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Letter From Manila
Say a prayer, then buy a love potion: The mystery of Manila’s Quiapo district
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Medallions bearing the image of Saint Benedict, believed by Catholics to provide protection, on sale in Quiapo, Manila.
ST PHOTO: MARA CEPEDA
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MANILA – Just a few steps from a church that houses the famed Black Nazarene, a dark-skinned image of Jesus Christ believed to be miraculous, I found myself seated before a fortune teller with a wild mane of frizzy, grey hair.
The 74-year-old has read tarot cards for decades, having lived in this central Manila district called Quiapo since she was a little girl. She laid her deck of worn, greying cards gently atop a fan made of straw resting on her lap and asked me to pick the ones that called out to me.
