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| Manila
Cultural Guide |
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The Filipino personality
is a little bit of many cultures put together. The spirit of camaraderie
and friendship that Filipinos are known for is thought to be taken
from their Malay ancestors. The close family units are thought to
have been inherited from the Chinese. The devoutness comes from
the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. But
what all can agree on is their hospitality, and this is what distinguishes
the Filipino.
The Cultural Centre of the Philippines, CCP Building,
CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City (telephone: (02) 832 1125),
is the centre for a number of the high arts. The project of the former
first lady Imelda Marcos was built in real Pharaonic style and presumably
covers the bodies of labourers buried in cement as its constructors
rushed to meet her deadlines. It is also the central ticketing agency
for most of the arts. The National
Commission for Culture and the Arts, 633 General Luna Street,
Intramuros (telephone: (02) 527 2192; fax: (02) 527 2191 is the
main centre that promotes Philippines culture and arts.
Music
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (telephone: (02) 832
1120) and resident company of the Cultural
Centre of the Philippines, CCP Building, CCP Complex, Roxas
Boulevard, Pasay City (telephone: (02) 832 1125), is the main classical
ensemble. The Philippine Chamber Choir has grown into a choral
force of substantial fame. Popular open-air recitals are held,
in Paco Park or at Rizal Park Amphitheater, in Rizal Park
(telephone: (02) 535 3353).
Theatre
Dulaang Talyer is one of the leading
modern
and avant-garde companies. The Cultural Centre of
the Philippines (see Music above) plays host to the highest
level of the repertoire, with Tanghalang Pilipino as its
resident company. The Folk Arts Theatre (telephone: (02)
832 1120) is set in the same complex and preserves and interprets
traditional dramas. The William Shaw Theatre, located on the 5th floor of the Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong
(telephone: (02) 633 4821), hosts comedies and more serious events.
Intramuros has its own theatre company at the Rajah
Sulayman Theatre, Fort Santiago (telephone: (02) 410 0821).
Open-air productions and recitals take place at the Rizal Park
Ampitheater (see Music above).
Dance
Dance is prominent in varieties of the Philippines’ cultural traditions.
Ballet and performance arts are one of the main cultural exports.
Ballet Philippines (telephone: (02) 832 3675) is the
foremost
national company for modern and classical repertoire and interpretations
of native traditions. The Ballet Philippines, the Philippine
Ballet Theatre and the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk
Dance Company are all based at the Cultural Centre of the
Philippines (see Music). The Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group,
also resident, is a main promoter of traditional dance. AC DanzMove
is the dance troupe, located at Assumption College, Makati
City (telephone: (02) 894 2678).
Film
There is a busy film industry in the Philippines which produces
mostly sentimental and violent subject matter. José Estrada,
the former president, was a career actor before moving into politics.
Movie fans always remember Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse
Now (1979) was filmed in the Philippines. Then President Marcos
furnished the helicopters for the famous ‘Ride of the Valkyries’
air cavalry charge. The famed director Peter Weir filmed The
Year of Living Dangerously (1982) and used Manila for Jakarta,
instead of Saigon.
The Shangri-La Cinema is situated at the Shangri-La Plaza, on the corner
of Shaw Boulevard and EDSA, Mandaluyong City (telephone: (02) 633
7851). The SM Megamall, EDSA, Ortigas Centre, Mandaluyong
(telephone: (02) 633 1901 or 632 9408), is a main multiplex cinema venue.
Additional cinemas are located in Santa Cruz, around the junction
of CM Recto Avenue and Rizal Avenue, or in Paco on Pedro Gil Street.
Cultural Events
The National Arts Month is a popular yearly arts festival
held in February at many venues in Manila. At the same time is
the annual Bamboo Organ Festival, at Las Piñas Village,
near Manila. This event occurs in the 2nd week of February,
bringing the world’s most important organists to this enchanting small
town. In June, The Manila Film Festival coincides with the
independence celebrations on 24th June and gives celebrants an opportunity
to see their favourite stars.
Literary
Notes
José Rizal, a
novelist who wrote Noli Me Tangere or Touch Me Not
(1887). He created contemporary Philippine literature which is a main
work in the evolution of the modern national consciousness. His
other famous novel, El Filibusterismo or Subversion (1891)
is even more definite in its dissection of Spanish colonialism.
British authors have contributed some of the best descriptions of
Manila. James Hamilton-Paterson wrote Ghosts of Manila (1994),
a story of the horrible events in the twilight of the Marcos era
and thinly fictionalised from true events.
 James
Fenton authored the last act of the Marcos soap opera in his memoir,
The Snap Revolution (1986). It captures the occasion, but
from an arguably patronising and leftist perspective.
Corazon
Aquino and the Brushfire Revolution (1995), by Robert Reid and
Eileen Guerrero, follow the events differently but also with a jaded
eye.
William
Boyd used Manila as a backdrop in 1902 in The Blue Afternoon
(1997),
Brownout
on Breadfruit Boulevard (1995) by Timothy Mo makes an excellent play
of Manila’s once daily electricity outages, weaving them with
more than a whiff of scatology.
A
Short History of the Philippines (1969) by Teodoro Agoncillo,
is believably the best work in this genre. |
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