The vanishing soldier from Manila

INSTEAD of taking long bus rides or cars going from one place to another, or a long flight from the Philippines to another country, wouldn’t it be nice to just step through a portal and be there instantly just like Doctor Strange in the Marvel Universe?

What if I told you one can be found in the heart of the Philippines in Manila? Curious yet? Let’s take a dive into the rabbit hole shall we?

Courtesy: Istock | ferrantraite

In October 1593, a soldier from the Spanish Empire was mysteriously transported or teleported from Manila in the Philippines to Plaza Mayor, now known as Zocalo in Mexico City.

He was named Gil Pérez.

Courtesy: Alamy

According to the story, on October 24, Pérez was guarding the Palacio del Gobernador in Manila.

For context and fun fact, the Palacio del Gobernador is famous nowadays because it is where the Commission on Elections is holding office. So, it would have been nice that some of our politicians will suddenly be teleported to Mexico while filing their certificates of candidacies. But yes, it was done in a different place.

Back to the story.

The night before the incident, Governor Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas was killed by Chinese pirates. The guards were alerted of the incident and continued to guard the palace to await the appointment of the new governor. 

While on duty, Pérez began to feel dizzy, probably due to the exhaustion of the guarding the place.

He leaned against the wall to rest and closed his eyes.

When he awoke just a few seconds later, he was in Mexico City in the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

This is thousands of kilometers across the ocean. 

The guards took notice of his uniform and began to question who he was. 

News over the assassination of the Governor of the Philippines has not yet reached Mexico City. 

Pérez was reportedly wearing the palace guards’ uniform in Manila and told them of the governor’s death. 

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He was quickly locked because aside from being what they call a deserter, they have yet to verify his claim.

Oh, and Pérez was also charged for what claim as “being the servant of the devil.”

Months rolled by until finally, news of the governor’s death came to Mexico on a galleon from the Philippines. 

It was there that one of the passengers recognized Pérez saying he had seen him in the Philippines a day after the death of the Governor. 

He was then released and allowed to go back home.

Now this is a fascinating story. It makes me want to go to the Palacio del Gobernador in Manila to try and look for the gateway. It has a complete mix of the unknown, bending space and time and even teleportation.

But how much of it is true?

Until 1908, the soldier was just that, an unidentified soldier who happened to sleep at the wrong area at the wrong time.

Courtesy: Hathitrust.com

Much of the story you’ve read comes from Thomas Allibone Janvier, an American folklorist living in Mexico, who wrote the story as Legend of the Living Spectre in the December 1908 edition of Harper’s Magazine. It was there that he named the soldier as Gil Pérez. 

It was one of a series entitled Legends of the City of Mexico and was published in a collected volume in 1910.

Janvier admitted that there are similar stories that are common in folklore.

In fact, in Washington Irving’s 1832 book Tales of the Alhambra, it included the story “Governor Manco and the Soldier”, which bears similarities to what you’ve read just now.

Now like you, I would like to believe the tale. Because for every story being told by our parents, our grandparents, and their grandparents, it came from somewhere near if not the Bible truth, meaning there is basis ore legend to which it came from. 

So, when you relax after reading this article, better bring your passport first. You might end up in another country.