The Art of the Philippines & The Decolonization of the Filipino Mind

By: AzBi

The Philippines is considered as one of the few countries in Asia with a very diverse international culture influences. As a country that has been occupied by not one but three colonizers, The Philippines has also been known as a melting pot of ancient civilizations ever since pre-Spanish colonial era, an information that can be found based of various researches of Philippine pre-history. (Scott, 1984).

From the Aeta A & B, Maranaoans, Mamanwa, Manobo, Bugkalot, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Kankanaey, Ivatan, to the Mestizo de Sangley, Spanish Mestizos, and many other lineage, the genomes of the Filipino ethnolinguistic groups proves how the country has been a melting pot of recent and ancient peoples of Asia-Pacific. (Delfin, et al, 2014)

This diverse and rich culture also brought along, the arts of every society that occupied the region. Examples such as horsehair necklaces from Bukidnon which is now being displayed at the National Anthropology Museum Madrid (Mapping Philippine Material Culture, 2023), to the grand steel church architecture of San Sebastian Basilica, whose 1,527 tons of steel was manufactured in Belgium and was brought be assembled in Manila in 1886 (WMF, 2023), the Philippines has so much to offer when it comes to the world of arts. This does not even include performance arts, a department that Filipinos are known all over the world for, especially as performers of 5-star hotels and cruise ships. (Ng, 2005)

In the performance arts, Lea Salonga is one of the Filipinos who is known to receive international acclaim at an early age. According to her official website and biography, “She is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend”.” 

Another legend of the performance arts is 6-time Grammy-award winner and 16-time Grammy nominee, singer Allan Pineda Lindo, also known as “apl.de.ap” of the famous group “Black Eyed Peas”. (Grammy, 2023) Apl.de.Ap is a Filipino American musician, rapper, record producer, entrepreneur & philanthropist best known as a co-founder/member of the Grammy-Award winning hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas. (apldeap.com, 2023)

Philippine-born Tony award winning producer, Jhett Tolentino has been making waves in the Broadway scene since 2012. Another proof that that the Philippines has so much to offer when it comes to performance arts and world-class talent. 

Locally, the works of Fernando Amorsolo, Jose Joya, Benedicto Cabrera also known as Ben Cab, Agnes Arellano, Napoleon Abueva, and many new and emerging artists, all dominate the visual art scene. Gary Valenciano, Regine Velasquez, Jed Madela, Francis Magalona, The Eraserheads, Brownman Revival, Ebe Dancel, Parokya ni Edgar and many others, are just a few examples of the number of artists based in the Philippines. 

Moving forward to handcrafted arts that were passed down by one tribe’s ancestor to their descendants, it can be said that the Philippines is again, has multitudes of this art. An example of this is Solihiya. Tatler Asia defined “Solihiya” as a “rattan weaving technique (also known as caning) that has made its comeback in the international furniture scene in recent years”. (Reyes, 2022). Just last year, the Metro Manila Development Authority launched their newest 20-story headquarters in Pasig City. What made this building unique is the Solihiya weave pattern on the facade that represents the Filipino “bayanihan” spirit that the MMDA wants to mirror in its collaborative relationship with Metro Manila’s local government units. (Topgear, 2022)

Luxury brands such as Balmain and Dior have used the Solihiya designs in their past collections. (De Cartagena, 2021)

The weaving culture in the Philippines dates back to the 13th century. The tradition makes use of raw materials like local cotton, abaca, fibres, and pineapples. (Moya, 2021) Because of this, the Philippines has a huge collection of indigenous handloom fabrics. Some of these textile art are known by the names of Binanniya, Binituwon, Eben Lobun, Pinya, Sinamay, and many others. With various beautiful patterns and textures that are not only fashionable but are actually symbolical and religious in nature, these textiles are considered sacred to some indigenous cultures of the Philippines. 

Lastly, another art that has been somehow forgotten in the Philippine culture is the art of single origin coffee farming. Coffee history began during the Spanish colonization, as early as the 1700s  where at some point, the Philippines became one of the top exporters of coffee beans in the world, reputed as the fourth largest. In 1886, when the coffee rust hit Brazil, Africa, and Java, the Philippines became the only source of coffee beans worldwide. Although it did not last long, when the coffee rust also hit the plantations of the country in 1891, the coffee farmers abandoned their crops and shifted to other agricultural crops. (PCB, 2021)

Nowadays, third wave coffee shops have emerged from the buried tradition of manual coffee brewing and the Philippine coffee farms have awoken and are keen on producing sustainably farmed single origin coffee beans, where some have been winning awards in international competitions, one of which was the recently awarded by the AVPA (Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products)  in Paris, the pride of Mindanao, Northstar Upi Premium Blended coffee beans. Their blend won a “Gourmet Argent” (silver) award in the “Puissant Doux” category of the 6th Coffees Roasted at Origin International Contest. (Timonera, 2020)

After mentioning all examples of the different categories of art and its examples in the Philippine society, it is evident that most of the Philippine artists and their work, have less support from the masses, hence the lack of recognition and understanding from the country’s citizens itself. Then, there is the issue of the lack of funding. (Chikiamco, 2010) Most Filipinos will support a product if it was deemed by the West as “good”. Therefore, there is a lack of confidence in the country’s own product and art. (Abinuman, 2017) 

Based on the Colonial Mentality Scale (CMS) Report, Colonial mentality is still rampant among modern Filipinos. When explicitly asked about colonial mentality, approximately 30 percent of Filipino Americans admitted to having at least one of the five “symptoms” of colonial mentality. Only around 1 percent admitted feeling ashamed and embarrassed about their heritage, and 9.6 percent admitted to feeling inferior for being Filipino. Only around 3.5 percent admitted to discriminating against less-westernized Filipinos, and 10.5 percent admitted to regarding Filipino physical traits as less desirable than white physical traits. Finally, 16.4 percent admitted feeling fortunate for having been colonized and feeling indebted to their past colonizers. (David, 2017) This problem can be associated on why Filipinos cannot identify with their own art, as Western art is still very much preferred. 

Comparing to the Chinese art, where its citizens actually practice and appreciate their traditional art even up to this very day, it can also be stated that the reason for this appreciation is the strict compliance of the education system to incorporate the Chinese traditional art into the students’ daily  routine in school, say calligraphy for example. Calligraphy, in the DNA of Chinese culture, has been loved by Chinese people from ancient times to the present, showing no signs of fading even today. According to China Daily News, millions of modern Chinese, from kindergarten kids to centenarians, from farmers to high officials, show their respect to great ancient calligraphers by imitating model calligraphic books and tablet inscriptions by ancient masters year in and year out.(Guo, 2021)

According to Japan Educational Travel Website, “To this day, many Japanese people all over the country still dedicate their lives and efforts to protect and pass down various forms of traditional craftsmanship, including gold foil production, glass crafts, bamboo crafts, lacquerware and traditional paper making.” 

These examples of neighboring countries keeping the tradition and art of their ancestors, no matter how many centuries has passed by, is indeed admirable. It is not an easy task but it is achievable especially in a country where people are resilient and communal, a country where its people value God, family and good education. 

The Filipinos are indeed one of the most resilient people, and that means that we are highly adaptable to change. (Sutton, 2014) It is high time to decolonize our minds and appreciate who we are as Filipino people, to love our own. This is only the beginning. The change will start within us. After which, like a domino effect, everything else will follow. Our support and patronization for the local art, tradition and culture will eventually lead to a good contribution to a widespread economic recovery of our country.