“I GO to seek a Great Perhaps.”
Francois Rabelais’ last words served as an important viewpoint for Miles Halter, the main protagonist in John Green’s bestselling novel Looking for Alaska. I kept asking myself on what the Great Perhaps really is, immersing myself into wishful thinking that I could somehow find a way to relate this mindset to the current state of cultural preservation in our country.
Funnily enough, I did.
When the news broke out that the Philam Life Theater was to be demolished and replaced with a shopping mall by the SM Development Corporation, cultural enthusiasts were prompted to file an online petition to save the famous theater. Thankfully, SMDC revoked its initial plans and agreed to preserve Philam Life Theater with all its elements and acoustics.
Other significant cultural sites were not as lucky as the Philam Life Theater, though.
Alumnus Dominic Rubio often paints as his subject the grandeur of Old Manila. What is seen in his paintings—imposing buildings, stunning stone pavements, residents donning Filipinianas—seem to present a fictitious picture when you see the actual depiction of Manila today. Imposing slums, stunning flooded walkways, residents donning almost nothing at all—this is the real Manila.
A friend told me of his experience during a family trip in Agoo, La Union, in which he was shocked to learn that Museo Iloko, a heritage house in the town proper, was being turned into a fastfood outlet. Museo Iloko, an example of the architectural style during the American colonization, was clad with scaffolds and building equipment.Insultingly, a taurpalin saying “Soon to open” was mounted just above the museum’s name. This was a year ago; the current state of the museum is unknown to us both. How easy it was, he thought, for a heritage home to be turned into a fastfood branch. How easy it was for the government to readily accept propositions by private companies to build over important showcases of Philippine history ad heritage.
What is the Great Perhaps in the cultural preservation in the Philippines? Will we be able to find solutions to save the seemingly hopeless and lost cause of cultural redemption? Or should we settle for plain procrastination?
Cultural awareness cannot be etched into the Filipino mind overnight, but there still goes my wishful thinking that one day soon the typical Filipino would be able to differentiate say, for example, the works of Amorsolo from those of Luna.
But then, as Miles Halter had thought as he dealt with Alaska’s eccentricity, “Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.”
