Quiapo Manila: Where Miracles, Pickpockets, and Herbal Cures Compete for Attention – Inside Quiapo, Manila—Where Faith Is Loud, and So Is Everyone Else

Bohiney Insight into Quiapo, Manila

Inside Quiapo, Manila—Where Faith Is Loud, and So Is Everyone Else

1. Quiapo: where you can get your soul cleansed, wallet stolen, and warts cured—on the same block.

2. The Black Nazarene procession moves slower than your crush’s replies, but with more drama.

3. Fortune tellers here accept cash, coins, and desperate glances.

4. Herbal medicine vendors can cure heartbreak, insomnia, and possibly bad taste in men.

5. Quiapo’s church bells ring louder than your auntie’s unsolicited dating advice.

6. Amulet sellers now take GCash and handwritten testimonials.

7. Street preachers compete with ukay-ukay DJs for spiritual supremacy.

8. The underpass is a portal to another universe—or at least another vendor’s territory.

9. Even the balut here seems to yell “Believe!” before cracking open.

10. The air smells like incense, sweat, and ambition.

11. Quiapo: where you can buy a DVD, a love potion, and a slightly cursed mirror before lunch.

12. The traffic never moves, but the crowd sure does—in all directions and timelines.

13. Vendors shout louder than election campaign trucks—some even win votes.

14. If you’ve never cried, laughed, and been robbed in the same 10 minutes, you haven’t done Quiapo right.

15. Faith may move mountains, but here, it mostly just moves umbrellas and people with megaphones.

 

Quiapo Manila: Where Miracles, Pickpockets, and Herbal Cures Compete for Attention - Manila News Intelligencer Design a satirical representation of the Manila News Intelligencer headquarters in the Digital Age, with the theme 'Satire in Cyberspace'. The buildin21
Manila News-Intelligencer Quiapo Manila: Where Miracles, Pickpockets, and Herbal Cures Compete for Attention – A representation of the Manila News Intelligencer headquarters in the Digital Age, with the theme ‘Satire in Cyberspace’.  

By Lourdes Tiu

Lourdes Tiu is a celebrated satirist with over a decade of experience, has been featured in major publications like Mad Magazine and The Onion for her incisive wit and has served as a keynote speaker at the National Satire Writers Conference, establishing her as a trusted authority in political and social satire. Lourdes' educational journey began at the University of Chicago, where she majored in Political Science, providing her with a deep understanding of the political landscape that she so brilliantly critiques in her work. She further honed her craft by completing a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Columbia University, with a focus on satire and comedic writing, under the mentorship of some of the country’s most celebrated humorists.