Manila's Quiapo district is considered to be the old business centre of the city, in where you can buy cheap stuff at very low prices. In addition, it is in Quiapo Church is located in this distict, famous for the feast of the Black Jesus Nazarene, which is attended by millions of believers. In the very centre of the district is Miranda Square, named in honour of Jose Sandino Miranda, the Minister of Finance of the Philippines in the mid-19th century. The square, located directly across from the Quiapo Church, - is a popular place for political marches and rallies. It was here in August 1971 that a bomb exploded during a march of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, killing 9 people and injuring more than 100.
A large number of Muslims live in the Quiapo district - the Golden Mosque and the Green Mosque were built for them. And around the Quiapo church there is always a real army of fortune tellers, who offer everyone not only to tell their fortunes for the future, but also to buy some healing herb. The biggest problem in the area is the sale of contraband goods and small gangs of bandits.
Up until the 1970s, Quiapo, like the surrounding neighbourhoods of Avenida, Binondo, Santa Cruz, Escolta and the so-called University Belt, was the centre of commerce, fashion, art, higher education and home to Manila's elite. But when a light-rail transitway was built over Rizal Avenue, dirt and exhaust fumes covered the streets below, making them dirty and grimy. As a result, residents began to flee the area in droves, replaced by thugs of all stripes. Only after the People's Revolution of 1986 the situation began to change, and flea markets and souvenir shops began to appear next to the popular Quiapo Church. In recent years, the Manila administration has embarked on a project a project to revitalise Quiapo and its environs, with a particular focus on the to the university belt. A portion of Rizal Avenue from Carriedo Street to Claro Avenue Recto was turned into a pedestrian shopping strip.
Despite the neighbourhood's shortcomings, Quiapo is considered a very popular tourist attraction. The famous Rue Felix Hidalgo is called “a paradise for photographers” because here you can buy a wide variety of photographic equipment at prices much lower than market prices. But it's also a paradise for lovers of all kinds of trinkets, which are sold here at every turn. The street is always busy - pedestrians shopping, taxis offering their services, and numerous tourists admiring the old architecture of the district. At the end of the 19th century, Hidalgo Street was considered the most beautiful street in Manila. Today, the city administration is working on projects to restore the late 19th and early 20th century houses that create its unique flavour. Among the most interesting are the Little Basilica of St Sebastian, the already mentioned Quiapo Church, Ocampo Pagoda, the Nacpil-Bautista House, where the composer Julio Nacpil lived, the neoclassical Paterno mansion, the Enriquez family mansion, once called the most beautiful house in the Philippines, and other houses.
