Plaza Moraga is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in National Capital Region of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It serves as a gateway to the town of

Binondo Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Manila, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, Manila, San Nicolas and Tondo, Manila, Tondo. ...

— Manila's Chinatown. The Plaza - located through

Jones Bridge The William A. Jones Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Jones Bridge, is an arched girder bridge that spans the Pasig River in Manila, Philippines. It is named after the United States United States House of Representatives, legislator Willia ...

at the west-end of

Escolta Street Escolta Street () is a historic east–west street in the old downtown district of Binondo in Manila, Philippines. It runs parallel to the Pasig River from Quintin Paredes Road ( Plaza Moraga) to Plaza Santa Cruz Road ( Plaza Lacson). The stree ...

and has the name under Fr. Fernando de Moraga - a Franciscan friar. By the opinion of many historians, that - if it was not for the Franciscan friar's efforts, the Philippines would've turn out differently.

History

Plaza Moraga came to develop in the past during the American colonization period where it has been the place of superb-restaurants, commercial-establishments and foreign-embassies. One of the main familiar places to visit there's the Clarke's Cafe - established in the years of 1899, also has been known for their ice cream shops.

Fernando de Moraga

"The Venerable" Fernando de Moraga - born in one of the town's provinces of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Moraga has visited the Philippines and stayed there for a short while near

Plaza Dilao Plaza Dilao is a public square in Paco, Manila, bounded by Quirino Avenue to the south and east and Plaza Dilao Road and Quirino Avenue Extension to the north and west. The former site of a Japanese settlement from the Spanish colonial era, the ...

Paco Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...

then continued to some of the towns in the provinces of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

and Laguna, in the past years - 1597 and appointed as a parish priest for Santa Ana - 1607 Also became the Local's Superior of the San Francisco Convent, some years after his duty in Santa Ana through

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

, He's had been elected as the Chapter president before being delegated to the General Chapter in Spain - 1616. He had reached Spain - 1619. He travelled on barefeet through Middle East, begging while evangelizing and baptizing along the way. The_Singson_Building1

Fr. Moraga has convinced the King, through his persuasion and knowledge on the colony to revoke the decree and keep the Philippines during that time when King Philip III of Spain had issued a decree that included surrendering the Philippines.

In recent years

Plaza Moraga has now become a plaza occupied mostly by cars and a big parking space is designated on one of the corners. There are still commercial buildings surrounding the plaza including The Original Savory Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant known for their chicken. It succeeded the famed Savory Restaurant that was razed by fire in 2015. However, the famous ice cream parlor is already closed. In June 2015, the world's largest Chinatown arch was built on the south side of Plaza Moraga at the entrance to Binondo from Jones Bridge in celebration of the city's 444th founding anniversary as well as the 40th anniversary of Philippines-China diplomatic ties. Funded as a gift from the city government of

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, it measures high and wide, higher than Washington, D.C. Chinatown's Friendship Archway.

External links

References

{{Parks and plazas in Manila Moraga, Plaza Buildings and structures in Binondo