BRAVO! BRAVO!
originally uploaded by carlosceldran.
I drove by the Cultural Center of the Philippines today and let me say that I am just thrilled as a pig in a poke that its facade is being fixed - finally! The very sight of of scaffolding and construction workers around the structure just warmed the cockles of my jaded heart. Not only was its cheap marble trim (from a bad repair job done in the 90's) being replaced by new travertine from Italy; but workers in hard-hats and high pressure hoses were methodically stripping off years of layered grime from its concrete pylons and walls. Inside, all the bathrooms are also being refreshed and its public spaces cleaned and vacuumed. And in a country where the basic maintenance of a government structure means to annually slather a coat of mint green paint over anything that doesnt move, to see such painstaking effort to restore National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin's magnum opus is a very welcome development. It shows that things can finally be done right around here and that RESTORATION is ultimately better for our heritage structures than RENOVATION. So Bravo to the board of directors and management of the CCP for maintaining the architectural integrityof this strikingly beautiful but misunderstood national landmark. Same goes to the management of the PICC for their restoration efforts as well. To learn more about these sites, log onto the official CCP (There are great shows happening in March) and PICC websites or come to my Martial Arts! Tour.
posted by carlosceldran @ 9:22 PM
1 Comments:
So funny, i was just bitching to my wife how the walls of Roberts Street in Pasay (her mother lives there) are always being repainted in awful shades of light green every so often! Why not boring beige? or some other earthy tone that blends in with the environment and doesn't hurt the eyes.
Speaking of Pasay, how about some fun facts about Manila's less-fortunate-but with-an-equally-glorious-past neighbor? We just moved there a year ago and i already love it and am proud to be a Pasay-an...Pasayista...whatever! Despite the trash, girlie joints inherited form Ermita and floods during the rainy season, something about Pasay still feels relevant to me. Maybe it's the long chats over lunch with my mother in law about who lived where and what used to be what that gives me an optimistic feeling about the place. Everytime my wife and i drive around the area I cant help but imagine what it used to be like 50 years ago. I try to erase the run down buildings from my vision and wonder where in the hell the original Polo Club could've stood and what it possibly looked like.(The Shell Gasoline station at the corner of Libertad and Harrison Street still issues receipts that say Polo Club Shell!)
Any interesting Pasay history you can offer up will be much appreciated. I'm really eager to get to know my new hometown and it's wonderful past.
Ah, one more thing...i know it's not P.C. to be happy about a mall being put up somewhere but i am so glad that Mall of Asia opened in Pasay! I know, I know, it mars the view of the bay and that Church beside it but, shit, Pasay needs the money baaadly. And it's just too convenient for me to even complain about. Thank god i don't have to drive all the way to Harrison Plaza, that Robinsons in Malate or Glorietta just to get some ice cream or whatever. Anyway, cheers!
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