WOW: Statues, stamps & special architecture

Wow! I didn’t think I’d get that much feedback on my last article but apparently, it struck a chord in a lot of people. However, I must apologize to everyone about my article last week on the Lapu-Lapu statue. It’s not bronze. It’s not even concrete. It’s plastic! Hahahahahaha! Our national heroes are made of the same stuff as Pokemon and Barbie dolls.

Technically, the statue is made of some form of polycarbonate, according to the ever-ebullient heritage walkingtourologist Carlos Celdran. I am acquainted with the process – modern construction methods have adopted moulding methods from plastic toy manufacturers to produce ornate architectural embellishments used in such projects as kitsch hotels in Las Vegas. Our national statues are Las Vegas-class. Imagine that.

No one wrote in favor of the new Lapu-Lapu statue, although I got word that some sculptors were wondering why I attacked ("tinira" was the word used) Imao’s creation.

Well, like I said, the statue itself isn’t all that bad, but I honestly think that it is a little too beefcakey and cheesy. The real Filipino physique is more Efren Reyes Jr. or Manny Pacquiao than Arnold Governator.

Fair Feedback

In all fairness (or Fairview, if you want to "Abundize" it), Imao is truly a good sculptor. But like others who venture into large-scale compositions, it is the setting that makes or breaks the whole installation. This is the case with the Agrifina setting – it just doesn’t work for me! (To quote Simon from American Idol.)

It does not work for a lot of others, too, like this reader from Subic, who writes:

I enjoyed your hard-hitting and very blunt article on "WOW-Lapu Lapu." Yes, it is just you-know-who’s folly aggrandizing not the person the statue is dedicated for, but you-know-who. Here in Olongapo, we are reminded daily of someone’s massive ego, what with the various roads, residential areas and hospitals named after you-know-who. Their family name is flaunted shamelessly here in Olongapo City.

Seeing the outrageous statue on steroids that the former secretary of the DOT has paraded on the grounds for National Heroes, I can only shake my head. Living/retired in this beautiful country, only to see the lack of beauty in construction and design does my heart no justice. Four walls, a roof and some cement – that seems to be the building guidelines. No planning, no vision, nobody really seems to even care. What a waste!

A Metro-Manilan (Mr. V) airs his and his niece’s point of view:

I read your column today on Manila’s monuments and I totally agree with you. Our country is truly losing its aesthetic sense to – to borrow your term – "culturally-crass politicians and senatorial candidates." Shouldn’t we apply capital punishment to those who impose on us their monopoly of extremely bad taste? 

My 14-year-old niece (a regular reader of your column) complains we have no elegant, well-planned parks to show off in Metro Manila. Worse, the entire metropolis is covered in grime. She adds that you hit the nail on the head when you complained about "a cityscape already profusely messed up with wires and cables, billboards and ugly architecture."  "Nakakahiya raw talaga," she says.  When will we see the day when we can proudly invite our foreign friends to come and visit? I hope within our lifetime.

Please continue writing on topics like the shame some city planners inflict on us. The public must constantly be made aware of this.

Yes, Mr. V, I agree that heads should roll. However, we do not need to take such extreme measures. Let’s just force them to live in front of their creations, take away their SUVs and let them ride FXs, pester them with never-ending txt messages, and force them to eat fast food burgers every meal.

Finally, another concerned citizen (Mr. G) wrote:

Thank you for voicing out my sentiments about the atrocious monuments that have been sprouting at Rizal Park lately. It was sad to see the old favorites (such as the "globe" fountain) disappear and to witness the rise of clutter (such as the Bulova tower). I wish the perpetrators of these projects had just used the funds to improve the park’s basic facilities, which need immediate attention.

I agree, Mr. G – why can’t we leave well enough alone? I miss that old fountain and the old Luneta we all used to visit more often than the malls. I miss a lot of old favorites but apparently, politicians don’t care for heritage.

Stamp Of Approval

Not all was negative this past week though. Speaking of heritage and old favorites, a favorite sculptor of mine, Ramon Orlina, sent me a bunch of new stamps dedicated to architectural heritage. Wonderful! Apparently, he sits on the postal board, which decides who and what to put on our stamps.

They chose to highlight our disappearing heritage with illustrations of select architectural landmarks of Manila — The El Hogar building on the Muelle de Industria in Binondo, the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank building not too far away from the El Hogar, the Regina building on the Escolta and the Luneta Hotel overlooking what used to be the premier park in the country (now messed up with ill-designed monuments).

I hope that the postal service continues the series and also features other landmarks of Manila – the Philippine General Hospital, Supreme Court, the Waterworks building, several Art Deco commercial buildings in Binondo, the Captitol theater on Escolta, the Art Deco apartments in Malate and Ermita, the Army Navy and Elk’s Clubs and many others.

Well, stamps on architectural heritage do it for me, but plastic statues on concrete wedding cakes do not, a beautiful city, make.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at citysense philstar@hotmail.com