Five Things Filipinos Must See and Do in Chicago

By: Lou Maningas Cabalona

 

It is common knowledge among Illinoisians that as the temperature starts dropping during the Fall-Winter months, folks also start semi-hibernating in their homes. To some, it may even trigger winter depression not being able to go out in the sun too long, or go out at all! For Filipinos, especially those who lived a good amount of the time in the Philippines, this might also bring about a feeling of homesickness being away from “home” during Christmas. So to lessen the effects of Winter Depression and highlight some fun and enriching indoor activities for your family and/or friends, I recommend Five Things all Filipinos (and really anyone interested in the Philippines) must see and do in Chicago!

1. Discover the Philippine Coral Reef Exhibit and the Apo Island Fisherman’s Village at the Shedd Aquarium. Yes, despite the change of seasons from summer to winter, Chicago is home to an exhibit of the spectacular display of exotic corals, and a “diver’s-eye view of our diverse marine life and a re-created fishing village inspired from the coastal communities in the Apo Island south of Negros Oriental. Up by the entrance of the exhibit, reads a huge sign that appropriately says “Welcome to the Philippines”. Since 2003, the Philippine Coral Reef Exhibit, simply called Wild Reef Exhibit at The Shedd Aquarium has given its twomillion annual visitors a peek at one of the largest and most diverse shark and coral exhibits coming from the Island country which is home to more than 40 species of sharks. To simulate a similar environment for its aquatic residents, 17.5 tons of sand and a fisherman’s house, among others, were imported from the Philippines. This immense exhibit cost $45 million.

2. View the Golden Tara from Agusan del Sur, Mindanao One of the most important archeological finds in the Philippines in the 20th century is that of the Golden Tara, a 4-pound 21-carat gold statue of a Hindu-Malayan goddess, was found by Bilay Campos, a Manobo tribeswoman, near the Wawa River in 1917. This image, considered the “Goddess of Compassion,” is dated from the period 13th to early 14th centuries. S ources suggest it was made by local artists using gold from the same area, copying from an imported Javanese model since Javanese miners were known to have been engaged in gold mining in Butuan at this time. This relic described as “Agusan Gold Image” now sits on display in the Hall of Gems of the Field Museum. How did it get here? From Campos, it was passed on to Bias Baklagon, a local government official who passed it over to Agusan Coconut Company allegedly to pay off his huge debt. Louise Adrianna Wood, wife of Leonard Wood, Governor General between 1921-1927, raised funds for its purchase by the Chicago Museum of Natural History, now called Field Museum.

3. Visit the 10,000 Objects from the Philippines In 1904, industrialist Robert Fowler Cummings visited the World’s Fair and was greatly intrigued by the Philippine exhibition. It became his goal to amass a huge collection to display in Chicago. So from 1907 to 1910, he funded the expeditions of Anthropologists Fay-Cooper Cole and his wife Mabel, Williams Jones and Stephen Chapman Simms, who collectively gathered over 5000 objects from various islands and studied and documented the culture of the people. These objects and many that were subsequently given to The Field Museum by U.S. soldiers who served in the Philippine- American War during the early 1900s, have been in the care of the Museum since. All together, it is a remarkable collection of over 10,000 objects from the Philippines, one of the most comprehensive in the Western Hemisphere. Some are from the Hispanicized societies of central Philippines but a huge majority originates from our native, non- Hispanicized peoples of Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Sulu and other parts of Mindanao. They include textiles, personal adornments, weapons, ritual equipment, basketry, woodcarvings, musical instruments, smoking pipes, and trade ceramics. While they are all hidden in storage, everyone is encouraged to contact the museum to request viewing of all these historical treasures.

4. Check Out Photos Around the Philippines Ever wondered how the homeland and our ancestors looked like over 100 years ago? Curious about how they lived? Tagbanuas, Ilongotes, Kalingas, Mangyans, Tinguianes, Igorrotes, Dulanganes, Buquidnon, Kalanganes, Tirurayes, Subanos, Manobos, Moros, Mandayas, Remontados, Bagobos, Gad-danes, Bilanes, Ilocanos, Atas, Pangasinanes, Guiangas, Pampangos, Tagakaolos, Zambals, Tagalogs, Bicols, Visayans, Zamboangueños, Negritos, Chinese, Mestizos, Zoology, Botany, Agriculture, Geology, Volcanos, Geography, History, Social Life and Customs — these are some of the fascinating subjects captured in the over 8000 ethnographic photos collected by Dean Worcester, an American Colonial Administrator in the 1900s. They are kept only in a few places in the world and two of them are right at our doorstep: the Field Museum and Newberry Library!

5. Learn about the Largest Collection of Philippine Manuscripts Reading through centuries-old manuscripts might not be a every person’s idea of a fun time but you can’t help but be amazed how many lesser known stories about widely written events and personalities the Philippine Manuscripts Special Collections at the Newberry is willing to tell. Did you know for a brief period of 18 months from 1762, the British occupied Manila? Did you know that Rizal, a polyglot, used different languages in the same paragraph in his letters? Did you know that he and colleague T.H. Pardo de Tavera separately published a new orthography for the Filipino language recommending the usage of the letter “K” as it fits the way we spoke better? This, eventually, became the bases of our modified Filipino Alphabet. Also, Interesting to note — documents show that while Spain stayed over 300 years, by the end of their regime less than ten percent of the population spoke Spanish! Thankfully, the Spanish missionaries did not only learn the native tongue; instead of teaching Castilian, they composed vocabularies and grammar and translated catechetical materials in virtually all Philippine languages and dialects. According to the Dept. of Foreign Affairs, The Newberry Library has the largest collections of Filipiniana in the world outside of the Philippines. Here, we can find a copy of “Noli Me Tangere” published in Berlin in 1887, Isabelo De Los Reyes’ El Folk- Lore, one of the earliest published works on our traditional beliefs, customs, and stories, as well as over 500 manuscripts and books on linguistics, folklore, ethnology, and government documents during the Spanish era. It also holds an album of water color drawings depicting the native dresses of Filipinos of various social classes and professions in Manila around 1827 to 1832. Book lover or not, this collection is a must-see for any Filipino!

A few of Domingo’s artworks at the Newberry. (clockwise from top left) A Woman of Yloco (Ilocos), A Chief of Manila, A Potmaker of Pasig, A Fisherman.

Signages and posters at the Wild Reef exhibit that showcase the country and our diverse marine life. Photo Credit: Chicago PCG

Louella and Baron Cabalona posing for the camera with AAPI Commissioner and entrepreneur Billy Dec, after performing at the Field Museum, 10,000 Kuwentos (Stories) event.

Louella with Dr. Lawrence Heaney, Curator and Head of the Division of Mammals at Field Museum who says, “the Philippine Islands have one of the world’s greatest concentrations of unique biological diversity”.

 

Consul General Generoso D.G. Calonge, Louella and fellow Filipino American Youth Leadership Program delegate and Senior Advisor at White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Jason Tengco.