ARCHITECTURE- Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.

Paco Park- The

first cemetery built
outside the city
walls of Manila is
the Cementerio
General de Dilao
or Paco (better
known today as
Paco Park).
Located just a
kilometer away
from Rizal Park it's
a picturesque
garden, managed
by the National
Parks
Development Committee. It is one of the oldest landmarks in Manila, situated in San
Marcelino Street. Paco Park (Cemetery) was designed by Maestro de Obras Nicolas
Ruiz in 1807, it was originally conceptualized and built as a cemetery for the rich and
influential people.The Paco cemetery has two concentric circular walls about four
meters in height with balustraded terrace. The walls are cut up into niches grouped
into three tiers. In 1960's, it became one of the projects of the National Parks
Development Committee. Through the creative flair of Landscape Architect Ildefonso
"IP" Santos, who is now recognized as a National Artist, the cemetery was turned into
a park, flauting the combination of ancient and modern architectural style. It was
formally declared as a National Park in 1966.
 ARCHITECTURE- Leandro V. Locsin
Cultural Center of
the Philippines-
or the Sentrong
Pangkultura ng
Pilipinas is just one
of the buildings
you get to see
when you visit the
Cultural Center
Complex which is
found near Roxas
Boulevard. This is
basically the place
where every
Filipino dancer
would want to
perform, where every Filipino indie movie director would want to showcase his film,
and where every Filipino opera singer would want to sing his heart out. In short if you
want to go big locally, you must perform at the CCP. During the day, the CCP is
swarmed with joggers and early morning exercise junkies, and at night if you’re lucky
you can get to see the beautiful fountain display. This gigantic building took 3 years to
build, from 1966-1969. Designed by premiere architects during that time, Leandro
Locsin and Ildefonso Santos Jr., and was the brainchild of former president Marcos
through Executive Order No. 30 with the sole purpose of promoting and preserving
Filipino arts and culture.
 ARCHITECTURE- Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa
Coconut Palace- In designing the Tahanang Pilipino - more popularly known as the
"Coconut Palace" - Manosa had to marry divergent concerns and weave them into a
unified whole. Initially conceived as a guest house for visiting artists at the nearby
Cultural Center, the Tahanang Pilipino was intended to express Filipino hospitality.
But it was also meant to demonstrate that the humble coconut was versatile enough
to be transformed into materials suitable for a luxurious mansion. Eventually, it
evolved into a showcase for the richness and diversity of Philippine culture.
 LITERATURE- Francisco Sionil Jose
Gagamba- Gagamba (meaning “spider”), subtitled The Spider Man, is a novel by
award-winning and most widely translated Filipino author F. Sionil José. The novel is
about a Filipino male cripple nicknamed “Gagamba”, a vendor of sweepstakes tickets
in Ermita, Manila. After being buried in the wreckage, the seller survives an
earthquake, together with two other fortunate characters, that occurred in the
Philippines in the middle of July 1990. The novel simultaneously raised a “fundamental
question” about the meaning of life and offers one “rational answer”.
 MUSIC- Felipe Padilla de Leon
Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not)- is an opera in 3 acts by Felipe Padilla de León
with libretto by Guillermo Tolentino. The opera was closely based on a novel by José
Rizal by the same name. The opera was sung entirely in Tagalog and is considered
as the first full-length Filipino opera.