When I was a kid, I heard a rumor that my paternal grandmother was from Ermita in Manila. Like most kids, I couldn't comprehend a time when my grandmother was not the person who I met as a child.
It wasn't until a relative sent me her marriage contract that I was able to confirm this rumor to be true. The marriage contract said that she was married at Ermita Church which did not make any sense to me. I asked my father if she met my grandfather in Manila but my father replied that they met in Zamboanga. He explained that it was tradition for people to get married in the bride's hometown.
I also learned recently that the name Guia (which is my grandmother's name) is the equivalent of the name Pilar in Zamboanga city. A lot of women from Ermita are named after the Nuestra Señora de Guia.
A few weeks ago, I invited a friend to visit a stamp exhibition at the Robinson's Mall in Ermita.
On the way to the restaurant on UN avenue where we were going to have lunch, I saw old walls and some trees. Looking at the map, I realized that I stumbled upon Paco Park.
I remember my late aunt telling me that my grandmother used to come to Paco Park to attend concerts whenever she was in Manila. I decided to go inside thinking that I might find some connection with her in that place.
Paco Park is very beautiful with its old walls and old trees. Inside, there is a chapel that also looks very old.
Not many know that the three priest martyrs were buried here.
Jose Rizal also used to be buried at Paco Cemetery.
Since I didn't know where the parents of my paternal grandmother were buried, I asked the security guard if the people who used to live in Ermita were buried in Paco Cemetery but unfortunately, he didn't know.
After the stamp exhibit at Robinson's Mall, we went to the Ermita Church.
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