Light and Sound Museum at Intramuros: Blogs and Black Legends

The Light and Sound Museum at Intramuros was a project of former DOT Secretary, now Senator Richard Gordon. Incidentally, he also spearheaded the WOW! Philippines program of DOT to promote tourism in the country. Last Saturday, Jan 24, blogger members of the Blog and Soul movement were invited to see it, as well as listen to a short lecture from Prof. Fernando Zialcita of Ateneo de Manila, regarding our history, as well as clarify some issues about the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. The Light and Sound Museum is very helpful for students in the primary and high school as the 3d representations of the Spanish rule is very realistic and with Intramuros as the main venue, the connection becomes vicarious and visualization of what occured during that period of our history is easier. But let's look at some photos first. These are just a few of the eye-catching life-size figures that can be found inside the museum.










The pre-colonial culture of the Philippines is depicted through the Ifugao rice terraces.







This is Lapu-lapu, the brave chieftain of Mactan, who killed Magellan upon his arrival in our shores.











A depiction of the Spanish lifestyle during the colonial rule.









Rizal in his prison cell before his execution.

















Rizal's warrant of arrest in Spanish. They were very methodical and tried to make everything legitimate.












A photo with Prof. Fernando Zialcita, after a short lecture on the misconceptions during the Spanish era. Some of the interesting notes to be considered were the development of education in the Philippines, the myth of the force labor and the legacy of negative customs and traditions that we gained from that period of our history. Prof. Zialcita recommended some readings for history-buffs, like me. Some of them are:

Philippine Chinese before 1850 - Edgar Wickberg, The Chinese in the Philippines 1964
Traditional Costumes/Dresses - Dr. Fernando Zialcita, Authentic though not Exotic, 2005 (Ateneo de Mla University Press)
Education: The Legacy - Gunnar Myrdal, The Asian Drama, 1968 vol 3
Education in Cebu - Frederick Fox and Juan Mercader, 1961

Dr. Fernando Nakpil Zialcita is a faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in the Ateneo de Manila University. He is the director of the Cultural Heritage Program. He has authored several books. A true blue Manileno, he grew up in Quiapo until he was about 6 or 7 in Bahay Nakpil and is currently doing projects that seek to preserve/document heritage homes in Old Manila.

Many thanks to Clare for organizing the activity.