Balete Drive
Balete Drive is an undivided, two-lane street and the main thoroughfare of New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines. The road is a major route for jeepneys and cabs, serving the New Manila area and connecting Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue and Nicanor Domingo Street in Quezon City.
Balete Drive
1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Dead end, 160 meters (520 ft) north of Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Avenue
Nicanor Domingo Street
The road is noted for a number of balete trees that previously lined it and urban legends of a white lady ghost.[1]
History[edit]
Balete Drive was named after a massive balete tree that used to stand in the middle of the road. The road, although the exact construction date is unknown, was cemented and asphalted and became a main thoroughfare during the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1970s. There are several Spanish houses in the area, including the famous 200-year-old "Centennial House", which supports the claim that Balete Drive has been in use since the late Spanish era towards the end of the 19th century.[6]
Urban legend[edit]
In the past, the street was lined with large balete trees that darkened the area considerably and made it appear "frightening" to some Manila residents. In Philippine folklore, balete trees are believed to be a "home for spirits and mysterious creatures".[1] Various legends and folklore have circulated since the 1950s that the street was haunted.[6]
Most of the legends describe a kaperosa (white lady) ghost, a popular character in Philippine folklore, who is supposedly haunting taxi drivers "for eternity". According to legend, the ghost is a teenage girl who was run over and killed by a taxi driver at night, then buried around a balete tree on Balete Drive.[7][8] One variation of the legend claims a student at the University of the Philippines was sexually assaulted and killed by a taxi driver, and her spirit roams the street looking for her murderer. Another version of the story claims that a female resident of one of the ancestral mansions lining Balete Drive was abused and killed by her own family, and her spirit haunts the road, seeking help from passing drivers. According to local rumors, the legend of Balete Drive was "fabricated by a reporter in 1953 in order to come up with an interesting story".[1][8]
In 2005, a Quezon City barangay official proposed that the city could use the legends to boost tourism by declaring the street "haunted" and making it available for Halloween parties.[7]
In popular culture[edit]
The street is featured in the 1988 horror film Hiwaga sa Balete Drive, where it retells the supposed paranormal activities experienced by people who live, or have traveled, along the street.[9]
The Netflix-exclusive Singaporean anime-influenced series Trese features Balete Drive as the location of a crime scene. The exact intersection and the street where it occurs, however, are fictional, as 13th Street in New Manila does not actually intersect Balete Drive.[10]