Like some people here have said… the modern culture of the Philippines is boring and extremely Westernized, when Western tourists visit Asia they expect to be immersed in the rich, colorful and “exotic” cultures of Asia… if they would come all the way here just to see some old churches then it would be better for them to just stay in Europe, USA, Mexico or Latin America instead of paying an expensive plane ticket.
Because we don’t promote our pre-colonial heritage, a lot of foreigners tend to think that we were “uncivilized” before the Spanish colonization, which is why they think of us as “inferior”.
If I had extreme wealth I’d promote our pre-colonial culture even more… (Just to inform everyone, these are some of my fantasies and the stuff of my wildest dreams).
- I’d make a huge replica of the Golden Tara, similar to the Statue of Liberty in New York, and put it in the middle of Manila Bay.
- I’d buy a private island and make it into a pre-colonial themed resort.
- I’d put up pre-colonial themed restaurants all over the city… we have (Dohtonbori) Japanese themed restaurants, so why not pre-colonial themed restaurants?
- I’d have a fashion line focusing on the art of (SONGKET)… gold thread is embroidered into silk to create elaborate brocade patterns which gives the cloth a shiny, glistening effect… imagine these patterns with modern designs.
I personally find these ancient patterns perfect for the modern Kaftan dresses below.
- I’d also have a jewelry shop mainly specializing in ancient inspired jewelry.
I know that these are just silly fantasies but I do hope that one day, they would all become reality, I sure as hell would want to be reincarnated just to see these for myself, I would want to see the day when all Filipinos are no longer mentally marinated with colonial mentality,
- So far, one of my fantasies have already become reality… the government has already declared the ancient (Baybayin script) as the official national writting system of the Philippines.
- Now it’s just going to be a matter of time before labels and signages would look like this.
On a different topic… I don’t think that Filipino food tastes bad and (no), I’m not biased because I know for a fact that foreigners don’t know how to eat Filipino food properly… Filipinos love dipping sauces and condiments, in many cases they are mandatory as they enhance or even completely change the flavor of the dish… so what I’m saying is that you need to know the proper dip that goes with the dish that you’re eating.
