San Andres (also San Andres Bukid) is a district of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

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 ...

. San Andres shares the Estero Tripa de Gallina as its western and northern border with the districts of

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms ( ...

and Paco, respectively and Pedro Gil and Tejeron streets to the east with the district of Santa Ana. It borders the city of

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

in the south. The area is under the jurisdiction of the 5th Congressional District of Manila, and includes the Sagrada Familia Parish, a stretch of the Manila Bay including The Aristocrat, and the Manila South Cemetery, an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of the city surrounded by land somewhat administered by

Etymology

San Andres is also known by its longer name San Andres Bukid. The first part of the name comes from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

, the patron saint of Manila; while the second part comes from Tagalog ''bukid'', meaning "farm" or "

ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...

field", which the area once was.

Profile

01171jfSan Andres Manila Street railway station PNR Manilafvf 07

Although San Andres has only a small land area, it is the second most densely populated district in Manila, as of 2020, after Santa Ana. San Andres is divided into its eastern and western sectors by the Osmeña Highway. Mostly residential, San Andres also has some sections classified as commercial. The majority of the district's population live just above the poverty line, mostly composed of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

settlers from various

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

while the original inhabitants were middle or lower-class migrant families who had formerly settled in Tondo but found the rough working-class lifestyle less suitable for raising children. The influx of settlers into the district was unregulated, resulting in a lack of

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

as evidenced by irregular buildings, narrow roadways, and large blocks of houses accessible only through meter-wide alleyways.

History

What is now San Andres Bukid was carved from the pre-

district of Singalong, as well as parts of the Hacienda de San Pedro Macati (as of 1851 purchase by the Zobel de Ayala family), Santa Ana,

, and Paco. Singalong district is largely absorbed into San Andres and is commemorated by a namesake street that runs perpendicular to Quirino Avenue and parallel to

Taft Avenue Taft Avenue (; ) is a major road in southern Metro Manila. It passes through three cities in the metropolis: Manila, Pasay, and Parañaque. The road was named after the former Governor-General of the Philippines and President of the United Stat ...

. The street lies west of what is now the western section of San Andres. Elderly residents of Singalong believe that the area's name was derived from a Tagalog word for a cup fashioned from

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

. In the Spanish colonial era,

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

awarded the area to members of the Capuchin

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

who thereafter converted the native population to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. In the aftermath of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the southern section of Manila was devastated as with most of the city. San Andres was then mostly open space, and it was repopulated by migrants from nearby

and the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

Barangays

San Andres has 65 barangays.

References

*"By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II, 3 February-3 March 1945" by Alphonso J. Aluit (1994) Bookmark, Inc. © 1994 National Commission for Culture and the Arts * San Andres Manila Volunteer Fire Brigade Inc., History by Charles Chua, Callsign San Andres 1, Presently President and Brigade Fire Marshall

External links

Official Website of Manila
{{Metro Manila populated places Districts of Manila