She knew every nook and cranny of Quiapo, such that every tour she guided was a peek into the soul of the Manila district synonymous with many things, such as the Black Nazarene and indigenous healing appurtenances.
A native of Villa de Arevalo in Iloilo City, Annabel Animas Hatol, 53, was a product of the then College of Mass Communication of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, but dedicated her life to motherhood.
She owned a sari-sari store, chose family over career, and later became the go-to resource person for journalists and vloggers alike who would tour and know more of Quiapo’s cosmopolitan charm, culture and identity.
She was a community guide tapped by the consortium of organizations and institutions in and concerned with Quiapo.
In 2019, Lifestyle featured her in a story on the Bukas Quiapo Tours of the consortium, offering and presenting the religious and culinary patrimonies of Quiapo and its rather challenging natural heritage.
She would tour groups showing the multicultural assets of the district from its San Sebastian and San Juan Bautista churches; the Golden Mosque and the Muslim town; heritage houses such as the Ocampo Mansion and Bahay Nakpil-Bautista; food such as the palabok, Globe lumpia and Excelente ham; and famed streets such as Hidalgo, among others.
San Sebastian Foundation’s former executive director Marianne Claire Vitug said that Hatol told her that she was able to use the learning she got in college in her tours, more than 30 years after she graduated in 1992.Meanwhile, Maria Santos-Viola of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista described Hatol as a selfless person.
In a late afternoon huntahan session at her Quezon City home following Hatol’s internment, Santos-Viola said that Hatol served the Quiapo community “not for herself but for the cause” of promoting and letting everyone to understand the soul of Quiapo.
She added that Hatol was “a rare, committed” person who loved heritage so much.
For her contributions to the Quiapo community, her funeral mass on June 22 was held at the Quiapo Church, a very rare occasion for the church due to its very busy calendar. —CONTRIBUTED INQ