90. THE 1ST PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL FAIR, REVISITED

THE FIRST WORLD FAIR IN ASIA AND THE FAR EAST. The 1953 Philippine International Fair opened to much fanfare on Feb.1, with Pres. Elpidio Quirino welcoming the world to Manila and daughter Vicky Quirino-Gonzales cutting the ribbon.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the world was caught up in the excitement of international fairs and expositions.  The successful hosting of New York’s World Fair 1939-1940 inspired other countries to put up their own, as showcases of progress, goodwill and international friendship. The memory of the successful Manila Carnivals that ended  before the war have not completely dimmed; oldtimers still reminisce fondly about how the Carnivals brought people together, to bask in the peacetime merriment of an emerging nation.

SOUVENIR PROGRAM OF THE PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL FAIR. Several versions of this program were printed.

So, sometime in 1952, unfazed even by the brewing war in Korea, the Philippines decided to join the bandwagon and planned on staging an ambitious international exposition that would come to be recognized as the first ever world fair in the Orient.

Setting the stage for a world fair in the Orient

The organizing committee led by then Secretary of Commerce and Industry Cornelio Balmaceda, believed that Manila’s strategic location  as the “Gateway to Asia” puts the country in an enviable position to show the rest of the world its vast economic potentials which are just beginning to be realized. After all, it had only been 7 years since the Philippines was granted its independence—the first Republic in Asia--and now is the opportune time to reveal what its people have achieved in the last 500 years.

THE FAIRGROUND ON THE DRAWING BOARD. As designed by Arch. Otilio Arellano, the exposition grounds were symmetrical in lay-out and grand in scale.

It was also the perfect platform to present the nation’s rich natural resources for economic and commercial possibilities, and to announce the advent of the new era of industrialization. The international fair hoped to foster closer ties between the Philippines and other nations, promote cultural understanding and strengthen its position in the global arena. Finally, the inaugural fair was seen as a prelude to the establishment of a permanent Philippine World Fair, similar to the famous fairs of Leipzig, Milan and Barcelona, possibly in a new site in Quezon City.

LAGOON OF NATIONS. The long reflecting pool was lined with magnificent pavilions of participating foreign countries and local exhibitsfrom provinces, government bureaus and private enterprises.

As in the Manila Carnivals of old, Wallace Field in Luneta was chosen as the venue of the Fair. Overgrown with grass, the United Nations Plaza as it was now called,  was cleared and landscaped, then turned over to the able hands of Architect Otilio Arellano, nephew of the venerable architect Juan Arellano who also did design work for Manila’s past carnivals. Arch. Arellano decided on a symmetrical lay-out for the fair, dominated by a central “Lagoon of Nations”, a long, reflecting pool that was hemmed with international and local pavilions on both sides.

 The Fair To Watch: 500 Years of Progress

READ THE FAIR PRINT: The announcement of the official opening of the Fair was launched in full page print ads in leading publications of the day.

On 1 February 1953,at 4:30 in the afternoon in front of the Rizal Monument,  the 1^st  Philippine International Fair opened with much fanfare with Pres. Elpidio Quirino  giving his welcome address before a large crowd of Filipinos and foreign guests. His daughter, Mrs. Vicky Quirino-Gonzales cut the ceremonial ribbon which marked the official opening of the momentous, historic event.

GATEWAY TO THE EAST. The towering archway entrance was the identifying landmark of the Fair, designed by Arch, Arellano.

Visitors poured into the main entrance, past the hero’s monument and through the most imposing and tallest structure in the fairgrounds—a magnificent salakot-topped archway called “Gateway to the East”, designed by the Arch. Arellano. Four allegorical figures  representing the 4 Freedoms (Freedom from Fear, Want, Religion and Expression) stood on pedestals at the four corners of the archway, sculpted by Italian Francisco Monti. The dramatic figure of a standing Filipina, arms opened in welcome greeted the visitors as they streamed in.

MURAL LESSONS. Noted muralist, Botong Francisco, was commissioned to render mural panels depicting important events in Philippine history.

Flanking the entrance are cut-out murals executed by famed painted Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco that visualized the country’s eventS of the past 500 year. Inspiring in both magnitude and significance, the fair attracted participation of national and international firms and institutions.

Pavilions, pagodas and pageants.

There were impressive pavilions from 35 Philippine provinces, 18 chartered cities, 63 business firms, 21 national government agencies and a dozen foreign  countries led by the U.S., China, Spain, Cambodia, Indonesia, Italy, Korea,  Thailand, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and Vietnam.

GET ME TO THE CHURCH ON TIME. The Catholic Church Exhibit was allotted the biggest space in the fairgrounds, showcasing old, ecclesiastical arts and staging religious plays.

The biggest space was allotted to the Catholic Church of the Philippines, which put up a 2,500 sq. m. cathedral-shaped building, complete with a belltower and chimes. The compound housed an exhibit of old ecclesiastical art, rare books, relics and religious documents. The pageants, tableaus and theatrical plays presented periodically were among the top drawers of the fair.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. The bell-shaped U.S. Pavilion, designed by Arch. Carlos Arguelles, was inspired by the historic Liberty Bell that was tolled in 1776, during  the decalaration of American independence.

Of the foreign pavilions, the one that got the most attention was the United States Pavilion which replicated the shape of the iconic Liberty Bell that was believed to have been rung to mark the reading of  the Declaration of American Independence in 1776. The U.S. pavilion was designed by local architect Carlos Arguelles.

 THE PAVILIONS OF BELGIUM AND SWEDEN.

The streamlined pavilions of European countries such as Sweden, Belgium and Spain provided a sharp contrast to the Asian pavilions of China, Cambodia and Thailand that looked like majestic temples and pagodas, with spires and peaked roofs.

PAVILIONS OF CAMBODIA AND INDONESIA

Each country proudly showed off its latest scientific, industrial, and cultural advances, some of them entirely new to Filipinos— batik textiles and rubber products of Indonesia; Chinese porcelain, silk fabrics, objects of art in marble; Famed Borsalino hats, wines, fine woodworks and modern machineries from Italy; Belgian tiles, ceramics and glass products;  industrial machines for agriculture, navigation, dairy industry, packaging and printing from Sweden; and Thai jewellery, gemstones, textiles and religious antiquities in the form of two Buddha heads.

Public display of attractions.

PAVILIONS OF BASILAN, CEBU, ILOILO AND PASAY CITY.

Provincial exhibits competed for attention with their attractively-designed show-windows that presented products of the most bewildering variety. Batangas not only featured famous products like balisongs, twine and cordage, embroidered jusi, shell products and wooden shows, but the display also included a real horse! Bohol showed off its flagship products—Talibon Hats, made of finely woven raffia buri. Not to be outdone was Davao, which has progressed amazingly after the Liberation. Its special attraction is the durian fruit, which is said to impart youthful and masculine vigor to those who partake of it.

Exotic Lanao featured its kris and flute, spears and guitars,  cymbals and gongs, most in brass.  Mountain Province put on display a miniature Ifugao Rice Terraces while Sulu boasted of its world-class pearls and shellcrafts.

GOVERNMENT BUREAU PAVILIONS, National Rice and Corn Corp. (NARIC), and the National Merchandising Corp.

Government bureaus and state institutions had their own exclusive compound, that housed exhibits from Department of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Public Works and Communications, Education, Science and Technology, Justice, National Defense, among others.

Private commercial enterprises pitched in by holding state-of-the art exhibits that drew raves from the daily crowd. International Harvester, for example, showed off its modern tractors, motor trucks, industrial and agricultural equipment. Paperboard products made from  locally-collected scrap paper, demonstrated the recycling capability of Philippine Paper Mills, Inc. Interesting gadgets and devices could be seen at the booths of western Electric, Motorola and Audivox—from high-efficiency projectors, hearing aids to micropohnes, audograph dictating machines, and two-way radios.

Sideshows, spectacles and rides of a lifetime.

But if the adult crowd were awed by these marvelous building attractions, the younger set—including children—could not wait to go to the Amusement Zone, where thrills of a lifetime await.

AMUSE ME. The Amusement Center of the Fair was laid out at the Sunken Gardens, divided into 4 sections that featured a variety of rides and sideshows.

The 20-hectare space on the Sunken Gardens could be accessed by an overhead bridge linked to the exposition grounds. Divided into four sections,  the Entertainment Zone featured special rides, acrobatics, stateside shows, and water spectacles.

SILVER STREAK. One of the exciting roller coasters that one could ride at the Amusement Center, never before seen in the Philippines.

New roller coaster rides brought in from the U.S. by Pedro Taguba & Co. were instant hits with Filipino kids, and so were the miniature railroad train rides of Jack Warner. American impresario E. K. Fernandez flew in a troop of artists and daredevil acrobats to complement Billy Rose’s Aquacade show that had 30 costumed mermaids  swimming in complete synchronicity as they flipped and tumbled in the giant pool.

Artists from around the globe came to provide songs and dances, but world-renowned Xavier Cugat became the toast of the stage, with his troupe that performed bouncy Latin numbers that had audiences clamoring for more.

Picking the fair’s fairest: Miss Philippines 1953

Without a doubt though, the  Philippine International Fair centerpiece event was the coronation of Miss Philippines 1953. Rising movie stars, young colegialas, glamorous high society girls and unknown provincial delegates rushed to join the prestigious competition.

THE ROLE OF THE FIRST RUNNER-UP IS VERY IMPORTANT.  Some of the candidates for the Miss Philippines of the Fair. Many were handpicked by their local government officials and came from pedigreed backgrounds.

The list of candidates read like a veritable who’s who of city and provincial beauties, many handpicked by their local officials to lead the quest for the plum Miss Philippines crown: Emma Nepomuceno ( Nueva Ecija, mother of singer Gary Valenciano), Lina Taguinod (Cagayan), Ofelia Salvacion (Quezon Province), Florina Guerrero (Catanduanes), Teresita Gianan (Legaspi City), Estela Viana (Occidental Mindoro), Teresita Abueva (Bohol), Naty David (Camarines Norte), Ofelia Salazar (Zamboanga), Rosario Prieto (Naga City), Magneta Magbuhat (Batangas), Loretta de Guzman (Dagupan), Maria Dulce Ramiro (Misamis Occidental), Alice Fuentes (Baguio), Jesusa de Leon (Bulacan), Petrona Bucad (Isabela), Ana Maria Arnaiz (Dumaguete), Antonia Tan (Samar), Lucita Salazar (Ormoc City), Nelia Cuaycong (Negros Occidental), Amelita Pastrano (Iloilo), Teresita Villarosa (Cebu City), Gloria Salazar (Leyte), Santanina Tillah (Sulu, the future senator), Lily Cuevas (Basilan City), Corazon Lacsamana (Zamboanga del Sur), Gilda Gruet Walstrom (Davao, socialite once linked with Ferdinand Marcos) and Monette Tambunting (Quezon City).

THE CHOSEN. Maria Cristina Galang, daughter of former Tarlac governor Alejandro Galang, Miss Philippines of the 1953 Philippine International Fair.

But it was a fair convent-bred 19 year old  beauty from Tarlac, Tarlac who walked away with the Miss Philippines 1953 title, Maria Cristina Galang. The 5’4” Lyceum student,  daughter of a former governor of Tarlac, Alejandro Galang and Apolonia de Leon,  She was also automatically named Miss Luzon. Her royal court included Violeta Villamor of Cebu (Miss Visayas) and Gina Walstrom of Davao (Miss Mindanao).

CRISTINA’S COURT. Miss Philippines 1953 and her court of honor.

 Hits and Misses: Miss Philippines, Miss Universe and the Muse of Manila

MUSE OF MANILA, Imelda Romualdez

Incidentally, at the same pageant, a Miss Manila was chosen, won by Norma Jimenez over Amparo Manuel and Imelda Romualdez. Imelda, a losing nominee, was given the title “Muse of Manila” after tearfully complaining to Mayor Arsenio Lacson about alleged irregularities in the contest.

CROWNING MOMENT, Miss Universe Armi Kuusela crowns Cristina Galang as Miss Philippines of 1953. Kuusela would meet Virgilio Hilario during her stay in the country, whom she would eventually wed.

Cristina’s victory was significant, for she was crowned by no less than the visiting 1st Miss Universe of 1952, Armi Kuusela of Finland (Armi later married rich Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario after a much-publicized whirlwind courtship).  While here, Kuusela was given the royal treatment wherever she went—from paying a courtesy call to Pres. Quirino, visiting Baguio where she would meet Hilario, laying a wreath on Bonifacio’s monument, to top billing the “Show of Shows” at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

NINOY AQUINO JR., CONSORT TO A QUEEN. Future senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a townmate of Cristina, served as her escort at her Coronation.

Armi was assisted by the 1952 queen, Teresita Sanchez. Cristina’s  escort was her kabalen, the young 21 year old Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. The pageant committee originally wanted Cristina to join the 1953 Miss Universe in Long Beach, California, but this did not push through. Instead, a namesake, Cristina Pacheco was sent to the international competition.

Tarlac showed its gratitude to Cristina by throwing a lavish Despedida Dance at the Tarlac Trade School Court in her hometown on 5 September 1953. Tarlac’s most prominent citizens, headed by Governor and Mrs. Antonio E. Lopez and Mayor Hipolito Castañeda graced the occasion. A park was also fittingly named after her, the Maria Cristina Park, located near the provincial capitol.

TOAST OF TARLAC. Maria Cristina Galang was accorded a victory ball by a grateful province  for her triumph as Miss Philippines.

Cristina acted as a welcome official of the 1st Philippine International Fair, meeting important dignitaries, foreign visitors, crowning fiesta beauties and lending her beautiful presence in several social events. (After her duties at the fair ended, Cristina went back to her Liberal Arts studies  at the Georgian University in New Jersey. She then went  to Fordham University in New York for her graduate studies in Sociology. There,  she met Dr. Jose Caedo, an intern-trainee at the Cancer Memorial Hospital, who would become her husband. The Caedos would have 3 children, 2 boys and a girl).

FAIR MEMENTOS. The Philippines International Fair spawned many collectible materials including first day of issue stamps, medals, philatelic items and commemorative booklets.

 A share of fair rewards.

To further underscore the significance of the 1953 Philippine International Fair, commemorative stamps were even issued to mark the milestone event. Scheduled to close in April, the Fair was extended until May 31, 1953. In all, over two million visitors came to the fair, twice the city’s total population, making it a resounding success. Close to 700 thousand pesos were collected at the gates.

The momentum generated by the 1953 Philippine International Fair proved short-lived with the envisioned industrial age remaining still an elusive dream. An attempt to sustain the gains through a follow-up 1954 edition was a dismal failure and was quickly forgotten.  Internal problems like the rise of Huk insurgency, graft and corruption in the government, politicking, lack of infrastructure (many unbuilt and unrestored from the last war) , and a poor, inefficient transport system led to an unremarkable economy still driven by agriculture, small, cottage industries, and underdeveloped tourism.  

CROWD PLEASER. Over two million people visited the fair in its 4-month run, twice the population of Manila.

But for many Filipinos who have never known the benefits of real progress, a truer index of his advancement would be his happiness and well-being —the ability to smile and laugh, even when the going gets tough.  Put in this perspective, the fairs of his day were the perfect distractions to his daily worries, a place to see and be seen after a day’s toil, a peaceable, joyous realm to soak and revel in, where he could witness-- at his leisure--the unfolding marvels and wonders of a modern world.

President Elpidio Quirino had hoped that the Philippine International Fair  would  not just “ focus attention on the progress of the first Republic in the Far East”. It was also his desire that the event help “advance the common concern to make freedom, peace, and increased well-being the ultimate goal for men of goodwill everywhere”. For one brief,  shining moment—four months to be exact-- the Fair managed to just that, and more:  it uplifted a people’s spirit, rekindled pride of country, and left a legacy of collective happiness and good feelings—when all the world came to discover the promise of a new Philippine republic-- that would live on for years to come.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR TOWNANDCOUNTRY.PH, 

 SOURCES:

ALL PHOTOS, FROM ALEX R. CASTRO COLLECTION

88. 6 ISLANDS THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT EXISTED IN MANILA

 For many city people, it is inconceivable to think Greater Manila has islands in its midst—pieces of and surrounded by water.  Manila sits on a low, flat land that is deltaic in nature. Before the Pasig River reaches the bay, it tears into many tributaries (esteros) and creates little islands enclosed by waterways. Along the coast of Manila, one can find such natural, man-made, and tiny islands or eyots, but others have disappeared through land-filling as the city became more urbanized.

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 ISLA DE CONVALECENCIA. The only island dividing the Pasig River in  Manila is located in the San Miguel district. Here is found the Hospicio de San Jose, the first social welfare institution in the country, accessible only via the Ayala Bridge, and relocated from Echague in 1810.  “Isla de Convalecencia” means island of convalescence,  a name that dates back to the 1830s when the Hospicio  was erected   the island was used as a place of healing for patients of the Hospital of San Juan de Dios. It used to be called Isla de an Andres, in honor of the original owner, Don Andres Blanco Bermudez.

ISLA DE PROVISOR. This small island in northwesth Paco district is bounded  by the Estero de Provisor, Estero del Tanque and the Pasig River. It is across the Isla de Convalecencia on the Taft side of the river. The Manila Thermal Power Plant once operated here in the mid 1960s, until decommissioned in 2000.

ISLA DE BALUT. Balut Island is an artificial island in the Manila North Harbor in Tondo bounded by Estero de Sunog Apog (on the north), by Estero de Vitas (south and east), and the Manila Bay (west), close by to the city of Caloocan. “Balot” means “wrap”, as the island is wrapped around with water.

ENGINEERING ISLAND. Found in the South Harbor of Manila. Engineer’s Island was so called because it was the site of government facilities that repaired ships and retooled many heavy and light machinery. Of course, this artificial island which covers about 30 hectares is now home to the Baseco urban poor community.

PULONG BATO. Pulong Bato or “island of stone” was an island formed by the accretion of sand and silt against the breakwater off Pier 2 in the North Harbor. It was known earlieras”Pulong Diablo” (Devil Island) as it was said o have been a pirates’ lair at one time. The isolated island, still extant and relatively new in 1961, has disappeared from Manila maps.

DAMPALIT. There are at least 6 islands included in Malabon, and Dampalit is one of them an island barangay named after a species of coastal plant that used to grow profusely in the area. The island is separated from the mainland by the Muzon River and the Batasan River. Dampalit River separates it from Navotas.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR ESQUIRE.PH AND POSTED UNDER THE TITLE "6 ISLANDS THAT YOU NEVER THOUGHT EXISTED IN MANILA", on 31 July 2019.

SOURCES:

Photos of Isla de Convalecencia and Dampalit: Wikimedia commons

The Islands of Manila, The Sunday Times Magazine, 5 March 1961, pp. 32-35. Photos by Dominador Suba and Conrado Capuno.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_in_the_Greater_Manila_Area

82. The Coolest Place in Turn-of-the-20th Century Manila: CLARKE’S No 2 Escolta

IMAGE 1: CLARKES’.The first ice cream and refreshment place in the Philippines, 1908.

The first thing that shocked the first Americans who came to occupy our islands  was the sizzling, searing tropical climate that proved to be unbearable for many. An American child visiting turn-of-the-20^th century Manila bawled out her discomfort: “It’s not the hotness that I mind so much, mamma, but the wetness of the hotness!”. Another foreigner described the humidity as “heat that blisters and burns, that withers and consumes, that seems to dry the marrow while it boils the flesh”.

Filipinos, of course, had no trouble dealing with the long, sweltering summers they were born in. There were cool dips in river, in nearby bays and falls of which many abound in Manila and its outskirts.

Before the advent of the “ice age” and refrigeration, natives took to drinking juices believed to have cooling effects on the body.  Coconut water was a favorite drink; but since the nut and husk absorbs heat, it was cooled first by immersing the coconut in water, as is true for other fruits. Caimito (star apple), pakwan (watermelon),  certain citrus fruit juices like dalandan, kamias and the leaves of dayaps (lime), have cooling properties as well.

 But Americans were strangers to these fruits. They craved for the cold comforts of their winter, and missed the heat-soothing, ice cold drinks and desserts that were so readily available back home.

The scream for ice cream, heard by Clarke.

Fortune-seeking  businessmen sought to capitalize the need to make life more cool and comfy especially foreign residents by importing ice blocks from New England. These were first shipped to Southeast Asian countries like Hong Kong and the Philippines in the middle of the 19^th century.

The arrival of ice in the country opened up a whole new world of opportunities for American entrepreneurs. They quickly became importers, distributors and sellers of newfangled domestic appliances like wooden ice boxes, chests and coolers—precursors of the modern refrigerator. 

IMAGE 2: MEET MET. Metcalfe “Met” A. Clarke. Founder and proprietor of Clarke’s, which he started on a shoestring budget. To augment  his income from the soda parlor, he sublet the second floor to American soldiers as living quarters.

 But another prospector did much better. When Chicago-born Metcalfe A. Clarke learned of the arrival of American soldiers unused to Manila’s suffocating, tropical weather, he leased a space in the west end of fashionable Escolta—Manila’s “Fifth Avenue”--in the public square of Plaza Moraga, at the foot of the Jones Bridge.

 He turned this space into an oasis of refreshment which opened on December 1899: CLARKE’S, regarded as the first ice cream parlor in the Philippines. 

IMAGE 3: CLARKE’S AT 2 ESCOLTA.  Where American expatriates found cold comfort, great food and company.

 Vintage postcard courtesy of Arch. Edward de los Santos, Pinoy Kollektor.

Summer lovin’, had me a blast.

Serving western-style ice cream, confections and breads, CLARKE’S  found immediate patronage not just from thirsty and heat-weary American military men, but also from the expatriate residents of Manila.

Its charming, modern interiors featured American soda parlor wire chairs (“batibot”) that came in adult and children’s sizes. Wood-bladed electric fans hummed from the high ceiling to fan customers as they snacked off dainty Dresden china while attended to white-uniformed Chinese and Filipino waiters.

CLARKE’S ice cream was the delight of Manilans as a new century unfolded. One summer, the soda parlor served pink ice cream made from evaporated milk in tin cans. The ice cream proved to be an irresistible hit. Patrons who have tasted the frozen novelty swear it’s the best-tasting flavor in the Far East. Classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry were also available,  providing instant relief by cooling the senses.

IMAGE 4 AS AMERICAN AS A SODA PARLOR. Patrons, mostly businessmen, tourists and locals, 

chill out at Clarke’s with interiors duplicating the classic look of American soda parlors—right down

to the “batibot” chairs, ceiling fans, and soda jerks in uniforms.

Ice cream and pastries and candies. Oh my!

The leading “salon de refrescos” of the Orient--as CLARKE’S was known—also served an assortment of breads and pastries, stick candies, lollipops and chocolates. With money flowing in,  Clarke put up a lucrative bakery and confectionary factory in the Sta. Cruz district, to heed the clamor for genuine, wholesome and clean breads and sweets.

For Americans in Manila, local breads will not do. “The bad kind of bread comes from the Chinos and the native pest houses”, a concerned writer once noted. “And I have noticed with disgust young American children sucking native sugared  perils in the shape of cakes made the Lord only knows in what filthy fashion”. 

IMAGE 5: BREAKING BREAD. The Clarke’s Bakery and Confectionary Factory, 

housed in a 3-storey building on Calle Obando, Sta. Cruz. Operations 

were ran by American experts who supervised a coterie of Filipino bakers.

 On the other hand, “good bread” could be had at CLARKE’S. Clarke took his company motto to heart:  “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. He guaranteed, “You could eat your lunch off the floor of the bakery”. The staff of Filipinos, supervised by Americans,  were required to bathe and change even before going to work.

 He also equipped his bakery with state-of-the art baking machines such that no human hand touches the dough. The mixing, kneading and shaping processes were all done by these mechanical marvels—and the result was bread of superior purity and wholesome quality. What was more amazing was that the machines could churn out 450 loaves of bread in 7 minutes, enough to feed Manilans many times over!

IMAGE 6: SWEETS FOR MY SWEET. On the third floor, Filipina workers wrap baked goodies and Clarke’s Superior Candies for distribution and sale at the Escolta shop, and also for provincial orders.

 CLARKE’S  baked confections—gingerbreads, cakes, Danish, rolls---were served with aromatic cups of his famous Café Mayon coffee brand. The beans were homegrown in his Indang, Cavite farm, which he, himself, roasted and ground.

Hanging out with chill seekers

While it was true that people originally went to CLARKE’S for its exceptional refreshments, many travelers and tourists hied off to No. 2 Escolta  “to wallow in the atmosphere whose influence will fairly eradicate the “blues”. 

 

IMAGE 7: DAYDREAMS & ICE CREAMS. The one place in Manila where anybody meets everybody.

A habitué astutely observed: “Notice the happy greeting and smiling faces of the throngs who meet there daily. Do they not seem more intensely pleased with themselves and their fellow man in general, around and about this corner, than at any other place or time? You could not describe it…but you can feel it!”

Indeed, CLARKE’S, in its heyday was “the mecca of epicurean Manila-ites and epicures of many others”.  It was the place to see and to be seen. It was said that to be famous, one had to have his photograph taken in CLARKE’S.

It was in CLARKE’S that a cable was composed during a visit of U.S. Secretary of War William H. Taft’s party, announcing  the engagement of presidential daughter Alice Roosevelt , eldest of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt,  and Nicholas Longworth, a Republican politician. 

IMAGE 8: MATCH MADE IN CLARKE’S. The cable announcing the engagement of Alice Roosevelt with Nicholas Longworth, was composed in Clarke’s. The two were in Manila, part of an American diplomatic mission that travelled to Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea and the Philippines. Picture: Wikimedia commons.

The reason, they say, for the energy of the place is no less than Mr. Met Clarke himself, who, from the very first have been able to invest his employees with that genial “I-really-want-to-please-you” spirit that seems to prevail in the very air.

For all that—and more—Mr. Met Clarke was handsomely rewarded with windfalls of success. He became the first president of the Manila Merchants Association, an organization that unified leading American and Filipino businessmen of their day. Under his helm, the association produced promotional trade books and brochures, supported the great Manila Carnival and addressed labor concerns. 

IMAGE 9. CLARKE AT THE CARNIVAL. The soda parlor shop was replicated in the float of Clarke’s that participated in the first Manila Carnival parade of 1908.

Frozen assets,  business meltdown.

In 1903, Mr. Clarke and a few associates organized the Benguet Consolidated Mining after acquiring some mining claims in Benguet , Mountain Province. He probably felt the need to diversify his business after the Insular Ice Plant was built in 1902 near the Puente Colgante bridge. It would just be a matter of time, he might have thought,  that his pioneering food business would find competition.

Clarke invested heavily in the mining company that began with a simple 3-stamp amalgamation mill. He soon expanded it to include a cyanide and sand leaching plant that he personally financed. A typhoon however flooded the mines and destroyed the plant, even before he could recoup his investment.

IMAGE 10: YOU JUST GOT SERVED. Mr. Met Clarke hobnobbing with visitors and patrons in his famous ice cream shop.

With the entire capital wiped out, Clarke was forced to auction off his ice cream shop business in 1911. His  Philippine ventures gone, Clarke called it quits  and returned to the U.S. where he died sometime later  in California.

Years after his passing, oldtimers would still reminisce about CLARKE’S, a landmark symbol of American influence that came to define the new sophistication of the modernized capital city and its tastes for life’s finer things. 

IMAGE 11: A COOL DINING PLACE. A 1909 Clarke’s trade ad for a souvenir program.

 For a decade,  it became a place of convergence for Manila’s social and business communities—to cool their heels, to discuss and settle issues, or simply to watch the world go by. Indeed, as its advertisements proclaimed—it’s the best known corner in Manila. Because, if you are looking for a friend—you can find him at CLARKE’S!

SOURCES:

Devins, John Bancroft, An Observer in the Philippines, American Tract Society, 1905. p.117

Picture source: The Philippine Magazine, Manila, August 1908 issue.

Alvina, Corazon., Sta, Maria Felice P. Halupi: Essays on Philippine Culture, Capitol Publishing House, Inc., 1989. P. 139,

De los Santos, Edward: http://pinoykollektor.blogspot.com/2013/04/escolta-at-turn-of-century-postcard.html

Clarke’s: http://www.jenniferhallock.com/tag/clarkes/

These Vintage Photos of Binondo, Escolta, and Divisoria Will Remind You of Manila's Glory Days. Spot.ph:

https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/72111/photos-pasig-river-binondo-divisoria-escolta-a1806-20171127-lfrm3

62. MABINI ART: From Tourist Souvenirs to Mainstream Masterpieces

WALL-TO-WALL ART. Filipinana paintings done in the so-called Mabini School style fill the walls of Serafin Serna's studio

.

 For over 80 years now, the 2-kilometer street located in once-genteel Ermita has been the nexus of touristy and artistic activities—Mabini Street---which, in its heyday,  teemed with art galleries and shops, making it Manila’s most colorful alley.

MABINI STREET AT NIGHT. 1957

Mabini was known in the late 1800s as Calle Nueva, and, like Calle Real (now known as  M.H. del Pilar St.) ran straight and parallel to the bay, starting from Wallace Field in the north and ending at the Pasay boundary. Back then, the Ermita-Malate district was peopled with Manila families from the principalia class, along with many Spanish and Spanish mestizo residents. After the 1860s, Ermita expanded as a suburb, along the main calles of Real and Nueva, which provided Manila with an important link to the Cavite harbors where the galleons landed.

MUSLIM COUPLE, by Crispin V. Lopez (1903-1985). From the Collection of  

Øcsalev Thor, Used with permission.

When the Americans came, they too were drawn to the quiet dignity and exclusivity of the suburb which characterized the uppity residential streets—Calle Nuevo included. Renamed during the American occupation as A. Mabini St. to memorialize the “brains of the Revolution”, the street slowly began its transition as a shopping destination, along with the Escolta and the walled city of Intramuros.

DAVID MEDALLA AT WORK AT HIS MABINI STUDIO.

By the 1930s, as the country opened its doors to the world, Manila’s population swelled to include international residents and visitors. Hotels, serviced apartments, posh homes and clubs sprouted along the area.  Joining the Germans, Dutch, Swiss and English traders were the Americans and their families—soldiers, teachers, diplomats, government officials, businessmen, adventure seekers, and tourists—whose fascination with our  exotic islands stimulated a demand for manufactured cultural souvenirs to send back home as gifts and travel mementos.

BARRIO STREET. Gabriel Custodio. 

 Mabini St. and its peripheries became the go-to place for such tourist souvenirs. The Little Home Shop ran by the Metcalfs on 676 A. Mabini was one of the first shops to offer “a treasure trove for the seeker of the unusual”. It carried everything from Moro brassware, embroidered piña and Igorot dresses. Nearby was Philippine Shell-Craft that created stunning remembrances of shell and mother-of-pearl. Also just a walk away, on 620 Mabini, was Manila Art Craft that specialized in reptile leather goods, trays, cards, candy boxes and other novelties.

The war decimated much of Ermita, but when peace settled in the country and rebuilding went underway, the proud district rose from the ashes with a renewed sense of optimism.  With the promise of independence fulfilled in 1946, the new country continued its spree of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

HARVEST TIME, By Serafin Serna.  He trained under Prof. Teodoro Buenaventura before enrolling at
the U.P. Fine Arts. His biggest commission was decorating the Philippine Pavilion at the New York’s
World’s Fair with murals and brass sculptures in 1964. Øcsalev Thor Collection, used with permission.

 Mabini St. attracted artists like Paombong-born Miguel Geronimo Galvez Sr., to open his own visual arts shop in 1949. Galvez had honed his painting skills as a sit-in student of Prof. Teodoro Buenaventura at the U.P. college of Fine Arts along Taft Avenue. Simon Saulog, from Imus, also located his studio cum shop along Mabini.

STARTING THEM YOUNG. Art along Mabini St.. 1952.

The early artists that gravitated towards this street painted in the realist tradition—led by such names as Galvez and Saulog, plus Ben Alano, Fermin Sanchez, Cesar Amorsolo,  Jose Bumanlag David, Elias Laxa, Romeo Enriquez and Gabriel Custodio.  Like master Fernando Amorsolo, the conservatives painted idyllic pastoral scenes, landscapes and ruralscapes, nipa huts set against mountain backdrops or rice fields, and other folkloric themes. Abiding by tradition, they painted what they saw-- the more real, the better.

Left: YOUNG RAJAH, by Jose Bumanlag David, 1955. The works of this Pampanga artist was often featured on
the pages of Graphic Magazine in the 1920s. Left: T’BOLI ELDER. By Fortunato Jervoso. Pasay-born Jervoso
learned painting via the International Correspondence School , Philadelphia from 1934-37. Alex Castro Collection.

BATHING BEAUTY, by Victor T. Cabrera. 1956. This U.P. educated artist
trained with Vicente Manansalaand Antonio Dumlao. His works--landscapes,
portraits, historical paintings--were characterized by " a silky, finished quality",
 evident in this painting.Alex R.Castro Collection.

The  distant Far East from a Western perspective was always imagined as exotic, wild and tropical, an isolated part of the world—with swaying palm trees, bare-breasted island women, mysterious Mohammedans and mountain folks. These conceptions were consistent with the imageries that Mabini artists managed to deftly capture on their canvasses. Tourists, with tastes far different from art connoisseurs, snapped up these artworks, simply as remembrances of their Philippine experience. Not only where these paintings affordable, but the paintings were also portable to hand-carry home.

SIDEWALK ART EXHIBIT. Mabini St. 1952.

 “Commercial fine arts”, was a term first used by Fabian de la Rosa to describe  art associated with advertising—billboards, illustrations, magazine covers. It would later come to refer as well to the products of the “Mabini School”, meant to be sold and generate money. Anybody with a fairly good hand could churn out paintings of the same style and hackneyed Filipinana themes. As expected, academically-trained artists and aficionados of high art thumbed their noses at these creations—hastily done, painted in multiples, and cheaply priced.

MARANAO FISHERMEN. By Romeo Enriquez, 1953. A  much sought after portraitist,
 Enriquez established his studio-gallery along Mabini St.
 Øcsalev Thor Collection. Used with permission.

No matter, the demand of tourists for commercial fine arts  intensified during this period.  Mabini St. assumed a bohemian air of some sort, as classicists and the rising modernists congregated in the area. The convergence would eventually lead to a clash in 1955, when, in a contest mounted by the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP), the modernists won over the conservatives, prompting a walk-out of some 20 realist painters. They also won the support of non-AAP members who join them in their outdoor shows in front of Manila Hotel, that elicited much attention from the public.

 

BANCA RIDE,Oscar T. Navarro. 1964. Alex Castro Collection.

Indeed, times were changing in the city’s landscape too. By the end of the 50s, the offbeat color of Mabini—often likened to New Yorks’ Greenwich Village—was starting to pale in its appeal. Alongside residences, quaint souvenir shops and art galleries arose in quick profusion, an amalgam of dress shops, 3^rd rate motels, cocktail lounges, sleazy bars and unsightly tenement buildings and barong-barongs. But the artists stayed on, both the good, the bad and the downright phony.

  

LAPU-LAPU AND BULAKNA, by Rod Pasno. 1960s.

The output was more commercialized—velvet nude paintings that American servicemen favored, copies of famous European paintings (Da Vincis’s Mona Lisa, Last Supper), his ‘n hers ethnic kitsch (Rajah & Rani, Lakan & Lakambini, Moro & Mora, Igorot & Igorota) and Tiki crafts to decorate American dens and bars. Aesthetic rules could also be broken, based on the dictates of the buying customer. Thanks to the promotion of tourism, Mabini art—despite its reputation as cheap souvenir art for the tourist trade—enjoyed a ready, and steady market.

ISLAND GIRL, by Ben Alano, 1952. Alano maintained a studio in Ermita 

for over 20 years. Øcsalev Thor  Collection, used with permission.

True talents—in the persons of Paco Gorospe, Salvador Cabrera (Bencab’s brother), Roger San Miguel, and Leonardo Zablan, would emerge from this 60s decade, representing the second generation of Mabini painters with exceptional skills that were yet to be recognized. Galleries continued to proliferate in the area—Gorospe, Zablan and Lopez had theirs along Mabini—which gained major patronage from hotels, embassies and corporate buildings in need of interior decoration.

 

SUMMER FIELDS, Isidro Ancheta, 1904.

Pistang Pilipino (later, Sining Pilipino) a one-stop commercial arts and crafts center with 200 stalls, was put up along Mabini in the 80s, and carried many souvenir paintings of Filipino artists, in varying grades of finish and quality.  These artists, many of whom remained nameless,  constituted the third wave of Mabini painters that began painting in the 70s through the 90s.

MABINI STREET IN 1957.

The political turmoil and the economic instability of the mid 80s dealt a severe blow to Philippine tourism, and Malate-Ermita business felt the impact more than any other district.   Alternative commercial centers like Greenhills and Makati drew more “quality” crowds as opposed to Mabini, which suffered from its ‘red light district’ image.  Regular crackdowns on illicit trades didn’t help in hastening Mabini’s decline. Many art galleries closed, and while Pistang Pilipino remained open until 1995 and then relocated, its business was never the same again.

 

MANOBO ELDER. By Crispin Agno. 1955. Alex R. Castro Collection.

But just when everyone thought that Mabini art was on its way out,  a new breed of art aficionados began rediscovering them in other parts of the world with the advent of the the internet in the mid-1990s. Filipiniana paintings from the mid-century and older began appearing in online museums as well as international selling sites, gaining a core group of patrons, mostly overseas Filipinos.

 

GALLERY ON THE STREET, 1957.

 It must be recalled that in the course of 50 or  so years, thousands of these Mabini paintings made their way to other countries, especially the United States, where they either hung in homes or stashed away for keeping, passed on to descendants, to be recovered in estate, garage sales, auctions, and flea markets.  

 

GRAND OLD LADY. By Miguel Galvez, 1937. Miguel left Paombong to work in the household of
his uncle-artist PrOf. Teodoro Buenaventura, who enrolled him at the U.P. Fine Arts. He was the
first artist to open a studio on Mabini St. in 1949.

International online selling sites like  ebay.com and liveauctioneers.com  regularly offered vintage Philippine paintings as early as the late 80s, posted by sellers who picked such pieces from rummage and yard sales, and sold outright or thru bidding.

From a few dollars, the prices for these Philippine works  have quickly escalated to hundreds, even up to thousands of dollars. A quick check on ebay’s current inventory (as of July 2018), features a 24” x 20” Simon Saulog 1959 painting of a Filipina gathering palay that is priced for sale at $1, 650. Two Crispin V. Lopez portraits are more realistically priced at $299 each.

 

Add captionLeft: SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, A painting copied from Sanzio Raphael. Signed "Rafael Sanzio
por Dumlao". By Antonio Dumlao.1955. Right: ORACION EN EL HUERTO. By Domingo Celis. 1951.
He is one of the first graduates of the UP school of Fine Arts in 1914.

American museums, like the Field Museum of History in Chicago, keep many good examples of this kind of genre paintings. Since 1989,  Geringer Art based in Honolulu, Hawaii has also been studying and marketing fine Southeast Asian paintings, including Filipino works wrought by artist who began their careers in Mabini,

In 1992, a book based on the art collection of Jorge B. Vargas, the former Executive Secretary of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, was written by Prof. Santiago Pilar Albano on the occasion of the Vargas Centennial Celebrations. The book, PAMANA, featured write-ups and photos of paintings of many Mabini luminaries, raising further awareness for Vargas’ vintage paintings which he bequeathed to the University of the Philippines, where they are now housed at the school’s Filipiniana section.

WINNOWING RICE. By San Fernando-born Patricio Salvador of U/P. 1967.

Suddenly, collectors and critics from here and abroad began taking a more serious look at these artworks and the painters that created them, finally acknowledging their significance and their place in the development of Philippine art history.

 

BALIK-TANAW EXHIBIT in Chicago. Courtesy of Victor Velasco

In June  2013,  Filipino expatriate Victor B. Velasco assembled Filipiniana paintings found in the U.S. in a representational exhibit in Chicago entitled “Balik-Tanaw: Philippine Images Beyond Nostalgia” . The exhibit featured the paintings of Mabini artists and others who worked in the same style like Serafin Serna, C.V. Lopez, Hernando Ocampo, Crispin Agno and Isidro Ancheta.

OLD SPANISH CHURCH. Elias Laxa of Macabebe,Pampanga. 1964.

Art collector Mr. Jack Nasser, founder of Philexcel Business Park and a pioneering investor  in Clark Field, Pampanga,  began amassing Mabini art paintings beginning in the 1960s. When he passed away, his widow, Ariella Nasssr-Moskovitz, organized the Jack Nasser Collection and put the artworks on permanent display at the Philexcel Art Center, inaugurated  in 2016. The paintings on exhibit, many done by Oscar Navarro and Paco Gorospe, is open to the viewing public.

WEDDING GIFTS, by Simon Saulog, 1954. Commissioned by Heacock’s Department Store in Escolta. 

Alex R. Castro Collection.

Perhaps, the most convincing proof that Mabini Art had indeed gained mainstream status as well as respectability  in the art world is the inclusion of paintings in the two premiere auction houses in the Philippines—Salcedo Auctions and the Leon Gallery Auctions. Along with the like of Amorsolo, Bencab and Manansala, examples of Mabini Art are now being offered on regular basis on the prestigious auction houses—and doing very well.

MABINI STREET, 1976.

For example Cesar Buevantura’s “Planting Rice” had an ending price of Php 303,680 from a staring bid of Php 120,000. The “Barrio Scene” painting of Romeo Enriquez sold at Php 163.520, more that quadruple its initial Php 40,000 bid. Oscar Navarro’s “Sailboat”, which had a starting price of Ph 16,000, was snapped up for Ph 46, 700. Simon Saulog’s “Nude”, was had a tag price of Php 30,000, and which sold at Php 327,040. Finally, Antonio Dumlao’s painting, “Bountiful” ,  with a starting bid of Php400,000, ended with a realized price of Php 759,200.The prices are still far away from the millions people pay shell out for a Manansala or a Bencab, but selling is brisk and the demand remains strong.

BAHAY KUBO BY THE BANKS, by Felix Gonzales,1955. Gonzales
owned a gallery at the Manila Hotel then moved to Mabini. Many of
his children became artists like him.

The popular art form persists and endures today, although slowed down by the vagaries of tourism industry and fads of taste. In some nooks and crannies of Mabini and neighboring M.H. del Pilar, there are still a handful of studios which continue to churn out canvas after canvas of nipa huts, tinikling dancers, grazing carabaos and toiling farmers—objects of beauty that have also become idealized expressions of our culture. In those holes-in-wall may yet arise another Amorsolo, de la Rosa or Manansala, but what is clear is that Mabini Art, once disparaged by local patrons, is finally receiving the appreciation it deserves today.

SOURCES & REFERENCES:

Mabini’s Arty Street, Sunday Times Magazine,  6 January 1957, pp. 14-15, photos by Ben Santos

Castañeda, Dominador C., Trends and Influences in Fine Arts, PROGRESS 1955. Pp. 26-34

Quingco II, Oliver, Hartung III, Klaus W. Revisiting Mabini Art, Transwing ® Jane Hartung, e.k., 2013

Albano, Santiago Pilar, Pamana: The Jorge B. Vargas Art Collection, Committee on Arts and Culture, Vargas Centennial Celebrations, U.P. Vargas Museum, 1992

Balik-Tanaw: Philippine Image Beyond Nostalgia, exhibit catalog 2013

Castaneda, Dominador, Trends and Influences in Fine Arts, Progress 1955. Pp. 27-33

ERMITA Magazine, 1976 issue

The Dynamics of Change in Tourist Arts

https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/dynamics-change-tourist-arts