Rediscover the Queer Spaces of Malate With This Walking Tour

(SPOT.ph) Before we had a more queer-affirming party scene in Metro Manila, the safe haven of the LGBTQIA+ community was in Malate, Manila. You've probably heard stories from Generation X-ers or Boomers of how vibrant the nightlife was back then and it may or may not be followed by a personal anecdote told in colorful, dazzling details. 

For the curious and/or the nostalgic, WanderManila and The Sapphics Collective Manila are holding a tour called Queens of the Night on May 20 (Saturday). This guided tour rediscovers the queer spaces that occupied what was once called "the gay capital of the Philippines." 

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Check out WanderManila's tour in Malate and Escolta:

Touring company WanderManila and Sapphics Collective Manila collaborated to make Queens of the Night possible. This tour is a local LGBTQIA+ history lesson that focuses on the '90s party scene in Malate by going to the former locations of iconic safe spaces in the area. 

"We're talking institutions such as Coco Banana, Penguin, The Library, Bed, Politixx, and Nakpil cor Orosa," WanderManila tells SPOT.ph. These establishments no longer exist in the present but through the tour, the memories of the queers, socialites, intellectuals, artists, and free-spirited hippies who partied in these spaces back in the 1970s, get to continue boogying the night away. Tour guides Benjamin Canapi of WanderManila and Ysa Penas also that it's a walking tour for the most part, except for a few parts, which require vehicle transfers.

WanderManila says that the Queens of the Night tour is semi-public and there is only a "very" limited number of slots. The tour is priced at P700 per person, which accounts for the transportation from Escolta to Malate, a snack, and a bottle of water.

To reserve a slot, you'll need to sign up on this sheet. The payment for the Queens of the Night tour can be sent via GCash at (0960) 415-1563 and the meet-up point is at The United Building in Escolta, a building rich with its own history, is one of the current safe spaces in Manila, by 3:30 p.m. and the tour starts at 4 p.m.

Queens of the Night is on May 20, 3:30 p.m. Meet-up point is at First United Building, 413 Escolta Street, Binondo, Manila. For more information, check out WanderManila on Facebook.

UPDATE (May 20, 9:44 a.m.): The organizers of Queens of the Nights Tour have reached out to inform that the tour is no longer free, and is priced at P700 per person. The article has been edited to reflect that development.

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