P. Rizal
Awards for Excellence awarding ceremony will be held at 7 p.m., June
14, 2008, at the Kaisa-Angelo King Heritage Center on Anda and
Cabildo streets, Intramuros, Manila.
The Philippines is on the map of Shanghai
literally and figuratively. Filipino musicians and artists have been
known in Shanghai even before the war. But literally, there is a
street in Shanghai called Luzon Road (formerly named Manila Road).
Dr. Gregorio Zaide mentioned in his Philippine
History and Civilization, published by the Philippine Education Co.
in 1939, that in the International Settlement in Shanghai there is
such a street. I confirmed this information recently through a map
found in the commemorative book, The Philippines in Shanghai, which
was published by the Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai in
2005 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of
the diplomatic relations between the Republic of the Philippines and
the People’s Republic of China.
It is the roadmap of Shanghai City in the 1930s.
Manila Road can be seen prominently in the lower-middle part of the
map.
Unfortunately, except for the fact that it was
in the former French settlement in Shanghai in the 1930s or before,
we don’t have more information about Manila Road. Why was it so
named? Was it because there were many residents from Manila or shops
owned by people from Manila, or were there many goods from Manila
being sold there? We can only guess.
Considering the fact that there were no other
streets named after capitals of other countries in that vicinity,
the Manila Road then seemed to be unique. Although Zaide mentioned
the La Union Hat Store of the Alobog family in Shanghai, there is a
picture of a 1937 billing statement of Tabaqueria Filipina Ltd. in
Shanghai in the book of The Philippines in Shanghai. They were both
located in the commercial street, Nanking Road, not on the Manila
road.
Nevertheless, the fact that there was a Manila
Road in Shanghai showed how close the relation between Manila and
Shanghai were even before the war. In fact, in 1948 there was
already a Philippine Consulate in Shanghai and in September 1946,
the Philippine Airlines had already the DC-3 carrier to have its
first flight to Shanghai that stopped over in Hong Kong.
Furthermore, the commemorative book says: “Its most celebrated
direct flight to Shanghai took off on the 26th of May 1948. Thirty
passengers were on board, including the son of the country’s
president, Thomas Quirino, the Chinese Consul General Tsu Shong-shan
and other Philippine government officials and journalists.”
My earlier article in the April 20, 2004 issue
of the Kaisa newspaper Tulay, “Pinoys in Shanghai,” cited
Zaide’s account, but it is quoted here again to highlight the
early presence of Pinoys in Shanghai victory: “During Spanish
times, Filipino mariners and traders had a colony at the back of the
Yangtze River across Shanghai. The site of the colony, now called
Pootung, still exists [it became the financial center of Shanghai
now], and the people living there are said to be descendants of
those early Filipino mariners who married Chinese women and settled
down.
“In Shanghai military circles, the Filipinos
are rated excellent shots. The Truesmann Cup, a rifle-shooting
trophy, was won by Sgt. Jose Cobarrubias in 1933, Lt. Agapito Celis
in 1934 and Sgt. Jesus Iglesias in 1936. The Municipal Challenge
Cup, another trophy for excellence in marksmanship, was won by Capt.
Honorio Evangelista in 1935. The Filipino Company Rifle team,
composed of Captain Evangelista, Sgt. Apolonio Orden and Sgt.
Iglesias won the International Cup of the Shanghai Rifle Association
in 1934 and 1935.
“Filipino musicians are rated among the best
in Hong Kong, Shanghai and other cities of China. They can be found
playing in swanky nightclubs, hotels and cafes. Pepito Alindada,
alumnus of Ateneo de Manila and brother of an ex-councilor of
Manila, is now acclaimed as the best band master in Shanghai.”
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