By: Jeff Netsite
Submitted: 2010-01-30 09:46:39 | Word Count: 463
I remember this one time where my friend invited me to come to her aunt's art gallery here in Manila. I'm not the type of guy who is into paintings or any object that was used to create something which they consider art. There are times where I appreciate it, but it is not something that I would like to be in a room just looking at it for an hour. Anyway, going back to her aunt's art gallery, I find it amusing when I saw her works. Not just because of the painting itself, but what it shows to the public. The themes of the paintings are more about Pinoy cultures which made me smile because I never realize the beauty of our country.
I blame myself for not taking Philippine History back in high school and college seriously. That is probably the reason why I am not fully aware about our Philippine arts and culture. According to "IndependenceDay", "The art and culture of Philippines truly reflects the vibrant diversity of the country formed as a result of amalgamation of different ethnic and linguistic groups from different parts of the country." If we take a look of our history, before we had our freedom, a lot of people from other country took over the Philippines. Because of that, we were able to adopt some part of their cultures.
[ advertisement ]
But just because we were influenced by the Spaniards and Americans with their arts and cultures, doesn't mean we Filipinos don't have any. One example I can give you is the famous "Banaue Rice Terraces" in Ifugao that was made back to nearly 1,000 B.C. Spanish cultures are very well known to our religion and even before, we used to speak their language. Regarding music and the second language that we use now, we got that from the Americans. In terms of entertainment, we have the different kinds of dance in most of the provinces showing the beauty of the way we do things and the way we dress.
I saw all of these in the art gallery and it made me feel proud of being a Pinoy. "Our colorful and lively culture that makes us distinctly Filipino is the one thing that separates us from the rest of the world", was according to "PINAS" which is very true. No wonder we Pinoys are always smiling and always positive in a lot of things in spite of the issues that our country is having right now. Even though we don't have much money, we still find ways to entertain ourselves, and I think that what makes us one of a kind.
