Guadalupe - Emblazoned on the Seal

The City of Makati, home to the country's premiere financial district, may be in full throttle towards progress and development but it certainly has not forgotten its past. Emblazoned on its city seal, beneath the towering highrises, is a symbol of its glorious past - the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church in Guadalupe, one of the earliest built churches in the Philippines.

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The official seal of Makati City depicts a silhouette of the territory of Makati. At the bottom is the Pasig River, located on the northern border of the city. The Guadalupe (Nuestra Senora de Gracia) Church stands on the river and is the oldest church in Makati—a reference to Spanish influence. Behind the church rises the skyscrapers for which Makati City is well-known. Behind the skyscrapers are 33 rays representing the barangays of Makati.

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There are two Guadalupes in Makati - Viejo and Nuevo - Old and New. The Pasig River Ferry station is located in Brgy. Guadalupe Viejo originally under the Fransiscan friars who established the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church that set the stage for pilgrims to come from all over the country.

The Makati City website tells its story:

It took the Calced Augustinians to successfully bring Makati "under the bells." When the natives refused to budge from their homes by the river, they built the shrine and monastery upon a hill in Guadalupe, just a few steps away from the village.

Like most churches in the Islands, the first church to be built in Makati was made of bamboo and nipa palm. The Provincial Chapter, on March 7, 1601, declared the monastery a domus formata, or a house or a community under the advocacy of Our Lady of Grace. On November 30, 1603, the advocacy was changed to that of Our Lady of Guadalupe in response to a petition signed by Spanish and native devotees.

Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe spread quickly. People from far and near visited her shrine, which was built on a hill overlooking the pueblo and the plains of Mandaluyong across the river. To accommodate the pilgrims, the friars built a dock on the river and carved a hundred steps leading up the hill to a wide courtyard. Close to the church they built quarters for the pious and the ill.

Upstream, the Guadalupe Church continued as a beehive of pilgrims. All day long, from both directions, came an endless procession of cascos, bancas and rafts loaded with Spanish, Chinese, and native devotees. Waterside tiendas were pitched by the river bank and weary travelers, on their way to and from Antipolo, stopped by for a break.

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Today, Guadalupe Viejo continues to bustle as part of progressive Makati City.

The Guadalupe Shopping Complex
Guadalupe promenade - clean, tiled and shaded by trees

Riverside Promenade of Guadalupe Viejo with the Pantaleon Bridge in the background.

View from Guadalupe Promenade with Mandaluyong skyscrapers and Pasig River Ferry.

Skyscrapers of Mandaluyong (view from Guadalupe promenade)

Advertising billboards dominate the river view

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What to do?

Apart from the Nuestra Senora de Gracia Church, Guadalupe is home to the Guadalupe Shopping Complex, Trace College, and other commercial establishments.

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Where to?

Guadalupe is the jump off point for commuters off to Makati along the Pasig River. Taxis and jeepneys can be chartered to various points from the station - Makati CBD, Fort Bonifacio, Makati City Hall and Pateros. It is also close to EDSA which is the main transportation backbone of Metro Manila. Cycle rickshaws can be found that serve locally within Guadalupe.