By Mara Coson Photos by Revo Naval

(via Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Date First Posted 22:05:00 03/01/2010

THE HEART OF MANILA IS not so much dangerous as it is in danger—with historical markers telling of sites no longer there.

The Walled City of Intramuros and its surroundings are now mainly a one-visit tourist spot of some partially ruined beautiful buildings resigned to eventual demolition.

Daniel Burnham, the American architect and urban planner, wrote in 1906 that Manila had “the opportunity to create a unified city equal to the greatest of the Western world.”

But it wasn’t to be. Intramuros, showcase of Hispanic magnificence, has gone to seed. While other countries have preserved their heritage buildings, Juan Nakpil’s Avenue Theater on Rizal Avenue was turned into a parking lot, and other old theaters have been demolished. We seem to have trapped our past and our creativity inside coffee-table books.

“The resentment over the injustices during the colonial period is over,” said Nes Jardin, project director of the CCP Complex, an expanding contemporary arts center near historic Intramuros. “Artists now see it as a facet of Philippine history that they must accept and contend with.”

Jardin, immediate former CCP president, believes the Spanish heritage and the country’s cultural diversity are advantageous because they influence the Filipinos’ innate creativity.

Cultural progression

On a map, he pointed out the cultural progression along Roxas Boulevard: You can see Spanish and Chinese influences from Intramuros; then beyond the walls, American influences; then further, the Japanese contact; and then finally it reaches the contemporary period where CCP stands.

Today, although the Japanese invasion left Intramuros—the first truly urban city in Asia—with only a few surviving structures and its empty spaces filled up by illegal squatters and an incongruous mishmash of architecture from the Spanish period, Intramuros still impresses, with cobblestoned streets, aptly dressed guardias civil, calesas, the famous San Agustin Church, museums, restaurants.

As I walked through Intramuros, with its mossy adobe walls, my mind filled with the evocations of Nick Joaquin’s Intramuros, it was easy to picture an arts community that could bring back the old glory of Intramuros.

“I think the youth have to take over because none of us are young anymore, so somebody has to be interested in this sort of thing,” said Bambi Harper, the elegant head of Intramuros Administration (IA).

With Harper’s support on Museo de Intramuros and the annual Heritage Month every May, Intramuros is slowly becoming a “living museum,” where people can enjoy culture and walk around freely as in Macau and Havana Vieja.

While there are already guided tours, museums, craft shops and other cultural events in Intramuros, it still has more than enough space to house unsheltered parts of our culture.

Audience for the arts

As president of the local indie film festival, Cinemalaya, Jardin said that while local films had won awards in international film festivals and were eagerly viewed by many foreign audiences, locally the public and private sector hadn’t really supported indie cinema.

Still, Jardin is hopeful. “What is encouraging is that, during Cinemalaya, we have a crowd here growing exponentially through the last five years,” he said.

Most of them are college and high-school students who have an interest in film.

Most recently, Cubao X was packed by art and music aficionados for the Mei Bastes’ Meiday gig. People came together because of the good lineup of bands. There is an audience for the arts, and it is only growing.

“We just want to work in an environment that responds to our need,” emerging designer Revo Naval explained, “and that is inspiration.”

For the future multidisciplinary arts community in Intramuros, Harper guided us to Maestranza, a new development coming out of one ruined portion of the Intramuros walls, which had been destroyed by the Americans to gain access to Pasig River.

Some 36 chambers of the Maestranza, reconstructed from archival documents, are going to be launched in late March, facing a park with a hundred fire trees with a ferry dock on Pasig River.

Perfect backdrop

As Revo and I were toured along the construction site of the beautiful high-ceilinged chambers, of adobe blocks and meticulously laid bricks, we knew it was undoubtedly the perfect place for small art galleries, shops, events and gigs against the backdrop of some historic buildings.

“That would be a good place,” Harper assured us.

In fact, an old planning framework of Intramuros in 1991 contained a plan for an outdoor theater among art galleries. But that didn’t push through, perhaps because of such concerns as parking and security.

While those problems show a lack of public-sector support, I feel it is in our hands to claim the Maestranza, where enterprising artists and film enthusiasts could soon have the space to set up screenings where people could gather.

Intramuros has been brought down many times across history, and yet the Walled City still stands today with the immense potential of becoming once more a creative center.

Maybe it’s time Intramuros be looked upon as less of a relic, but more of a place that could house the arts. We ought to change the saying “What goes up must come down,” because for us, it is what comes down that must go up.
As the IA slogan says: “Intramuros will surprise you.”

A seminar will be held this month to discuss the framework for the future of Intramuros. The launch of Maestranza will be late this month. If you’re interested in renting a spot in the Maestranza, contact the Intramuros Administration.

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http://www.peaceloveandrevolution.com/blog/studying-the-past/