By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Cubao used to be the place to be in Quezon city in the 1960s and 1970s. That was the time when Novaliches was still an agricultural enclave, a rice producing area. I used to walk over stretches of dikes of rice fields to visit one of my relatives who decided to relocate to the place, who was copying word for word, some of the original manuscripts of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Ateneo. Other places were largely underdeveloped.
In the 1980s, some parts of Quezon City, the biggest city in Metro Manila in terms of area, rose to economic importance. But Cubao was still the place to be. The area itself then was not dotted by big buildings. The place was synonymous with Araneta Center. It was less than two kilometers away from where I spent all my high school days in Proj. 3, Q.C. Yes, Q.C. was where several housing projects for government employees were developed. It started with Project 1 and ended with Project 8.
The Aranetas built the iconic, Araneta coliseum. It was the biggest covered coliseum in the world when it opened in 1960. It was still the largest of its kind in Asia for the next 40 years when it was surpassed by another in Japan, in 2001.
The coliseum dominated the panorama of Cubao for several decades. It was majestically standing alone and clearly viewed from all around it without any obstruction from a distance of about 100 meters away. Presumably, the Aranetas did not build any big structure very near it for quite sometime so as not to diminish its global reputation, and for others to savor its enigmatic presence. It was a source of pride. It opened with a bang when it hosted the Flash Elorde vs. Harold Gomes world boxing championship, in 1960. Fifteen years later, it also hosted the immortal clash between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight championship in a ‘Thrilla In Manila’.
There were small buildings though from beyond that distance, such as the Fun Center where my classmates and I used to while away some of our time after classes. It is no longer existing. The farmers’ market was soon built as another important landmark for businesses. Then came cinemas, malls and a 7-storey department store called Manila C.O.D, which put on an annual “animated” Christmas show of mechanically moving characters. It was viewed by thousands of spectators every night from the time it opened in November and ending the first Sunday of January. The show, which took one year to conceptualize and set up according to the owner, was eagerly awaited by people. Sadly, that dept store is already kaput, although the building is still standing with all it’s inglorious dilapidation now the one in display.
Then, Cubao was Q.C.! It was the central business district as well as commercial and entertainment hub when places like Eastwood City are still decades away from existing. Its role as the main CBD of the city, will now be replaced by the Tringle Park situated at the East and North Triangles extending to the Quezon Memorial Circle.
That was the Cubao that I was familiar with. Last week, I decided to roam around the area after we had finished an official activity earlier than expected at the Department of Agriculture. I had about 5 hours to spare before my earlier booked bus ticket for Baguio at night time. The weather was amiable, not even a shower occurred unlike in Baguio and La Trinidad which was never given a reprieve from continuous rain until this piece is being written.
I had a leisurely walk around Cubao, which at this time, is now transformed into a discordant mix of high rise buildings and old dilapidated ones. Not to say that the once proudly standing coliseum is now almost a shadow of itself, almost as if it is a misplaced toy. It made me feel lost.
The coliseum is now physically connected to the Farmers Plaza with a bridge, and also with a high end Dept Store, Gateway. Its grandeur is somehow diminished by such seemingly innocuous side-coupling. Gateway, by the way sells some of the organic vegetable produce from Cordillera at such an enormous price.
I am wondering why some of the streets inside the Araneta Center are so rough, they appear like a place where some hard-fought battle had taken place. It is quite a shame in relation to the center’s reputation.
As my wont when I am in a commercial district, I tried to look for things made in the Philippines to buy with the little money that I have. I know there was a Marikina Shoe Expo in the area, so I went where it used to stand. It was no longer there. Not even a forlorn building where it used to be was left. It is sad. I hope that In the Cordillera places like such, where local manufactures or produce are traded, will not vanish into thin air but upgraded to suit the changing conditions or preferences.
I entered some buildings there like Rustans, the Gateway of course, Farmers and others but didn’t linger. My favorite place there is the National Bookstore, the biggest of its branches in the Philippines, and bought my share of some books. It was always fun for me to get into a bookstore, here or abroad.
The sun was shining brightly and therefore it was hot, when I got out of the store so I got a taxi to take me to the DA in Diliman, Q.C. to take my packed things.
Just a few seconds after getting on board, the taxi driver was saying something. I thought he was talking to me. I said, “what is that”? He didn’t answer but continued to blabber about boundary. I thought he was just trying to say something that would make me pay tip?! He was agitated like a pig about to give birth to a dozen piglets. A jeepney in front of us stopped almost at the middle of the road to pick up passengers. The driver still continued to chatter on the phone, and started to veer to the other lane almost obliviously, not seeing a car that was trying to overtake us. Driver of the other car shouted, “would you like us to get an accident?! You are talking over the phone”. The taxi driver shouted back (end of altercation).
The driver then bewails and berates other drivers who have no discipline! “Ang daming bobong drivers”, he said matter-of-factly. He took me to congested side streets, even if I told him that I finished my high school right in the city, about 1 and one-half km from Cubao. I asked him why we were passing those narrow streets. He just said, there is traffic in EDSA (that was a hogwash, of course). Talk of driver without discipline!**
