Condensin

g the
Country
• Governments often employ various
modes
to communicate national identity to
local
and international audiences. Set within
the
ideology of nationalism, which
demands a sense
of distinctiveness in cultural identity,
nations
have often turned to architecture to
express
such identy
Together with architecture, world’s
fairs, international expositions, theme
parks and
parades, other forms of public
spectacle are also
used to convey national identity
because of their
public and dramatic nature. Th ese
 In this article, the process of “condensing,” or The post-independence theme parks
the
used notions of self-exoticism and self-orientalism
act of distilling the essence of the country into its
that recall the primitive-civilized and majority-
irreducible elements, is inspected in terms of the
minority dichotomies present in the Philippine
ways the idea of the nation is articulated through
theme parks.
villages of the 1887 Exposicion General de las Islas
The postcolonial situation in the Philippines
Filipinas in Madrid, Spain and the 1904 St. Louis
presents a complex situation. This article argues
World’s Fair in Missouri in the United States. By
that as much as theme parks can be considered
interrogating these theme parks, the article also
as expressions of postcolonial identity and
discusses the implications in the design of future
representing the period after colonialism, the
parks as instruments for propagating an idea of
planning and design however reiterate narratives
national identity.
that do not differ from previous colonial
expositions.
site. Th e park was conveniently located
adjacent
to the Manila International Airport (now the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport) and the
Manila Domestic Airport in Pasay City, to
allow
foreign and local tourists who have no time
to see
the entire Philippines a glimpse of the
attractions
with just a short trip from the airport. In the
1969
brochure for the park, Marcos invited foreign
and local visitors to visit the park “and see
the
handiwork of Filipino artisans and craftsmen,
amidst an authentic setting of representative
samples of the different regional houses built
throughout the country from the historical
past
to the present.”5 Th e cultural park was offi
cially
inaugurated on June 11, 1970.6
The “authentic setting” described in the
brochure
was a 28-hectare park consisting of seven
thematic villages surrounding a six-hectare
man-made lagoon. Each village represented
a
particular region in the Philippines.
Prominent
Filipino architects were commissioned to
design
the structures for a particular village in an
attempt to evoke the unique character of the
region
A replica of a typical Spanish-colonial plaza
system composed of an open plaza fronting a
church served as the park’s administrative center.
Th e architectures utilized traditional building
materials associated with the houses such as
bamboo, thatch, palm fronds (for the Visayan
and Ifugao houses), wood and brick (for the Ilocos
region), but nevertheless reinterpreted other
structures (such as the restaurant) using modern
materials like concrete and galvanized iron
roofi ng. A road looped around the park connecting
the different zones. Visitors could ride a colorful
jeepney that went around the entire site. The loop did not follow a prescribed sequence but
rather
allowed visitors to discover cultural examples
from the archipelago as they go throughout the
park.
understanding of the customs and lifeways of
these “cultural minorities” to foreign tourists and
more importantly, as a way of educating the local
city residents.
As an arts and crafts center, the park
concomitantly highlighted a select group of
arts and crafts industries from the Philippines.
Artisans from Luzon comprised ornamental
carvers from Paete (Laguna), basket weavers from
Pangasinan, balisong (folding knife) makers from
Batangas, cloth weavers from the Tagalog Region
and woodcarvers from Ifugao. From the Visayan
region, the park showcased mat weaving from
Leyte and guitar-making from Cebu. Brassware
makers from Lanao represented the crafts of the
Mindanao region.11 Craftsmen were housed in the
respective regions in the park, providing visitors a
glimpse of the process of making these crafts and
later allowing them to purchase the end products.
Th e park, aside from being a cultural venue, was
meant to be a shopping destination as well.
In another area of the “Chosen Island” was a
representation of Philippine pre-colonial
history
through mythical origins and folklore stories.
Th e stories were represented through life-size
painted plaster fi gures and tableaux recalling
folklore such as the mischievous dwende (or
elves), Mariang Makiling (the mythical nymph
of Mount Makiling), and the creation story
featuring the fi rst couple of Malakas (Strong)
and
Maganda (Beautiful). Aside from legends, key
natural features of the islands such as a
volcano
and the Banaue rice terraces were also
recreated
within the zone.41 Within the Lupang Hinirang
(Chosen Island) section, indigenous
populations
were conveniently portrayed as part of the
past
and effectively confl ated together with the
“natural” (replicas of a volcano and Banaue
rice
terraces) and the “mythical” (with the
tableaux
of Philippine legends)
Th e innovative structure was, at that time,
unprecedented in terms of scale and technology.
With its 35,000 seating capacity, the amphitheater
was touted as “Asia’s largest amphitheater
complex.”53 Technologically, at that time, the
roofi ng structure combined the use of the latest
technology of tensioned-membrane structure
(provided by Bird Air Engineering company from
the US), space-frame structure (supplied by Mero
Spaceframe from Germany) and pre-fabricated
panels and structures (from South Korea).54
President Ramos declared that the Philippines
had “come of age” with the centennial celebration:
“We, Filipinos, are rejoicing in our coming of age –
in the fi nal proof of ability to understand, to use
and to protect the liberty our heroes won for us
a century ago.” Ramos further asserted that the
Philippines was ready to face the accountability
of being a nation that is now part of a global
community further emphasizing that, “We have
begun to make our own history. Overall, the
president deemed the centennial celebration as
“successful” and “worth it.”
Furthermore, the problematic act of condensing
the country into easily understandable and
digestible displays and bits of information begs
questions on the politics of representation. Who
is responsible for creating a simplifi ed image
or a coherent narrative? To what end are these
images and narratives used? As in the cases of
the Nayong Pilipino and Expo Pilipino, the
creation
of the master plans and exhibits was given to a
select and elite group of people, often hired or
commissioned by the government. Th e narratives
depicted were based on offi cial declarations and
directives especially from the First Lady Imelda
Marcos, as in Nayong Pilipino, and President Fidel
Ramos, as in Expo Pilipino. If these theme parks
were truly representative of the Philippines, then
would it be more ethically sound for the
narratives
to actually come from a consensus of the majority
rather than a minority? Does it make sense that
to depict a democratic postcolonial nation,
supposedly a repudiation of the authoritarian
colonial rule, democratic processes could also
have been utilized? But that was not the case for
any of these theme parks as well as the Philippine
exhibitions abroad. Th e message on how the
Philippines should be understood was simply
controlled by a select few.
In the future, how do we then depict post-colonial
Filipinos to the rest of the world? In designing
expositions about the Philippines, how will we
continue to imagine a decolonized representation
of the postcolonial Filipino? At this point what
is evident though is that there is a need to be
critical of various ways of representation. More
importantly, as postcolonial Filipinos undergo a
process of decolonization, they should be critical
and conscious of strategies that ultimately
reiterate and reproduce colonial narratives that
prevent them from moving forward.