The Diorama Experience: A Visual History of the Philippines

Welcome to my podcast; my name is Pamee, and I am a senior high school student.

This podcast is about a literary book called The Diorama Experience: A Visual History of the
Philippines, written by Reynaldo C. Ileto, Ambeth R. Ocampo, Jesus T. Peralta, and Felice
Noelle M. Rodriguez. This book discusses and colorfully portrays its amazing collection of
dioramas commemorating Philippine history, which began in 1967 and was finished in 1971.
This book contains the story of sixty dioramas intended to provide a complete visual
representation of Philippine history. And today I will discuss and share with you guys, my top 3
favorite dioramas and the summary of their stories based on this book.
The first is the 9th diorama, and the 3rd on my list of favorites. It depicts the Philippines'
first mass. With the arrival of Magellan's voyage in the Philippines in 1521, Fr. Pedro de
Valderrama performed the first mass in the Philippines. Only with the arrival of the Legazpi
expedition in 1565, which brought the first missionaries, the Agustinians, did the island's
intensive Christianization process begin. A tiny boat with about nine men approached the
foreigners who had wandered into their seas near Suluan, south of Samar.
Next is The Battle of Mactan. It's the diorama's tenth out of sixty, and my second
favorite. It is when Magellan set sail for Cebu, which Rajah Kolambu claimed to be the finest
port in the world for supplying his people. As a token of friendship, Rajah Humabon stated he
would send a drop of blood from his right arm, and the captain should do the same. By beating
Lapu-lapu, Magellan hoped to demonstrate his superior European combat ability. He sailed to
Mactan in order to compel the recalcitrant chieftain to submit. The official historian of the
expedition, Antonio Pigafetta, offers an eyewitness description of the combat. He says, "We
went off at midnight, 60 soldiers armed with corselets and helmets, united with the Christian
King." We arrived three hours before sunrise at Mactan. More than 1,050 people had been
divided into three groups. When the captain saw this, he separated us into two groups, and we
began fighting. We couldn't defend ourselves against the rain of arrows, bamboo lances tipped
with iron, and sharp stakes hardened by fire. When Magellan refused to retreat any farther, an
Indian hurled a bamboo lance in his face, killing him instantly.
The Death March from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan, and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell,
Capas, Tarlac, to San Fernando, Pampanga, is my top choice of all the dioramas. On April 9,
1942, Filipino-American forces surrendered after three months of fighting off wave after wave of
Japanese land, sea, and air offensives. The "Death March," however, would be remembered
much more vividly as the sad aftermath of surrender. More than 70,000 soldiers, many of whom
were injured, sick, or exhausted, were taken into Japanese captivity. They were forced to drag
themselves forward in the scorching heat, and hundreds of them died along the route. That
voyage claimed the lives of 3,000 to 10,000 Filipinos, as well as 650 Americans. Only about half
of the estimated 60,000 soldiers that arrived at Camp O'Donnell got it out alive. The inmates
were herded aboard trains to be sent to Capas. Hundreds of people died in the scorching heat
and crowded circumstances of the boxcars once more.
And that concludes my top 3 favorite dioramas and their corresponding stories based on
this book. Thank you for tuning in and I hope to see you in the next episode.