Quiapo, Manila

Quiapo
Raon, Quiapo
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Manila
Congressional districts	Part of the 3rd district of Manila
Barangays	16
Population (2007)
• Total	23,138

Quiapo is a district of Manila, Philippines. It derives its name from the water cabbage (Pistia stratiotes), which is named quiapo or kiapo in the Tagalog language. Referred to as the "Old Downtown of Manila", Quiapo is home to the Quiapo Church, where the feast of the Black Nazarene is held with millions of people attending annually. Quiapo has also made a name for itself as a place for marketplace bargain hunting.

Plaza Miranda, in the heart of the Quiapo district, is a town square named after Jose Sandino y Miranda, who served as secretary of the treasury of the Philippines from 1853 to 1863. It is located in front of the Quiapo Church, and has become a popular site of political rallies. On August 21, 1971, while the Liberal Party held their miting de avance in the plaza, a bomb exploded, killing nine and injuring almost 100 civilians.

The Quiapo district is also home to a sizable Muslim population in Manila. The Golden Mosque and Green Mosque are located here.

A large population of self described fortune tellers and stores offering herbal products surround the Quiapo church. Ongoing sales of illegally copied media and thievery are prevalent in the district.

In recent years, the local government of Manila, spearheaded by then Mayor Lito Atienza, launched the Buhayin ang Maynila ("Revitalize Manila") project which greatly rehabilitated Quiapo and its vicinities, most especially Plaza Miranda, the Arsenio Lacson Underpass and the University Belt. Parts of Rizal Avenue, starting from Carriedo Street to Recto Avenue, were converted into pedestrian shopping arcades.

Quiapo is geographically located at the very center of the city of Manila. It is bounded by the Pasig River and Estero de San Miguel to the south, San Miguel to the east, Recto Avenue to the north and Rizal Avenue to the west.

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