#271 Patadyong

A folkloric children dance group in various patadyong designs and pattenrs

The patadyong is a pre-Spanish clothing item or loose skirt worn by Filipino women particularly in the lowland regions of the Visayas.  In terms of function, it  is similar to the “sarong” or  “malong” used in Mindanao in southern Philippinesa nd Indonesia. But instead of the batik patterns, the patadyong has a checkered, colorful design or patterns.

Like the malong, the patadyong has a variety of uses. Primarily, women used it as a tucked-in skirt topped by a kimona (thin cotton blouse). Women in the countryside or rural areas wear or used the patadyong as a sort of kerchief, shawl or even to shade or cover themselves from prying eyes. In bygone days when washing or bathing in rivers were commonplace, women hold a piece or one end of the patadyong with their teeth or free hand, while soaping and cleaning their body with another hand. It may looked clumsy but it works by providing a bit of privacy.

Today wearing patadyong is often limited or seen in folkloric performances and dances, and is considered as more of a costume than everyday wear like it used to be.

Long live Philippine clothing traditions!

#268 Balagtasan

A Balagtasan performance

The balagtasan is a Filipino poetic form and was invented and performed during the American occupation of the Philippines. The balagtasan honored Francisco Baltazar (also known as Balagtas), giving his name to this form of versifying. Balagtas is the 19th century Filipino author of the Filipino epic narrative poem Florante at Laura.

As a literary form, the balagtasan was based on a traditional Filipino form of debate in verse that was popular at that time. This popularity partly accounts for its success as entertainment until after World War II.

However, the balagtasan was also the product of a nationalist and anti-colonial impulse in Filipino vernacular literature during the early 20th century. The balagtasan was used by Filipino writers and poets to express the most progressive and current political ideas then and to comment on contemporary social issues.  Although performances or the staging of balagtasan debates faded in contemporary literary practice, the versifying is undergoing a revival of sorts these days with young poets writing in Filipino.

Long live Philippine literature and literary forms!

#263 Black Nazarene Festival

Mass of Black Nazarene devotees near Quiapo Church, Manila

On January 9 a huge procession would take place every year in Manila during the Feast of the Black Nazarene. In terms of numbers it is by far the single biggest religious festival in the whole Philippines and the epicentre of the celebration is in Quiapo Church in the heart of downtown Manila.

This religious festival is both fun and unnerving to watch since a tremendously huge crowd of people, mostly men, usually show up on bare feet to show their devotion and penitence. For the whole day this mass of people would struggle to pull the carriage inch by inch in a slow procession of the Black Nazarene statue to Quiapo Church. Devotees believe that to touch the statue on this day would heal them of diseases.

Every year, when the Black Nazarene parade occurs, the center of Manila is virtually inaccessible to motor traffic. Hundreds of devotees faint or pass out due to the heat emanating from the pack of pressed bodies surrounding Quiapo Church and the adjacent square.

The Black Nazarene is a life-size statue of Jesus Christ brought by Augustinian Recollect friars to the Philippines on May 31, 1606 from Mexico. An Aztec carpenter reportedly carved the statue, which is now enshrined in the minor basilica of Quiapo. Devotees to the Black Nazarene usually flock to church on Fridays to pay their devotions.

Long live Philippine festivals!

#262 Malolos Mestizo District

Ancestral house in Malolos Mestizo District (Photo from Traveller on Foot blogspot)

After the declaration of the Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite, General Emilio Aguinaldo moved the seat of first Philippine government to Malolos in Bulacan province. This district of Malolos has since become known as the Mestizo District where ancestral houses located near the town plaza bear witness to the town’s Spanish colonial era.

Aguinaldo also established various government offices in this district for the First Philippine Republic from September 10, 1898 to March 29, 1901. Today these so-called bahay-na-bato (stone houses) ancestral homes house commercial establishments. Unfortunately the lack of city planning and central authority to oversee the protection of these historical buildings has led to either the destruction of these buildings to give way to developers or the lack of maintenance.

One can, however, visit the few remaining buildings such as the Arcadio Ejercito and Adriano houses along Pariancillo Street, the Bautista house on Sto. Nino Street and the Carcel or former jailhouse across the Adriano building.

It would be a waste to see these historical buildings being demolished for modern developers or go to seed when they are witnesses to the nation’s early nationhood. Hopefully, both local and national authorities will take more serious action to protect historical districts such as the Malolos Mestizo enclave. (From: Traveler on Foot blogspot and other sources)

Mabuhay ang Malolos Mestizo District!

#261 National Museum

The National Museum of the Philippines is the official repository established in 1901 as a natural history and ethnography museum of the Philippines. It is located next to Rizal Park and near Intramuros in Manila. Its main building was designed in 1918 by American architect Daniel Burnham. Today, that building, the former home of the Congress of the Philippines, houses the National Art Gallery, natural sciences and other support divisions.

The adjacent building in the Agrifina Circle of Rizal Park, formerly housing the Department of Finance, houses the Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions and is known as the Museum of the Filipino People. At the National Art Gallery masterpieces such as Juan Luna’s Spolarium is displayed in one of the central halls. Contemporary and modern art exhibits are also regularly held at the gallery.

Burnham’s design recalls neo-classicist architecture and was part of the extensive city planning of Manila designed to renovate the capital during the early days of the US colonial era. In World War 2 the National Building and other landmark buildings in downtown Manila and Intramuros were destroyed and badly damaged during the carpet bombing of the Allied Forces in their efforts to defeat the retreating Japanese Army. Post-war reconstruction efforts of these landmarks buidlings were partly financed by both US and Japanese governments. (From: Wikipedia and other sources)

Long live the National Museum!

#258 Terno

Photo: Edwin Uy

Terno is the elegant, Spanish-inspired costume worn by Filipino women in the 20th century and which is still worn up to this day in special public occasions. The word ‘terno’ is Spanish for ‘to match.’

The Filipino terno refers to the matching of blouse and skirt, joined at the waist to form a one-piece creation, with both bodice and skirt made of the same material. The seamlessness is only one of its inventive features of the Filipino terno. The sleeveless are upright, flat against the shoulders like clipped butterfly wings. Its low neckline contours the bosom. The whole is nipped at the waist to let fall a shapely skirt that is rounded, flared or trailed at the hem.

Pioneering Philippine fashion designers have innovated on the terno and their designs elevated this national costume to a world-class high fashion statement. (Source: Filipino Heritage.com)

Long live Philippine costumes!

#257 Himala

Himala (“Miracle”) is an award-winning Filipino film directed by the late Philippine National Artist Ishmael Bernal. The film’s screenwriter and cinematographer were multi-award winner Ricky Lee and Sergio Lobo, respectively.

Based on a 1967 incident and news report, Himala was filmed entirely in the most arid Philippine tourist spots in Ilocos Norte, in just three weeks and with a budget of only 3 million pesos. The movie premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival, and in 1983, it became the first – and so far the only – Filipino film to be included in the “Competition Section” of the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, Himala has been exhibited in a number of film festivals around the world.

On November 11, 2008, Himala won the 2008 CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards Viewers Choice Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of all Time (voted for by thousands of film fans around the world. The CNN online voters hailed it as the “greatest Filipino film.”

The film stars Philippine superstar Nora Aunor, who is best known for her performance as the fake visionary Elsa in this film. Her portrayal is considered by most Filipino critics to be the best of her career. (Source: Wikipedia)

Mabuhay ang Filipino cinema!

#255 Kundiman

CD jacket of a Kundiman collection

The kundiman is a lyrical love song made popular in the Philippine Islands, which dates back to the Spanish period.

Composed in the Mexican-Spanish tradition, kundiman music is characterized by a minor key at the beginning and shifts to a major key in the second half. Its lyrics depict a romantic theme, usually portraying love, passion, or sadness.

In other styles of the harana or kundiman tradition, the music is based on a love story. Almost all traditional Philippine love songs in this genre are portrayed with poetic emotion. 

Long live the Kundiman!

Sample a kundiman performance here by Pilita Corrales, Kapantay Ang Langit :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuccG8LkfCY&feature=related

#254 Parian (Cebu)

Cebu's Parian District

Parian was the original and affluent Chinese heartland of Cebu, founded as a de facto settlement in the middle of the 16th century. 

Today, nothing much remains of this district of fine houses and shops, except for a handful of old houses, like Casa Gorordo and the Jesuit Residence of 1730. Though it ceased to be wholly Chinese by the 19th century due to the rabid Chinese pogroms in the 18th century, Cebu’s Parian remained the enclave of affluent Chinese mestizos like the Borromeos, Cuis, Osmeñas, Velezes, Velosos and over 20 other families.

The center of the Parian was the church of San Juan Bautista. The fire station at the crossroads of Sikatuna and Zulueta streets is built on the foundations of the church’s convento. A small chapel nearby, dedicated to San Juan, is a mute reminder of this once impressive church.
The church was built by a mestizo Chinese secular priest in the 1700s. Jurisdictional conflicts with the convento of Santo Niño forced the bishop to demote the church from parish to the level of visita dependent on Santo Niño. 

In time, the church was abandoned and deteriorated. Its appurtenances went to other churches and to the Colegio de San Ildefonso, which inherited some of its furniture and statuary. The site of the church’s sanctuary was marked by a cross before World War II. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, Other web sources)

Long live Cebu’s Parian district!

#252 Salakot

A farmer's salakot (traditional hat)

The salakot is a traditional wide-brimmed hat in the Philippines and is a common symbol for Filipino identity. Made of either rattan or reeds, the salakot is one of the traditional hats worn by Filipinos besides the conical Asian hat used in East Asia and other Southeast Asian countries.

The salakot is often worn by Juan de la Cruz, a literary personage that symbolize the collective Filipino psyche equivalent to Uncle Sam of the Americans. The custom of embellishing the salakot with decorative motifs is a practice that started in the Spanish colonial era.

Though normally worn by farmers during the colonial era, the wealthy and landed Christian Filipinos and mestizos (especially the members of the Principalía), would also use the salakot, emboss this hat with silver, and sometimes hang silver coins and pendants around the headgear’s brim. Many depictions of gobernadorcillos and village chiefs would portray these public functionaries during the colonial period wearing ornate salakots. It was not uncommon for this class to wear salakot made of more precious materials like tortoise shell and precious metals.

The first Malay settlers in the archipelago were attributed to have purchased the valleys and plains of the Island of Panay in the Philippines from the native Aetas in exchange of a golden salakot and a very long pearl necklace called manangyad, which touched the ground when worn by the wife of the Aeta chieftain. (Source: Excerpted from Wikipedia).

Mabuhay ang salakot!