It did not take more than a five-minute walk from the Zamboanga Cathedral until we reached downtown Zamboanga. The route was pretty straightforward: upon exiting the church, take a left, then just keep walking along La Purisima St. until you would need to cross the street. Across the road stands Plaza Pershing, a small open park on a triangular piece of land providing a breather for the typically busy affairs of the city.

Originally known as Plaza Juan de Salcedo named after the 16th century Spanish conquistador, it was renamed in 1915 to its present name in honor of American General John J. Pershing. Pershing was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Sulu in 1899 and was made its adjutant general in 1900. While celebrated for his efforts to end the Moro rebellion during the Philippine–American War, his reputation is considered rather controversial on account of the means by which the said rebellion was subdued.

Plaza Pershing under the afternoon sun.

Directly across Plaza Pershing stands another plaza. Unlike Plaza Pershing, however, the one across is dedicated to the nation’s favorite son, and an adopted son of Zamboanga, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

Plaza Rizal de Zamboanga.

When Rizal was exiled in Dapitan in 1892, the town was still part of one large Zamboanga mission which will eventually become the Moro Province. It should hence not come as a surprise that Rizal is a celebrated figure in the peninsula. When he was doing social work when he was in Dapitan, he was practically doing it to the entire province of Zamboanga by extension.

At the front end of Plaza Rizal, in the direction where his statue is facing, stands the Ayuntamiento de Zamboanga. Distinctively Filipino colonial in architectural design, the city hall was completed in 1907. It does not only hold a significant place in the history of the city and the peninsula at large, but in itself is an essential silent witness to the unfolding of time. It was the official residence of the military governor of the United States during the time of the Moro Province and eventually the Department of Mindanao and Sulu. It then served as the capital seat of the then province of Zamboanga. Its current purpose as the city hall has been in place since 1937.

Coming from Metro Manila where being in the city meant being in an area characterized by dense population, deafening noise, suffocating pollution and heavy traffic, Zamboanga City offered a different sight that our stereotypical idea of the urban space has been called to question. Okay, the traffic was there, but the charm of being able to allow one to travel through the roads paved by culture and history while hearing the buzzing sounds of familiar Spanish words is highly unique. In Zamboanga City, it’s not just the colonial structures that would remind you of history, as history is very much alive.

Queda un lugar más para nosotros visita mientras termina el primer viaje de nosotros aquí na Mindanao en el Ciudad Latina de Zamboanga. Acabamos de llega y ya está lleno de aventura! No, not Spanish. It’s Chavacano. There remains one more place for us to visit as we wrap-up our first-ever Mindanao journey in the Latin City of Zamboanga. We just arrived and the adventure is already overflowing!