The Charm of Old Makati

I'm a fan of history, culture and arts and I try to immerse myself in it as much as I can. And in my limited time and budget, I have to make do with day trips to some historical place, usually an old church, which I so love to take pictures of.

I use the internet to research on my destinations. One of my favorite things to research and later on travel to about are old structures found in very modern cities. Some places I love to visit are the old churches of Manila, the old houses along Quiapo, Binondo and San Nicholas, the post war mansions in New Manila. The list goes on.


New in my list is my interest in local festivals and traditions. One of them that caught my atention is the Baile de los Arcos of Bgy. Poblacion in Makati. 


Makati to me has always been a 'new' city. I do not frequent it because I thought that besides the Ayala Museum, The murals along Reposo, and the Filipinas Heritage Library, I have nothing to visit there. Then I read a blog, Traveller on Foot. His blog is very compelling to read and from his blog I learned of The Baile de los Arcos. It is a tradition unique to the old town of Makati (The old town is now part of Bgy. Poblacion). Here, nine girls dance, pray and sing in honor of their town patrons: June 29th for Sts. Peter and Paul, and 30th for the Virgin of the Rose. This tradition is very old. It is started at around the 18th century and is still observed until now.

The Procession about to start from the centuries old church.

The procession route runs along a st. of the barangay.

The Baile starts after the High mass and procession held early morning on the two fiesta. I visited on the 30th, The feast of the Virgin of the Rose, so it is the image that is paraded on the streets.

The float carrying the image is positioned fronting the plaza and the stage where the girls will perform. 

After the hour long procession, the carroza bearing the image is positioned in front of the plaza. The girls and musicians take their places.

The image of  Virgen de la Rosa

A close up of the image

The nine girls take their places.

In my next post, I will describe the full Baile in detail. Till then!