Rizal Monument, Manila
It was December 30, 1896, a cool crisp morning in the Spanish colonial Manila. The drums were rolling and the crowds gathered in Bagumbayan, the place were so-called erehes and pilibusteros were executed. Along with the band from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan were some guardia civil, officials and several religious figures. At 7:06 in the morning, the loud command “fuego” jostled the crowd, and bullets hit the man in a black suit wearing a hat. It was Jose Rizal, so-called “leader of insurgents and a rebel.” But his death on that fateful morning has sealed the destiny of the Filipino people to fight for freedom against their European colonizers…the death that forever changed the history of the Filipino people.
More than a century later, I tried to retrace the last footsteps of Rizal by going to Luneta that morning. Unfortunately, I woke up late. Together with a companion, we traced back the last footsteps of Rizal, from Luneta all the way to Fort Santiago (well, we did in reverse for our convenience, hehe!) in several series.
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