By Andre Beriault & Natalya Bronzova
During the 19th Century, the Philippines are a protectorate of Spain, dating from as far back as 1521, when Magellan claimed the Spanish West Indies for king Charles V and the Infanta Isabella of Spain. Andres Bonifacio’s Katipunan sought independence through armed revolt. Today, many consider Bonifacio as being the first true head of state, when he declared by force the vassal islands into an independent Tagalog Republic in 1886, following years of revolutionary strife and much internal dissension. Officially, though, by historian accounts, in 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo was the first proclaimed President of the new Independent Republic. It wasn’t until 1935 that the Philippines were granted Commonwealth status and allowed to re-elect their second president, Manuel Quezon, and make plans to establish a fully independent country.
Luzon Island holds approximately one third of the Philippine’s 100 million inhabitants, 24 of which make up the metro area called National Capital Region (NCR). It is a patchwork of a dozen or more large cities such as Manila proper, Makati, Quezon, Bonifacio or Parañaque, that cant seem to get their act together to solve their catastrophic social issues. There are very little highways, save the North & South throughways, overcrowded with dangerous heavy lorry traffic, no high-speed rail transit and no green public areas, other than Rizal Park in central Manila and the odd cemeteries and the dozen or so private golf clubs spreading here and there; there are definitely, no pedestrian infrastructures, other than in a few of the richer cities, such as Makati or Bonifacio, where everyone owns at least one car. Elsewhere, pedestrians have to share the street with bullying tricycles, impatient childish drivers and the ever-present jeepney mafia. Filipinos have yet to learn how they could turn their majestic islands into formidable foreign tourist’s attractions, a machine that would no doubt bring in billions if only they would learn to work together.
So the Filipino character is a resilient and enduring one. What most occidentals would take for base carelessness or stubbornness is in fact the humble acceptance that there is very little one could do to change anything, regardless of social standing. Since they are divided into many social classes, from the humble landless peasant and homeless street vendor to the high class “nouveau rich” or the long time aristocrat with a well know family name, they live every day in the only way possible when such harsh realities make any major improvement improbable: they smile at life and give it their best not to take any note of it!
Acheter l'album en ligne sur Blurb (version anglaise)
During the 19th Century, the Philippines are a protectorate of Spain, dating from as far back as 1521, when Magellan claimed the Spanish West Indies for king Charles V and the Infanta Isabella of Spain. Andres Bonifacio’s Katipunan sought independence through armed revolt. Today, many consider Bonifacio as being the first true head of state, when he declared by force the vassal islands into an independent Tagalog Republic in 1886, following years of revolutionary strife and much internal dissension. Officially, though, by historian accounts, in 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo was the first proclaimed President of the new Independent Republic. It wasn’t until 1935 that the Philippines were granted Commonwealth status and allowed to re-elect their second president, Manuel Quezon, and make plans to establish a fully independent country.
Luzon Island holds approximately one third of the Philippine’s 100 million inhabitants, 24 of which make up the metro area called National Capital Region (NCR). It is a patchwork of a dozen or more large cities such as Manila proper, Makati, Quezon, Bonifacio or Parañaque, that cant seem to get their act together to solve their catastrophic social issues. There are very little highways, save the North & South throughways, overcrowded with dangerous heavy lorry traffic, no high-speed rail transit and no green public areas, other than Rizal Park in central Manila and the odd cemeteries and the dozen or so private golf clubs spreading here and there; there are definitely, no pedestrian infrastructures, other than in a few of the richer cities, such as Makati or Bonifacio, where everyone owns at least one car. Elsewhere, pedestrians have to share the street with bullying tricycles, impatient childish drivers and the ever-present jeepney mafia. Filipinos have yet to learn how they could turn their majestic islands into formidable foreign tourist’s attractions, a machine that would no doubt bring in billions if only they would learn to work together.
So the Filipino character is a resilient and enduring one. What most occidentals would take for base carelessness or stubbornness is in fact the humble acceptance that there is very little one could do to change anything, regardless of social standing. Since they are divided into many social classes, from the humble landless peasant and homeless street vendor to the high class “nouveau rich” or the long time aristocrat with a well know family name, they live every day in the only way possible when such harsh realities make any major improvement improbable: they smile at life and give it their best not to take any note of it!
Photo documentary album produced by AN STUDIO
- Format: 12" x 12"
- Pages: 224
- Photos: 345
- Papier: Glossy
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