A BirthDay at the National Museum & at the Park

It’s Brother Bear’s Birthday. We spent the day with our friend Apo at the National Museum.

The National Museum of the Philippines was used to be the old Congress Building. Once it was white but now it was painted cantaloupe melon. Found at the Rizal Park, at the Teodoro Valencia Circle, the museum is now the repository of some of the most important treasures of the country. Housed in this building are the works of Juan Luna, Felix Hidalgo and a host of national artists.

The main display at the National Museum is the Spoliarium.

It’s such a different experience when I saw the Spoliarium with my bare eyes. Juan Luna painted a huge painting; it almost filled up the entire wall. With its sheer size, the painting is the centerpiece of the entire collection of paintings in the museum.

I remembered Badoc, Ilocos Norte. Bro Bear and I insisted that the hotel driver should bring us to Juan Luna’s Birthplace. At the Juan Luna Shrine, I came to realize that the painter was from a wealthy family, him being sent to Ateneo de Manila and eventually to Madrid to finish his studies at a colegio de bellas artes.

Looking at the painting that brought recognition to the Philippines, I thought about the huge amount of money that was needed to buy oil paints and brushes and the canvass made of poplar to come up with such a huge artistic undertaking.

Bro Bear discussed about the life of Juan Luna and how interesting and shocking his life was, especially at the time when he murdered his wife and his mother-in-law.

Many has provided reference to The Spoliarium as a representation of the condition of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era where abuses, maltreatment and discrimination were deeply felt and observed. Juan Luna’s use of warm colors such as red and green may have some relation to his observation of the Filipino society. The colors have deeper meaning than its aesthetic value.

Apo, Bro Bear and I may have stood in front of the painting for a long time. I believed that the masterpiece had been rightfully placed in the museum. This painting had caused quite a stir in Rome, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. Some recorded accounts state that it is “the largest work, the most frightful, the most discussed work in the Exposition, more than a painting, it is a book, a poem; something more than mere mechanism of a genius, of the art composition..”

Juan Luna’s Spoliarium is just one of the many treasures of great importance to the Filipino people. At the old Finance Building where the Museum of the Filipino People has currently taken residence, another great treasure is the Manunggul Jar.

This burial jar was found in a cave in Palawan by Robert Fox and Miguel Santiago and is believed to be at least 2800 years old. Our ancestors used to keep the bones of dead relatives in these jars.

What is remarkable about this jar is its cover. On top of the lid is an anthropomorphic set of figures that represents the soul of the the dead that is believed to be transported to the next world or afterworld. Two figures sat on a boat, the dead on the front while the other holds the paddle that would steer the death boat.

Bro Bear and Apo discussed extensively what anthropomorphism is all about. I tried to understand why this pre-historic jar is considered a national treasure. It may be generally because the artifact greatly described how our ancestors practiced their belief on death and the afterdeath. It painted the way our forebearers communicate with the souls of those who died before them. That indeed during those era, the early Filipinos already have the concept of afterlife.

Anthropomorphic indeed. Seeing or envisioning the activities after life as counterpart of man’s current behavior and belief. Our ancestors really have the capacity to think beyond their life, giving qualities to inanimate objects or representations thereof.

I came to realize that the it’s not only in Palawan that the burial jars were practiced. Similar practice was noticed in Maitum, Sarangani where anthropomorphic jars were also found. Our ancestors had their own way of dealing with death and dying.

From the National Museum, Apo, Bro Bear and I proceeded to a Campo Santo in Manila.

This is the Paco Park, a circular shaped cemetery built in 1700s for the wealthy aristocratic families in Manila. A huge mortuary chapel (the chapel of St. Pancratius) could be found at one section of the inner circle.

Also found inside the park is the Shrine of Dr. Jose Rizal. The national hero was interred here after his execution in Bagumbayan.

The inner circle that houses several layers of niches was added with another concentric wall to accomodate additional remains.  On top of the new wall, a promende or pathway was built.

We loitered at the circular promenade. Within the inner circle, students were having rehearsals for a Noli Me Tangere scenes. Paco Park has been the venue for several outdoor weddings, concerts and plays. Apo, Bro Bear and I decided to make it the venue for camwhoring.

The park was also used by the Japanese forces as a fortification against the 148th Infrantry battalion of the US army. Paco Park ceased to be a burial ground since 1912 but decades after, the campo santo was converted into a park by President Diosdado Macapagal.

With the restoration already placed, Paco Park has provided the public with quiet times and shelter from the hustle and bustle of Manila.

And Bro Bear had the wonderful time of spending his birthday thru art and history and his closest friends.