Filipina Soul

I haven’t myself, but I would love to go more often and examine our heritage and culture as a people. We study history in school, so going to museums makes it more “alive”, more real. I imagine what it must have been like in the time of Rizal, or when the “datus” and “rajahs” still ruled the lands, how simple life must have been like, and yet harsh by the standards of today. I see landmarks in our history and culture – the introduction of Christianity, the three hundred years of clashes and revolutions, the second world war and what our grandparents and parents went through to survive, the EDSA revolution and the confusion that exists even now… Museums try to depict who we are, what we’ve gone through, and how we’ve come to where we are as a people, as a culture. And then there’s the arts both modern and classic like Juan Luna’s Spoliarium, the changes in fashion and in our national costumes, archeology, architecture like the evolution of our houses.

Visit them and fall in love with being our culture again.

Start with these in Manila:

• The National Museum of the Philippines
• Metropolitan Museum of Manila
• Cultural Center of the Philippines

In Cebu City: Southwestern University Museum

And check this out… Lakbay Pilipinas Blog has a photo of the metropolitan museum right after world war II. How cool is that!

Tags: EDSA, Filipino artists, history, Manila, museums, Philippine culture

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