Manila City: Feel the Philippines at The National Museum

At last! Yes! And I'm back again on my blog, after a long period of self-immersion finally I'm indeed back on track with a "Bang!" Okay, how's your day or night going? In short, how are you? Well, it's almost like a month that I didn't publish an entry here. I'd say, there were a lot of things happened in my life, it was like a roller coaster ride. There were times of loneliness and there were times of happiness too. But the lesson here is "Keep moving, no matter the circumstances". 

So, going forward I didn't go back just to uplift you and say "You're beautiful, don't worry" but also to share another story. This entry supposedly posted last month but since I had to fix different issues, I decided to publish it today since I'm already ok and also we (Filipinos all over the world) are celebrating a very special occasion, the Philippine Independence, somewhat related to my story. Let's just say this is my blog's "special edition".

It was last month when I had a self-immersion, it was afternoon while walking in Greenbelt Mall, Makati, I was online busy scrolling down my news feed when I saw a post about the free entrance of the National Museum for the whole month of May as part of Heritage Month celebration, later on other Museums too in Metro Manila like Ayala and Yuchengco(both located in Makati City) opened its doors for 1 day free admission in celebration also of International Day of Museum, it was last May 18.

I didn't know if I'm bored that time or sad or I want a free entrance or what, one thing I'm sure, I didn't want to go home yet. These mixed feelings pushed me to go there, so I rode a jeep from Greenbelt, Makati to Pasay Road then another jeep from Pasay to Manila City Hall. From Manila City Hall, I walked this underpass going to Intramuros, stayed for roughly 10 minutes, walked again after toward the National Musem. How much did I spend? Roughly 20 pesos($0.40) for the 2 jeeps, uncountable sweats, lots of walks and almost an hour travel. There are a lot of ways to go there but I just made my own way since I would also like to go to Intramuros. As far as I remember, that was my first time to visit the National Museum. For the record, I went there two non consecutive days, not only because I would really want to deepen my understanding about the Philippine culture but also because I only had 3 hours left on the 1st day, it didn't give me a chance to visit the 2nd building thereafter.

Located at P. Burgos Avenue, Rizal Park, Manila. National Museum has become a one stop place to know the culture of the Philippines, things that we don't usually see on the book and not yet known to many Filipinos. A government institution in the Philippines serves as an educational, scientific and cultural institution in preserving the various permanent national collections featuring the ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological and visual artistry of the Philippines.(information credit to National Museum)

I had discovered a lot of things about my country, the Philippines, so allow me to share this with you. So, come on let's feel the Philippines!

National Art Gallery

From Senate of the Philippines, House of Representatives and National Library before, this very old yet an astounding building, one of the divisions of National Museum, is now housing different art pieces from great painters, national artists and other Filipino painters and sculptors.

Untitled (Diwata) An impressive mortuary statue will welcome you as you enter the Old Session Hall of the House of Representatives, now houses the Spoliarium of Juan Luna and El Asesinato Del Gobernador Bustamante of Felix Hidalgo.

"El Asesinato Del Gobernador Bustamante" (The Assassination of Governor Bustamante) aka La Iglesia contra el Estado (the church against the state) made by Felix Resurrection Hidalgo, generally recognized as one of the great Filipino painters of the late 19th century.

"Spoliarium" a sensational painting made by a well-known Filipino painter also acknowledged as sculptor and political activist of the Philippine Revolution in the late 19th century, Juan Luna Y Novicio. His artworks and his passion as an artist really inspired many Filipinos up to this day. Surely, every young Filipino fine arts student knows him.

"Retablo" (Side Altar) a National Cultural Treasure, this 18th century altar piece(made of wood) sculpted by an unknown artist, originally from the Church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Dimiao, Bohol. Displayed in Gallery I or Luis I. Ablaza Hall, other carved wooden saints(santos) or religious images made by unknown artists during the Spanish Colonial Era can also be seen here. 

"Unfinished portrait of Imelda Marcos" former first lady of the Philippines, wife of the late Ferdinand Marcos, 10th President of the Philippines. One of the well-known first ladies even outside the country not only because of her sophisticated beauty but also because of her numerous collections of so-called "ladies obsession" like shoes and jewelries. A very distinguished Filipina who usually wears stunning "Terno" dress, a native costume with butterfly sleeves.

You will figuratively get drowned by the numerous paintings from different artists. 

"Homage to Sabel" (acrylic) a 2002 painting made by the National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts (Painting) in 2006, Benedicto Reyes Cabrera also known as "Bencab". Honestly, I right away became a fan when I saw the artworks of Bencab, one thing I discovered and that was the uniformity, there was only one image in most of the paintings and sculptures, a woman with different expressions, later on I learned when he was young, he saw a female scavenger walking around his home in Bambang, Tondo, wrapped in plastic. This became his inspiration and ideal subject. (information credit to BusinessWorld online)

"Model for the Commonwealth Triumphal Arch" (made of Bonded marble and polychrome resign) a sculpture made by the great Guillermo E. Tolentino(1890-1976). Known in the field of portraiture and human forms. He worked in the classical style and mainly used plaster and metal to create his sculptures.(information credit to National Museum)

"Venus" (made of plaster of paris) an eye-catching sculpture also made by Guillermo Estrella Tolentino, a National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in Sculpture in 1973 and also hailed as the "Father of Philippine Arts". His other works are mainly displayed in Gallery XII or Security Bank Hall.

Museum of the Filipino People

An archaeology and anthropology divisions of the National Museum, it was the Department of Finance building before now houses ancient artifacts, wreck of San Diego, the artistry of Philippine textiles, a get to know more about the Lumad(a group of indigenous people in the Philippines) and a lot more.

"Ifugao House" the architecture of the Ifugao house, of which there are many varieties based on the different Ifugao sub-groups, is reflective of the geography of the region. The heavily thatched roof serves as protection against the rains and cold weather of the region. This authentic house is Ayangan heritage, a sub-group of the Ifugao people. Henengan was the ancient name of the municipality of Mayaoyao(information credit to National Museum). This brought me back when I went to Tam-awan Village in Baguio.

"Replica of San Diego" somewhat an emblem of rich history of the battle of the San Diego and the Mauritius, you can see in "The San Diego Homecoming Exhibit" is the miniature galleon of San Diego. It was a 3-masted trading ship built in 1590 in Cebu by Basque, Chinese and Filipino shipbuilders. It used different kinds of Asian woods and was about 35-40 meters long, about 12 meters wide and 8 meters high. It had at least 4 decks and could hold about 700 tons of cargo. The wreck was discovered about 50 meters deep near Fortune Island, outside of Manila Bay. It was undisturbed and formed a sand-covered hill of 25 meters long, 8 meters wide and 3 meters high. A cannon rising out of the sand with the inscription "Philip II" made the identification easier. Indeed, the ocean is the largest museum in the world. (information credit to National Museum)

"Different Types of Stoneware Jars" it is written that the wreck of San Diego contained more than 5,000 artifacts representing a veritable time capsule of the known world (America, Europe and Asia) at the time. Like different jars such as Martaban, named after the Burmese port city of Martaban, used mainly as storage for drinking water. Dragon jars originated from South China because of its dragon decorations on the shoulders also served as handles. Vietnamese and one hundred twenty-four Siamese jars were found too. Used mainly not only for storing liquids like water and wine but also olives and dried fruits. (information credit to National Museum)

"Replica of Manunggul Jar" late Neolithic burial jar from manunggul cave. Lipuun point, Palawan dated 890 - 710 B.C. It is a secondary burial with painted, incised and impressed decoration on its lid. On the top of a lid is a bout with two figures representing souls sailing to the afterworld in a death boat. The branched - curl design at the upper portion of a jar had been dabbed with hematite (red ochre). (information credit to National Museum). It is considered as National Treasure of the Philippines, in fact, it became one of the drawings on the reverse of old one thousand peso banknote. Manunggul Jar proved the rich spiritual traditions of the Filipino ethnic tribes before and the strong belief about "Life after Death".

"The Philippines vs Ivory Trade" when I went here, I had a chance to see an exhibit about Ivory Trade and how the Philippines support the world against Ivory Trade. Through the National Museum, a medium to inform its visitors and creates awareness about the ruthless killing of elephants in order to produce ivory. Let's support the total banning of ivory trade and save the elephants from extinction.

"Elephant Tusks" the main source of Ivory or "Garing"

Different samples of alternatives to ivory can also be seen in the exhibit.

"Baybayin" an ancient Philippine script more commonly known as "Alibata", although the country has a lot of ancient writing systems because of numerous indigenous people, also a proof of diverse yet rich culture, alibata is more known to many filipinos, its impact reflected from tattoos to t-shirt prints.

Cheers to the Philippines 118th Independence! As we(Filipinos all over the world) celebrate our freedom, I guess its time to get to know more our culture and what we have by visiting different museums all over the country, one of which is the National Museum. Good thing, from freedom to free entrance. Yes! The National Museum is extending their free admission throughout month of June. So what are you doing now? Break your boredom and visit, it's open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday to Sunday. Mabuhay! (Long Live!)