We started with Part 1 in #9 Madrid Blog Series. This Part 2 has more to do with my “Noynoying” moments here in Madrid. 💤💤💤 It’s been a month and a week now. Done with apartment hunting, appliance shopping, scrubbing, sweeping, cleaning and all that pile of bedlinen and towel laundry. So before I start feeling truly domesticated here in Madrid, I stepped out in search of more of Rizal’s favorite haunts. But not without a few moments of “Noynoying”. The “branding” started while I’m away, and I’ve got to say it’s funny and highly irreverent. Disculpe (“excuse me”) ….. for giving in to the temptation of actually using the brand for a blog title. 😜
The above photos were taken from the Philippine Embassy in Madrid. Jardin Rizal was dedicated in memory of Dr. Jose Rizal on his 150th birth anniversary last June 19, 2011. The Juan Luna Painting — España y Filipinas — couldn’t be more appropriate. One passes this lovely reproduction upon entrance to the Office of the Ambassador.
Earlier, I walked around the block 👣behind Teatro Español where I found Hotel Ingles, Los Gabrielles (now a cafe bar with flamenco 💃dinner shows) and Viva Madrid. I also wrote separate blogs 📖on Parque Retiro and Avenida Rizal/Islas de Filipinas where you find a replica monument of the hero. ⛲ This time, let me take you to places where JPR lived 🏠 (there were many — to a point that I felt JPR has been hopping from place to place), studied and joined protests.
The Congreso de Los Diputados, formerly the Las Cortes Españolas, is the site where Filipinos including our very own heroes used to lobby for equal rights with Spanish citizens. This site, which is a stone’s throw from the Museo de Prado is where the Pinoy community rallied for Philippine autonomy. Makibaka! There is also the Ateneo de Madrid where Rizal studied English, did research and watched plays. His second residence along Calle Manuel Fernández Gonzáles, 8 (formerly C/ Visitación) from May to June 1883 is right across Viva Madrid, one of his favorite haunts. I can just imagine Rizal and other propagandists meeting and dining here after a few drinks at Los Gabrielles off the corner.
Did I just say dining and wining? Those nocturnal activities, in between studies, art exhibits and rallies? Por supuesto! Our heroes were thousands of miles and oceans away from family and country. No internet. No television. No cellphones. No Facebook, no games! No wonder they wrote many letters! 📮📫Surely, they needed some moments of pleasure and leisure to break the monotony. And mind you, they were dead serious and passionate about their struggles for freedom and recognition. Far from “Noynoying”? You tell me. 😏
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