THE SPANISH COLONIAL ART

How would you generally describe the works of art of Spanish Colonial Filipino people? Write a Five
sentence personal reflection.
Spanish colonial art encompasses paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects created across one
and a half continents, from Mexico to South America, over a period of about 330 years. At the time of
conquest and conversion to Christianity, the existing literature of the Philippine ethnic groups was
primarily oral, consisting of epics, legends, songs, riddles, and proverbs. The Spanish colonial strategy
was to undermine native oral tradition by substituting the story of Christ's Passion for it. Although Christ
was not as warlike or sexually appealing as many of the heroes of the oral epic tradition, the appeal of the
Jesus myth stemmed from the protagonist's superior magic: by promising eternal life for all, he
democratized the power to rise above death. It should be noted, however, that the native tradition survived
and even flourished in areas inaccessible to the colonial power. Furthermore, the colonial administration's
tardiness and lack of assiduity in establishing a public educational system meant that oral tradition, or
what remained of it, survived among the conquered tribes.