Revered as Manila’s “Chinatown”, Binondo conjures images of charmingly cramped streets, bustling Divisoria retail establishments, and endless Chinese food crawls. Little do people know the rich backstories that made Binondo what it is today: an enclave of Chinese-Filipino commerce brimming with vibrance and history.
Established in 1594, Binondo is considered the first and oldest Chinatown. Ever since being built by Spanish colonizers as the permanent settlement for Chinese immigrants, it has since been a melting pot of trade, immigration and inter-marriages that created the distinct, intercultural landscape of the town.
In Rediscovering Binondo, the first of the three-part series of Tea with Tinio at the Yuchengco Museum, art and heritage expert Martin “Sonny” Tinio, Jr. recounted stories of the prominent family lineages behind the town of Binondo. By sharing long-forgotten stories of the town’s custodians dating back to the 1600’s, the audience gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of Binondo’s distinct charm, regarding it as not only a place of culture and commerce, but of timeless prestige.
Among many of his hats, the lecturer of the series, Martin “Sonny” Tinio Jr., is a genealogist, writer, and historian. Educated in New York, Switzerland, and Manila, his penchant for history and art led him to write books and monographs about Philippine social history, architecture, and landscaping. He co-authored the first book on Philippine colonial architecture entitled ‘Philippine Ancestral Houses’. A former museum curator of the Intramuros Administration and of Malacañang Palace, he designed Casa Manila in Intramuros and has restored several period houses in Kawit, Cavite and Taal, Batangas. He was recently taken as consultant for the San Ignacio Reconstruction Project in Intramuros. After amassing 50 years of research and documentation work, he recently donated a significant portion of his collection of architectural photographs and plans to Lopez Museum and the College of St. Benilde School of Architecture.
Rediscovering Binondo, the first of the three-part Tea with Tinio series, was held last March 3, 2018 at the Yuchengco Museum. For schedule inquiries on the second and third legs of the series, you may call Yuchengco Museum at (632) 889-1234 or email them at info@yuchengcomuseum.org.
