After watching a young group of Filipino dancers and a rondalla of musicians perform a few numbers, 90-year-old Sister Loretto Mapa walked to her own exhibit, where photographs of her life from the Philippines to Philadelphia hung. She was joined by her friend Sister Gertrude Borres.
“I survived the martial law years, which was really a very difficult time for us in the country because we had the ruler President Marcos,” Borres said. “And how these people experienced it and how they were able to survive, they are [displayed] here.”
In 1972, dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines in order to evade his presidential term limit and remain in power. In Philadelphia, a Filipino community of immigrants who advocated against the dictatorship dug into their roots and bonded about the socio-political landscapes of Philippine society.
“The project was really born out of [the] very organic conversations we were just having in the Filipino community with folks,” said Kristine Villanueva, a co-curator of the project. “My mom was very much in the activism space and that really inspired me and a lot of other people who are first gen or who are Filipinos who are really getting involved in their communities and also doing activism.”
As a part of the project, organizers interviewed four Filipino-American immigrants and detailed their stories from the Philippines, their activism and how the political climate influences their connection to their culture and their community. Multi-colored flowers frame each casing around the souvenirs from across the Pacific. Each person’s display held artifacts from the life they left behind and proof of the culture they preserved in Philadelphia.
Former dictator Marcos’ son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has brought the family name back into the presidential role, raising fears of a repeat of history and threats to the economy. But the Filipino community of Philadelphia preserves its culture and keeps its strength despite the tension.
“As a Filipina, the culture has always been so revolutionary,” said Calliope Beatty, a visitor of the event. “It’s always been revolt and resistance. It’s always been inherent to the Filipino identity. But to pair that radicalness with soft fabrics and flowers and a ballet leotard and pointe shoes, to see those side by side felt like the perfect representation.”
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