Viva Manila: A Carlos Celdran Downtown Tour

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Carlos Celdran is Filipino tour guide, cultural activist and performer artist (from Wikipedia). I would agree to this. I attended his tour and he was a great tour guide. I am supporting his petition about the Torre being built that would destroy the beauty of Rizal Park. Lastly, I saw him sing a song at the Miramar hotel. He is very famous for his Rabbit Ears headband.

Reminders from Mr. Celdran at MMDA Safety Park

He has been offering tours to the people, both foreigners and locals, to appreciate the beauty and rich culture of the Philippines. Some of his famous tours are: Intramuros Tour, Binondo Tour, Imelda CCP Tour.

We joined the 2^nd Viva Manila Tour last September 8, 2013. Although it rained, it doesn’t stop us to continue the tour and enjoy the magnificent downtown manila. We had a walk tour around Padre Faura, Malate, U.N Avenue, Roxas Blvd. and Ermita. You will learn a lot of fun facts from Carlos. It’s a FREE TOUR, which makes it more FUN.

We discovered this free tour in his Fan Page in Facebook. Here is a sample post that he has.

Some of the facts, I remembered:

1. Imelda Marcos established MMDA. She’s the Queen of MMDA ( Acts like a governor)
2. MMDA top position is not as important as before. (Janitor of the mayors)
3. Imelda is the brain of why Edsa existed.
4. She’s also responsible for the commercialization of the Harrison Park.
5. Ermita was named after the word HERMIT ( I forgot why, forgive me)
6. Carlos lived at the Miramar Hotel and watched the 9-11 news there.

JadeVine's Sign for our tour group 

The flow of the VIVAMANILA Downtown Manila Tour

Visit and educate yourself at the MMDA Safety Park 

Jeepney Ride to Mabini St.

Visit an art museum ( Maria Closa: Arts Primities Antiques)

Visit a 1945 store (Tesoro’s)Visit a Hotel [Lotus]

Visit Solidaridad Bookstore ( unfortunately, the store owner didn’t open for us)

Visit a famous bakery – Hizon’s

Visit HIRAYA Gallery

Free Pika-Pika food from JadeVine c/o Manila City Hall

 Visit Miramar Hotel for their Art Deco 

Group Picture in Luneta/ Rizal Park

My Latest Luneta Pic without any building behind.

  

The whole trip lasted for 3 hours, but it was really worth it. You’ll appreciate how beautiful Manila is. I fell in love with the rich cultural heritage that still exists. After the trip, it made me realize that there are still more places to visit around Manila. I hope that more people can visit these places.

I can't hide my happiness because Carlos Celdran re tweeted, favorited and liked my photo in Twitter and Instagram :) I know he's the admin of his own account and not just any person. :)

I will post our experiences for each destination we been to throughout this trip. I would just like to share to you a glimpse of what a VIVA Manila tour is. Watch out for the next Viva Manila tour on the 3rd week of October.

Enjoy!