It’s been a while since I have been at the central hub of Makati’s business district and I’ve been hearing about how nice the forest at the back of Philippine Stock Exchange has now become.

The original plan for the overgrown part of the Ayala Triangle was to add two more towering steel and glass skyscrapers to complement Architect Leandro Locsin’s ultra modern Philippine Stock Exchange tower and plaza, thus the Triangle in Ayala Triangle.

I think this has now been postponed indefinitely and a new hub has formed under the shadows of Tower I, a food hub that is.

I had a chance to visit the place a few nights before Christmas for a reunion of sorts with old friends and the place had indeed made a major transformation. The 20,000 square meters forest-like parcel of land at the back of the plaza has been cleaned up; pathways have been added, lights installed, and a strip of restaurants built.

The park has a relaxed feel in the late afternoons but gets busier and busier as the night wear on. To say that the restaurants were jampacked was an understatement, queues were forming outside.

Beyond the doors of the restaurants, amongst the trees and grassy lawns, families and kids stroll about, amidst lighted skyscrapers under the blanket of the night. 

I’m not sure if the park is always this crowded or if this was just due to the Symphony of Parols (Symphony of Lanterns), a Christmas lights and sounds show, that was currently running on its last three days. The show was created by award winning light designer Voltaire de Jesus and sound designer Jethro Joaquin.

The tree-covered square at the back part of the PSE plaza was transformed for ten minutes into something that almost resembles the magical forest in the movie Avatar. All sorts of lights surrounded and danced through and across the trees along the tunes of traditional Christmas carols. It was quite mesmerizing and everyone was transfixed as the lights color the night.

I remember the annual C.O.D. Christmas presentation back when I was a kid in Cubao, it was something I really look forward to during the Yuletides. I think this show can definitely be made into something that the kids of today will look forward to during the holidays.

The people that transformed the Ayala Triangle have definitely made a good decision in finally making it a full fledged park where families can gather and eat out. The holidays may be almost over, the twinkling lights turned down, but the Garden still has those bistros, wide lawns and tree-lined pathways to offer sanctuary to those looking for a temporary respite against the bustling streets of Ayala.